Challenger Events
Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: 200+ Players on Show in Busy Week of Action
It’s a busy week on the Challenger Tour, with 208 players in action across six events. Read on below to see our preview of the next seven days.
Cannon Kirk Gillen Markets Irish Squash Open 2024
Kicking off proceedings is one of two 20k tournaments taking place this week, the Cannon Kirk Gillen Markets Irish Squash Open.
Taking place at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin, the competition features a star-studded entry list in both the men’s and women’s draws.
On the men’s side, English duo Nick Wall and George Parker are the top two seeds, but there is intrigue throughout the draw.
Former World No.1 and squash legend James Willstrop is in first-round action, as are Jonah Bryant and Mohamad Zakaria, two of the most exciting young talents in world squash, while the in-form Declan James is also in the hunt for more glory.
In the women’s draw, Egypt’s Nada Abbas and Wales’ Emily Whitlock – runner-up here in 2022 – are the top two seeds, while long-time English rivals Torrie Malik and Asia Harris could face off in the quarter-finals.
Ireland’s Hannah Craig is one of five Irish players in the field, joining wildcards Breanne Flynn and Hannah McGugan in the women’s draw, plus Sam Buckley and Sean Conroy in the men’s.
Stay tuned to the PSA website and Challenger Tour social media channels for an in-depth preview of the Irish Open, including details of where to watch the action live.
Hamdard Squashters Northern Slam 2024
More than 4,000 miles away, Anahat Singh returns to Challenger Tour action at the Hamdard Squashters Northern Slam.
The 16-year-old sensation – already an Indian national champion – has played only one Challenger Tour event so far this season as she continues to combine playing with her studies, but’s back in action as the No.1 seed in her hometown of Delhi.
A runner-up at this year’s British Junior Open, Singh claimed the trophy in her only previous outing on Tour this year, and tops a women’s entry list here that features 19 Indian players.
The men’s draw is similarly dominated by home hopefuls, though top seed Ravinda Laksiri of Sri Lanka will be out to spoil the party.
IQUW Bermuda Open 2024
Fresh from securing his place at the CIB PSA World Championships, Spencer Lovejoy will look to continue his fine form as the men’s No.1 seed at the IQUW Bermuda Open.
The young American is playing just his second Challenger Tour event of 2024, but goes into this as one of three top-100 players in the men’s draw – Sanjay Jeeva and Seif El-Shenawy being the others.
In the women’s draw, World No.55 Ineta Hopton is the No.1 seed, but could hardly have asked for a tougher first-round draw, with Margot Prow standing in her way.
The 22-year-old lefty is ranked 181 in the world, but recently made history by becoming the first player from Barbados to win a PSA Tour title, and will be eyeing a round-one upset here.
Batch Open
India’s Velavan Senthilkumar tops the seedings at the Batch Open in Paris, as he returns to the Challenger Tour for the first time in 2024.
The 26-year-old won four Challenger Tour titles in 2023, the joint-most of any men’s player, but has played exclusively on the World Tour so far in 2024.
He now makes his return to this level as the No.1 seed in a tournament featuring several top-100 players, plus some of Europe’s brightest prospects.
Among them is 18-year-old Melvil Scianimanico, who was part of the French team that won gold at the recent European U19 Championships, and will be hoping to make a splash in this event, with the final set to take place on his 19th birthday.
Expression St. James Women’s 20k 2024
The second 20k to take place this week is the Expression St. James Women’s 20k, where Farida Mohamed will be targeting more glory.
The Egyptian World No.17 won the 20k Expression Network LLC Kinetic Racquet Women’s Squash a few weeks ago, and will fancy her chances of clinching a second straight title as the No.1 seed here.
Fellow Egyptians Menna Hamed and Nardine Garas are the No.2 and 3 seeds, while England’s Saran Nghiem will be targeting another deep run from the seventh seeding, after picking up her biggest PSA Tour title so far at the 15k RC Pro Series presented by Telcoin a few days ago.
Rochester ProAm 2024
Rounding out the week is the Rochester ProAm 2024, where in-form Egyptian Kareem El Torkey is the top seed.
The 19-year-old reached the semi-finals of the Liverpool Cricket Club Open a few weeks ago, and then fell agonisingly short of qualifying for the World Championships, losing a fifth-game tiebreak to Moustafa Elsirty in the African Qualifying event final.
He will look to go one better on US soil, though, as the only player inside the top 100 in the draw.
Pakistan’s Muhammad Ashab Irfan and Austrian veteren Aqeel Rehman are the No.2 and 3 seeds, with Mohamed Nabil the highest-ranked US player on display.
Stay tuned across the PSA website and Challenger Tour social channels throughout the week for updates from all six events.
