It is likely that, at the very end of their international careers, Gregory Mairs and Jenny Mairs stumbled upon a truth that had evaded them all along.

In six previous campaigns at the YONEX All England, the mixed doubles duo hadn’t won a round in the mixed doubles main draw. Now, having announced their retirement before the YONEX All England 2025, it was if they’d slipped on an invincible cloak.

“What is going on?!” asked Gregory Mairs as he walked into the mixed zone after their second successive win, a quarterfinals spot at their last international appearance coming via a 21-19 21-16 result over Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong/Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat. Cheering them on were fans with banners of ‘Badminton Insight’ — their YouTube channel that has built up a sizeable following worldwide.

It was the manner of their victories – their uninhibited play — that has stood out. After years of heartache at the All England, their final appearance has seen them go furthest in the tournament they hold so dear.

Rather than let the occasion get to them, they were soaring on the crowd’s energy. What explained this?

Greg Mairs paused at the question.

“To be honest, I think… maybe the crowd has helped… and I think it’s put off our opponents?”

Jenny offered: ”I don’t know, I think in the last few years there’s always been a great crowd here. But I think knowing now like we’ve got fans in the crowd with big ‘Badminton Insight’ banners and knowing that that crowd is there for us really does push on so much and I think that’s what makes it extra special.”

What was odd, Greg surmised, was that they weren’t playing significantly better, but ”just those crucial points that sometimes a match can be won or lost by, they’ve just gone our way. Like so many line calls that were just far out… it’s almost like… fate. It’s meant to be.”

Then Jenny nailed it. It was, she said, the focus away from results and outcomes that was working in their favour. All along, they had been constrained by thoughts of what the results would entail.

“I think in the past maybe we would have been, like maybe 16-14 or something in that second game and probably what was going on in our minds was thinking of the ranking points — if we win this, etcetera etcetera, and all the tournaments we could then get into, but as you know it’s our last tournament, so now we’re not thinking about those things, we’re just trying to have fun and enjoy every rally, so I think that might make the difference.”

Greg: “We should have ignored ranking points and results and just had fun.”

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