Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Single Event In The US

After a busy week which featured five tournaments, the Challenger Tour has just the one event this week, which will be in the United States.

Three out of the five tournaments over the last seven days also took place Stateside. Japan’s Satomi Watanabe won the biggest title of her career to date, as she claimed the win at the Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger, a victory that has seen her move into the world’s top 20 for the first time.

Elsewhere in the States, Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei won for the second time in two weeks, as he claimed the Rochester ProAm title. Another Egyptian also won in the US this week, as former World No.14 Zahed Salem claimed his first Tour title for five years, as he won the Atlanta Open.

In France, the Czech Republic’s Jakub Solnicky came through the field to win the Batch Open, defeating three of the tournament’s top five seeds en route. Meanwhile, top seeds Eain Yow Ng and Jasmine Hutton were victorious at the Cannon Kirk GillenMarkets Irish Squash Open in Dublin.

This week, there is just the one event, as the RC Pro Series returns. The Challenger 10 event was last played in 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will take place from Wednesday, April 26 to Saturday, April 29 in St Louis.

Here is what is taking place this week…

RC Pro Series
The RC Pro Series makes its return to the PSA Tour calendar this week, with the tournament being held for the first time since 2020. The event will also see the first men’s draw since 2015, and the fifth overall at the Challenger 10 level competition.

The Egyptian duo of Nour Aboulmakarim and Kenzy Ayman will lead the way in the women’s event. Compatriot Salma Eltayeb will also be in contention, while England’s Millie Tomlinson, Mexico’s Diana Garcia, Singaporean Au Yeong Wai Yhann and the Australian duo of Jessica Turnbull and Sarah Cardwell will make up the rest of the top eight seeds.

The men’s draw will be led by Mexico’s Cesar Salazar. Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas and Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio give the top end of the draw a Latin American feel, with the Malaysian trio of Addeen Idrakie, Ivan Yuen and Mohammad Syafiq Kamal all in action among the seeds.

Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei, who has already won two events in the month of April, will be aiming for a third consecutive crown with a win this week. He will be joined by compatriot Seif Shenawy among the seeds in the men’s draw.

This Week’s Schedule:
RC Pro Series: Wednesday, April 26 – Saturday, April 29