Hird & Cooley Bring Up Thirteen In A Row

07/04/25: Karen Hird & Charlotta Cooley extended their long run as Ladies Champions with yet another win in the final at Berkhamsted yesterday.

A good crowd were gathered in the sunshine to watch the Ladies final and the Kinnaird final, which were being played side by side again this year. For the eighth time in the last nine years, the final pitted Karen & Charlotta, champions since 2013 against their perennial challengers Emily Scoones & Ashley Lumbard.

The 2024 final was one of the more one-sided matches in the course of this long-running rivalry and Karen & Charlotta started the first game in a similar vein, establishing a strong lead early on. This time, though, Emily & Ashley began to find their range and get into the match and although they lost the first game to 8, they had done more then enough in the second part of the game to show that Karen & Charlotta weren't going to have it all their own way this year.

So it proved in game two, as Ashley & Emily began to get on top in the set piece, with Ashley's returning and Emily's cutting causing problems for Karen & Charlotta, who were no longer able to control the rallies in the way they are used to doing. An early 4-2 lead for Ashley & Emily was pegged back but at 5-5 there was a run of points as Ashley hit a returning purple patch and 5-5 quickly became 10-5 to the challengers, who then closed out the game to level at 1-1.

One of the marks of a champion pair is how they recover from setbacks of course, and Karen & Charlotta regrouped between the second and third games and came back with an improved set piece and better footwork around the court, stalling the momentum that Ashley & Emily had created at the end of the second. The early stages of the third were tight, with the score remaining at 1-1 after several hands, but once Karen & Charlotta began to get their noses in front they quickly moved away, eventually taking the game to 2. The fourth then followed a similar pattern, a tight and even opening with all four players playing some fine Fives before a run of points from the champions turned 3-4 into 9-4, a lead which was more than enough to ensure that they took the game and the victory once again.

The numbers continue to mount up impressively, with Charlotta's individual record of 14 titles, the pair record of 13 titles and the run of 13 in a row all extending pre-existing records. 

Can anyone stop them making it 14 in a row in 2026?

Ladies Championships Final in association with Advanta Wealth:

K.Hird & C.Cooley beat A.Lumbard & E.Scoones 3-1 (12-8, 5-12, 12-2, 12-6)