Challenger Events
Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Walid & Heikal Headline Edmonton, Hinckley Hosts 3K
There are two events on the PSA Challenger Tour this week, separated by 4,000 miles and the North Atlantic Ocean.
The Bee-Clean Edmonton Squash Club Women’s Open 2024
The first event to kick off this week is the Bee-Clean Edmonton Squash Club Women’s Open, a 9K women’s tournament in Alberta, Canada.
20-year-old Egyptian duo Nour Heikal and Menna Walid are the top two seeds, and will go into the event as the favourites as the only players inside the world’s top 70.
Both players have enjoyed relative success of late, too, with Walid – the World No.66 – winning the Squash On Fire Open Wild Card Challenge before reaching the last eight of the subsequent Squash On Fire Open.
Heikal, meanwhile, upset both the No.1 and No.5 seeds on her way to the semi-finals of the 20K Calgary CFO Consulting Services PSA Women’s Squash Week as an unseeded player last week, her third straight semi-final appearance.
Elsewhere in the draw, Ireland’s Hannah Craig and England’s Kiera Marshall are the No.3 and 4 seeds respectively, with Marshall currently sitting at a career-high ranking of No.96 in the world.
Elise Romba and Lea Barbeau head up strong French interest, with Ana Munos and Taba Taghavi also involved, while home hopes will rest primarily with teenager Iman Shaheen.
The 2023 Canadian Junior Open champion is celebrating her 19th birthday today, and will get the tournament underway against Anam Mustafa Aziz in the first match of day one, with Walid awaiting the winner in round two.
The Aldi Hinckley Challenger 2024
Elijah Thomas tops the field at The Aldi Hinckley Challenger, a men’s 3K event taking place midway between Birmingham and Leicester.
The New Zealander is the No.1 seed and is one of two Kiwis in action at Hinckley this week, alongside Joel Arscott.
Arscott is the No.4 seed and the pair will meet in the semi-finals should both get that fair, though both have tricky draws.
Thomas is in the same quarter as rising star Rhys Evans, who has climbed almost 40 places in the last month, while Arscott’s quarter-final opponent would be Ronald Palomino, should results follow the seedings.
Palomino is the No.5 seed but is actually the second-highest ranked player in the competition, after winning the University of the West of England The Bristol Open last weekend.
The Colombian has a career-high ranking of No.70 in the world and is continuing to rise back up the rankings after missing much of 2023 through injury.
In the bottom half of the draw, Hafiz Zhafri is the No.2 seed, while Jared Carter will be hoping to continue his good form.
The 22-year-old has finished as runner-up in three of his last four events, moving him up to a career-high ranking of No.176 in the world, and will begin his quest for glory here in round two, against either Paul Broadberry or Jamie Carmichael.
The Aldi Hinckley Challenger will stream live on the SQUASHTV Live Streaming YouTube channel.
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You can stay up to date with all the results on the PSA Challenger Tour here.
