Scottish Cup success for Thorn Park Men and Newlands Women
• 4 minute read
Thorn Park Men retained and Newlands Women regained the Scottish Inter-Club Challenge Cup during a dramatic conclusion to the 2026 season.
A gripping men’s final went down to the wire, with Thorn Park eventually managing to defend their title in a match tie-break over Newlands to win 5-4.
Newlands Women, meanwhile, got their hands back on the trophy they lost last year by overcoming Braid 5-1 to turn the tables on last year’s champions.
Finals Day brought the curtain down on another epic season of club versus club action around the country, with big crowds turning out at host venue Newlands LTC to enjoy the drama.
Thorn Park make it 3 in a row
Defending champions Thorn Park got off to a strong start on Finals Day, leading 2-1 after the first round thanks to Finlay Watters and Ben Davies coming through a match tie-break to beat Robert Dalgetty and Russell Dickson.
The scores were reversed in the second round as Newlands stepped up to level the tie at 3-3 as Liam Hignett and Scott MacAulay got the better of Cameron Fryer and Kyle McKay.
That set-up a thrilling conclusion as wins for Fryer/McKay and Hignett/MacAulay left all eyes on the final rubber of Jordan Gray and Robert Cowley (Thorn Park) against Patrick Young and James MacKinlay (Newlands).
Gray and Cowley took the first set 6-2 and looked to be in control when they broke for a 4-3 lead in the second set, but Young and MacKinlay bounced back to take it 6-4 and force a deciding breaker.
With all other matches complete, crowds gathered along the side of the court to cheer on their favourites as the first six points were shared in a tense battle. It was the Thorn Park duo who hit the accelerator, however, taking the next seven points to secure the title as the celebrations began.
Thorn Park captain Gray, who afterwards revealed this was likely to be his final Scottish Cup appearance, said: “I’ve been playing this competition for about 30 years so I’m feeling it a bit personally, but it’s amazing to still be out here. Big thank you to all the young guys in my team and Newlands for making it a great match.
“Today was a really good exhibition of Scottish tennis, and it was really enjoyable to be involved in a spicy battle to finish off my Scottish Cup career. It’s the pinnacle of club tennis in Scotland, so it’s pretty special.”
Newlands recapture title on home turf
Having seen their five-year winning streak ended at the hands of Braid last year, Newlands were determined to regain the trophy on home turf – and put on an impressive display to secure the title within two rounds.
The victory didn’t come without its tense moments, though, with Caitlin Steel and Jennifer Steel having to battle back from a set down in the opening tie, eventually beating Mhairi Beattie and Eva Vrhunec 6-7, 6-0, 10-4.
That helped give Newlands a 2-1 lead going into the second round, and it was from there that they dominated, winning all three rubbers to complete their mission.
The decisive moment came in the sixth rubber, as Sorcha Caves and Emma Barlow put the loss of the second set to Beattie and Vrhunec behind them to win through 7-6, 2-6, 10-5 and seal victory.
That sparked joyous scenes as the rest of the squad flooded the court to celebrate with their triumphant team-mates.
Newlands captain Jenifer Steel said: “We were disappointed to lose last year, so we’re delighted to get the win today. It was great to have so many people out watching, it was a bit of home comfort playing at Newlands, so it’s been a good day.
“This year was Emma Barlow’s first Scottish Cup Final, so it was really fitting that she won the match which got us over the line.”
Click below for all the results
Scottish Inter-Club Challenge Cup Finals Day 2026
