DELHI, India – Former LSU tennis great Ken Skupski made history over the weekend when he captured two medals at the XIX Commonwealth Games held Oct 3-14 at the R. K. Khanna Tennis Complex in Dehi, India.
Skupski, the older brother of current LSU tennis junior Neal Skupski, won a silver medal in men’s doubles last Saturday and earned a bronze medal in mixed doubles on Sunday.
The medals were the first tennis medals won by Britain at the Commonwealth games, and also the first major games tennis medal since Tim Henman and Neil Broad claimed silver at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in doubles in 1996.
The Liverpool, England, native paired up with Ross Hutchins in the men’s doubles bracket. The British pair earned a semi-final victory over India’s Rohan Bopanna and Somdav Dewarman 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the gold-medal match against Paul Hanley and Peter Luczak of Australia.
Despite rallying after losing the opening set, the UK duo was unable to claim the third set, falling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to settle for silver.
“It could’ve gone either way tonight,” Skupski said in a press release. “I’m still very proud of winning the silver. I spoke to my family back home and they’re extremely proud as well. It’s a dream come true to play here and represent my country.”
Skupski and mixed doubles partner Sarah Borwell then took the court in an all-English bronze-medal match against Hutchins and Anna Smith. Skupski and Borwell dropped the first set 4-6, but won the next two 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the bronze.
“I drew on all the experiences I gained at LSU playing college tennis,” Skupski said. “I can only thank all the coaches and staff at LSU for helping me get to where I am today.”
“Ken was always a great team player,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “He has had great success since he left the program and he is a great representative of LSU.”
At LSU Skupski excelled in both singles and doubles to leave as one of the most decorated players in the history of the program. The former three-time All-American is fourth in career wins with 104 and also recorded the most doubles victories in a season at 34 with partner Mark Growcott in 2005.