Wakefield PSA Preview: Ajagbe Battling Back After Injuries

The sole event on American soil this week on the Challenger Tour will be the Wakefield PSA, with the Challenger 10 level event running from Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 December.

Wakefield School in The Plains, Virginia will play host to the tournament, which has been regionally restricted on entrants due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Englishman Nathan Lake will be the top seed for the tournament, who won the T.H. Quinn Cincinnati Queen City Open earlier this year, and US No.1 Shahjahan Khan will be his nearest contender for the title.

Jamaica’s Christopher Binnie and Egyptian Aly Abou Eleinen, both members of the world’s top 100, will also be in action, while Botswana, Canada, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan will all be represented in the 16-man draw.

The Nigerian in the draw will be his nation’s No.1, Babatunde Ajagbe, who was part of their quartet at the WSF Men’s World Team Championships in Washington, D.C. back in December 2019.

Ajagbe will be the No.8 seed for the tournament, and although he has struggled recently with injuries, he believes he is getting back to his best squash, as he aims for a maiden Tour title.

“The past few months has been a bit weird and challenging due to some injuries but I’m feeling much better now. I think I am playing some of my best squash now,” Ajagbe said.

“It would feel so wonderful if I took my first win this week but [there is] no pressure at all because I know one day, it will happen.”

The 34-year-old is currently sitting at World No.152, and is his nation’s best player. Ajagbe says that Nigeria has the potential to improve in future, and so does he, in terms of his World Rankings towards the top 100.

“I am proud to be Nigerian No.1 but there are lots of good squash players in Nigeria. Squash in Nigeria is good but it could be better if the players can get sponsorship from different organisations as well as to be able to compete on tour,” he explained.

“I have been doing a lot of work with my coaches as well and working on my physical fitness. Also, I am working on playing more tournaments and doing better in these tournaments. This way, I will be able to break into the top 100 in the world.”

The event takes place from Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 December at Wakefield School in The Plains, Virginia. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: Wakefield PSA
[1] Nathan Lake (ENG) v Asyraf Azan (MAS)
Jamie Ruggiero (USA) v [8] Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR)
[5] Cameron Seth (CAN) v James Wyatt (ENG)
[WC] Lewis Anderson (ENG) v [3] Christopher Binnie (JAM)
[4] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) v Alister Walker (BOT)
Miled Zarazua (MEX) v [7] Abdul Malik Khan (PAK)
[6] Mark Broekman (ENG) v Cory McCartney (CAN)
Nicolas Serna (COL) v [2] Shahjahan Khan (USA)