Paul Drinkhall will go in search of a record-breaking 16th Men’s Doubles title at the Mark Bates Ltd Senior National Championships this month.

Partnering Sam Walker, the pair will aim to defend their title at the David Ross Sports Village over the weekend of 21-22 March – and we today reveal the draws for all the doubles competitions.

If Drinkhall & Walker succeed, it would be a 16th title in the discipline for Drinkhall, which would break the record of 15 he currently shares with Des Douglas.

Drinkhall won his first title alongside Alan Cooke in 2006, before winning in the three subsequent years with Darius Knight. He then teamed up with Liam Pitchford, winning their first title in 2013 – the start of five successive triumphs.

After winning alongside David McBeath in 2018 – the England athletes were trialling new combinations ahead of that year’s Commonwealth Games – Drinkhall returned to partner Pitchford to two more wins in 2019 and 2020, and another in 2023, taking their joint total to eight, a record for one pair.

In the last two seasons, he has teamed up with Walker, and last year’s victory over Tom Jarvis & David McBeath was the record-equalling mark for Drinkhall.

They begin their quest for the title, which would be a fourth Men’s Doubles crown for Walker, in the first round against Gabriel Schogger & Howard Onweng.

They are due to meet Joseph Hunter & Larry Trumpauskas, who they beat in the 2024 final, in the semi-finals, with second seeds Tom Jarvis & Connor Green the final opponents if it all goes to seeding.

There will be a new combination engraved on the trophy in the Women’s Doubles, as Tianer Yu & Mari Baldwin have not entered. Tin-Tin Ho is of course a multiple champion, alongside Maria Tsaptsinos and Emily Bolton, and she this year teams up with Sophie Earley, who was a beaten finalist with Eva Eccles last year.

They are top seeds and will meet the winners of the preliminary round tie between Mia Lakhani & Anna Piercey and Holly Holder & Sally Hughes.

Second seeds Ella Pashley & Sienna Jetha face Rachael Iles & Rebecca Savage or Saskia Key & Stefania Popa.

Connor & Anna Green start the defence of their Mixed Doubles against Gabriel Schogger & Eva Eccles and are seeded to meet second seeds Joseph Hunter & Sophie Earley in the semi-finals. Hunter was a beaten finalist alongside Tianer Yu last season and he & Earley start against Isaac Kingham & Mabel Shute.

Tom seeds Sam Walker & Tin-Tin Ho have won this title five times together and as far back as 2014. They start against Joe Marlor & Saskia Key. The other seeded pair in the top half are Chris Doran & Mari Baldwin and they start against Marcel Ndongala & Mari Baldwin.

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