Kristian Muldoon and Eilidh Franklin were crowned champions as the Bermuda Squash Championships concluded in Devonshire.

Muldoon fought from a game down to overcome D'Vario Thompson 3-1 in a gruelling men’s final, while Franklin defeated Abigail Brewer in straight sets.

Thompson took the first game 11-7, but top-seed Muldoon recovered to triumph 11-6, 11-7, 15-13 in the remaining three sets and claim his maiden title.

“I’m really stoked to win my first title as I’ve been trying to win this thing for years now,” the men’s champion told The Royal Gazette.

“It’s been a while since I won something and I was lucky this year that players like Noah Browne and Anaya Smith were not playing because it would have been challenging for me to beat them.

“A big thank you to D'Vario, and what a player he is. It was so close and could have gone either way. He came out firing in the first game and I didn’t have an answer because he’s such a powerful player.

“I had to change my strategy, play to his backhand and stay disciplined. It was a great event and a big thank you to everyone involved, the players, sponsors and the staff.”

Thompson was pleased to finish runner-up on his return to the sport after taking a sabbatical.

“I’m thrilled to get to the final,’’ the 28-year-old said. “When I saw the draw I knew it would be a tough task, I played Kristian twice this year and he’s had the upper hand but I was hoping to turn it around this time.

“I know that the crowd loved it and I hope they were entertained. I won the first one and he won the next two.

“The fourth one was neck and neck, and he just managed to close it out. I served a couple of match balls and I thought I had it in the fourth, but he fought hard to win it.”

Franklin, the 2022 champion, who could not defend her title last year because she had just given birth to her first child, applauded her opponent Brewer for providing strong competition.

“It didn’t feel like a 3-0 game, it was hard,” Franklin said. “Abby played a very solid game, she was really fit and fast.

“It was really a back-and-forth battle all the way through. It was a tough match to get through and it could have gone either way.

“The competition was really strong this year and we had a lot of new girls playing who haven’t played for years.”

In a repeat of last year’s men’s over-40 final, top seed John Fletcher defeated No 2 seed Anthony Fellowes 3-0. Howells won the women’s title by a similar scoreline over Joann Bielby, the 2023 champion.

Howells, who was playing for the first time in the over-40 competition, commended her opponent after the two faced off twice on the same night, with the other encounter coming in the quarter-final of the women’s open.

“I’m really happy to win two matches back-to-back against Joann,” she said. “It was hard playing against her since I had to do a lot of running.

“We had more women in the women’s open draw. Hopefully it will raise the profile of women’s squash and we’ll do some international competitions as well.

“I haven't played internationally for five years, and I really want to get back playing for Bermuda again.”

Bielby welcomed more competition in the age group, in which just the two of them competed.

“It was fun to play Susie and it was like playing against a younger version of myself,” Bielby said.

“I’ve won this for a couple of years and, now that Susie is in the draw, there was no hope for me because there is a nine-year difference between the two of us.

“It came down to fitness and skill. Susie’s got great skills and she was the No 2 seed in the women’s open division, so I always had a battle on my hands.”

Nick Leach retained the men’s over-50 title with a 3-0 victory over John Moss. Lisa Froud took the women’s title with a win against Terrie Morris-Greenslade.

Jan Brewer won the men’s over-60 division with a 3-0 triumph over Colin Alexandra.

In the juniors, Ethan Hunter won the combined division with a 3-2 win over McKenna Kyme. Sophie Farrer triumphed 3-1 against Taylor Kyme in the girls under-11 event, while Rian Moloney won the boys under-11, in which he played in a round-robin with Theo Usher-Jones and Zack McClure.