Challenger Events
Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Three Events In Three Continents
The Challenger Tour continues this week with three more tournaments, held across three continents around the world.
We will have action from Argentina, Nigeria and the United States over the next seven days, following on from a busy week which saw five tournaments take place.
Frenchwoman Lauren Baltayan won her first Tour title, doing so on home soil at the Open des Bretzels, while Mexican Alejandro Reyes was victorious at the Kiva Open.
On Sunday, Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei and Haya Ali took the titles at the Hyder Trophy, with both claiming their biggest Tour titles to date.
This week, the Lagos State Squash Classic returns for the first time since 2018. The Tour de las American continues with the return fo the Regatas Resistencia Open, and the Richmond Open is back, and is now a Challenger 30 level tournament, the biggest it has ever been.
This is what is taking place on Tour this week…
Lagos State Squash Classic
The first event of the week will be the Lagos State Squash Classic, which will see the Tour return to Nigeria for the first time since 2018, when this event was last held.
England’s Adrian Grant and Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy are the two winners of this tournament, and this year’s edition will feature a women’s draw for the first time.
It will be a family affair at the top of each draw. England’s Curtis and Torrie Malik will be the top seed for the Challenger 10 men’s and Challenger 5 women’s draws, respectively. Younger brother Perry will also be among the men’s seeds, with Egypt’s Mazen Gamal and the Czech Republic’s Martin Svec making up the rest of the top four.
France’s Lea Barbeau and the Egyptian duo of Malak Fathy and Mariam Ashraf will add to the international side of the women’s draw, with the other 12 players all hailing from host nation Nigeria. Babatunde Ajagbe will be the leading Nigerian male in action.
Tour De Las Americas Regatas Resistencia Open
The Regatas Resistencia Open will be the second even on this year’s Tour de las Americas, with the event taking place from Tuesday, May 9 to Saturday, May 13 in Argentina.
This will be the 11th edition of the event, with previous champions including World No.1s Diego Elias and Mostafa Asal, Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas, and most recently, Colombia’s Ronald Palomino, who won last year’s edition.
The men’s draw will be led by home favourite and Argentine No.1 Leandro Romiglio, with American Spencer Lovejoy, Germany’s Yannik Omlor and England’s Tom Walsh all inside the world’s top 100.
This year’s event will also feature a women’s draw for the first time. Dutchwoman Tessa ter Sluis will be the top seed, with Colombia’s Laura Tovar in close company. Ukrainian Alina Bushma and Egypt’s Sohaila Ismail make up the top four seeds.
Richmond Open
The biggest event of the week will be the Challenger 30 level Richmond Open, which will return for its eighth edition, when it is held from Tuesday, May 9 to Saturday, May 13.
Egypt’s Hana Moataz was the victor last year, with the likes of Rowan Elaraby and Joshna Chinappa having won this event in the past. This year’s edition will be a Challenger 30 level competition for the first time in its history.
Belgium’s Tinne Gilis will be the top seed this week in Richmond, and she will be aiming for a second title of the season after her win at the Squash On Fire Open. Egypt’s Salma Hany, Frenchwoman Melissa Alves and Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam make up the rest of the top four seeds.
Rachel Arnold, the second Malaysian, and the Egyptian trio of Nada Abbas, Hana Ramadan and Sana Ibrahim, will all be seeded. The English trio of Lucy Beecroft, Katie Malliff and Millie Tomlinson will all be in action, while wildcard Avery Park will be the lone American in the tournament.
This Week’s Schedule:
Lagos State Squash Classic: Tuesday, May 9 – Saturday, May 13
Tour De Las Americas Regatas Resistencia Open: Tuesday, May 9 – Saturday, May 13
Richmond Open: Tuesday, May 9 – Saturday, May 13
