ILKLEY/STARNBERG, June 15, 2026
Yunchaokete Bu continued his outstanding run on grass by defeating Jacob Fearnley from Great Britain to win the singles title at the Lexus Ilkley Open.
The 24-year-old Chinese produced another confident display, overcoming the No. 5 seed of the ATP Challenger 125 event 6-3, 7-6(1) to complete a remarkable two-week stretch on grass courts.
After a rainy week in Ilkley but under the clear skies in West Yorkshire on Sunday afternoon, Bu sent down eight aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in one hour and 39 minutes.
Simply unstoppable 😎
Yunchaokete Bu defeats Fearnley 6-3, 7-6(1) to become the fourth player since 2000 to win grass titles in back-to-back weeks#ATPChallenger | 🇬🇧 Ilkley pic.twitter.com/ztew5Lh9Vb
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) June 14, 2026
Bu’s triumph in Ilkley comes just one week after lifting the trophy at the Lexus Birmingham Open, making it back-to-back grass-court titles for the Xinjiang native. He claimed his fifth ATP Challenger Tour career title and earned €30,460 in prize money as well as 125 ATP Ranking. The success has propelled him to world No. 107.
“I’m really happy with my performances over these last two weeks,” Bu said during his on-court speech. “I’m really enjoying the grass court season this year.
“He’s (Fearnley) a very tough opponent, congrats to you this week – you’ve had an amazing week. I wish you all the best for the rest of the season.”
With consecutive titles in Birmingham and Ilkley, Bu becomes only the fourth player since 2000 to win grass-court tournaments in successive weeks. He joins a select group that includes Andy Murray, who won Surbiton and Nottingham in 2023, and Dan Evans, who achieved the same feat in 2019.
