2025 Real Tennis World Championship

The 2025 Real Tennis World Championship was the 70th edition of the real tennis World Championship. It was held at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. The 2025 Ladies Real Tennis World Championship were held at the same venue in May.
Defending champion Camden Riviere contested the Championship for the sixth time, having previously won on three occasions. His challenger John Lumley was chosen through a series of eliminators. It was the third time that Newport hosted the Challenge, being the venue that Riviere won his first World Championship in 2016.
Riviere won the match, and the championship, in two days, by 7 sets to 1: 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/4 5/6 6/4 6/4 6/4.

Qualification

As the defending champion, Camden Riviere automatically qualifies for the final. The challenger is determined by a series of eliminators. The top four players in the World Race, excluding Riviere, qualify for the eliminators. Points in the World Race were available for events in 2023 and 2024 from the following tournaments:

As at the conclusion of the 2024 British Open, the standings in the World Race were as follows:

Rank

Player

Club

Points

Qualified

yes|Yes, as Defending Champion

Eliminators

A bidding process was held for the hosting rights for the first round eliminators. Although Taylor-Matthews outbid Howell to host their match at the Bristol Real Tennis Club, as the higher seed, Howell exercised his right to counter-bid and secure the hosting rights at the Aiken Tennis Club. Neither Lumley nor Virgona bid for hosting their first round eliminator, with their fixture defaulting to home-and-away.
The final eliminator venue was dependent on the players in the final. Howell, as the largest bidder, had won the hosting rights for Aiken regardless of his opposition, while Lumley would have hosted in Philadelphia had he won his bid.

World Championships

Venue

The event was announced as the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island on 1st October 2024. It will be organised by the United States Court Tennis Association. It will be the third singles World Championship held in Newport, following 2004 and 2016. It will be the second consecutive challenge held in the United States, the first time since 1994. Newport will also host the 2025 Ladies Real Tennis World Championship, having previously hosted that event in 2009 and 1995. The club has never hosted the World Doubles Championship. Riviere has not lost a match at Newport since 2013.