Wollaton Tennis Club’s Izzy Bramhall defeats Eisler in superb Club La Santa Open Women’s A final
Great Britain’s Izzy Bramhall won her first IWT Women’s A title since Latvia 2016 as she defeated top seed Nicole Eisler in an exceptional final. The Women’s A category had thrown up a fascinating final as former World No.2 Izzy Bramhall took on former World No.1 Nicole Eisler in the Club La Santa Racketlon (Tennis, Squash, Table Tennis and Badminton) in Lanzarote.
Since 2014 Bramhall had won all four of the pair’s singles meetings. If she continued her form from the groups then she had a good chance to make it five. Eisler fancied her chances against the returning Bramhall though and took the game to the Brit. Bramhall won the table-tennis 21-17 but this was Eisler’s best result in recent years, giving her a fighting chance. She capitalised in the badminton, winning 21-11 with a phenomenal display of athleticism to set up a six-point lead ahead of the squash.
Much like the two previous sports, the women put on a high-class performance in a highly competitive squash contest. The play was broken up in the second half as Eisler took a nasty racket to the chest causing her to require a brief medical break. After Eisler returned to action the high-intensity contest continued with Bramhall eventually winning 21-14. This left the Brit with a one-point lead heading into tennis. Whoever won the tennis would win the title.
Bramhall was hugely impressive on the tennis court during the final. Bramhall is renowned on Tour as one of the most solid tennis players and her class began to show early on in the blustery conditions. She enjoyed plenty of success from the baseline while Eisler was winning her points at the net. At the halfway stage Bramhall held the advantage with an 11-6 lead. With the wind behind her in the second half, she became unstoppable. The Brit dropped just one more point, rolling over Eisler to win the Club La Santa Open.
It was a huge moment for Bramhall who has suffered from several injuries in recent years. She’ll now move back towards the top-10 in the World.