Irish Open Preview: No Pressure On Gilis After Annecy Win

The biggest tournament on Challenger Tour this week will be the Cannon Kirk Irish Squash Open, which begins on Tuesday, April 19. The Challenger 30 level tournament takes place at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin, with the winners being crowned on Saturday afternoon.

The tournament, which runs for five days, will see action from Court 1 at the Fitzwilliam LTC shown live thanks to the SQUASHTV Lite production kit, which brings more action from more tournaments to the viewers.

Welshwoman Emily Whitlock will be the highest-ranked player in the tournament, with the World No.19 being the top seed for the women’s event. She will be closely followed by Belgian No.2 Tinne Gilis, who is coming off the back of her biggest victory on Tour.

Gilis was victorious at the Challenger 30 level Annecy Rose Open earlier this month, her biggest title to date. In doing so, she also defeated older sister Nele for the first time on Tour, two things she is extremely happy with.

“First of all, I’m very excited to be playing the Irish Open again as it’s always been an amazing tournament!” Gilis said.

“I’m definitely very happy to have won my biggest title in Annecy. I went there with no expectations at all as I entered that tournament because it’s my French league team and I know I was gonna have a great time there with them.

“I think because of that, I felt very relaxed throughout the whole week and ended up playing good squash especially in the final. I had a great group of people behind me so it definitely means a lot winning my biggest title so far there in front of them.

“I can’t believe I finally beat Nele for the first time! It’s always been very hard mentally playing against her. This time I had a game plan ready and tried to focus on my own squash rather than anything else.

“Usually after a game or two I lose focus, but this time I managed to keep my focus from beginning til the end. It definitely feels like a lot of weight fell off my shoulders after this win and it gave me a big confidence boost as well.”

Nele, the older of the two and the current World No.12, is the reigning champion of the Cannon Kirk Irish Squash Open. With her older sister not taking part in 2022, Tinne is hoping to keep the trophy in the family come the end of the week.

“I remember her winning this tournament last time it happened. With her not playing this tournament I’m definitely gonna give it my all to keep the trophy in the family,” the Belgian explained.

“One of my goals this year was winning a Challenger 30 level title so with my win in Annecy I can start this tournament with less pressure. Of course I’m still aiming for the title, but I’m happy that I can take some pressure of my shoulders now.”

Tinne, who reached a career high of World No.17 in April 2021, struggled through the latter part of the calendar year with injuries, and although she currently sits at World No.24, she knows her ranking will improve if her performances are good enough.

“I suffered with some injuries at the end of last year which affected my ranking a bit. After being kicked out of the top 20 I wasn’t thinking about the ranking at all anymore, I just wanted to play good squash again and enjoy my time on court,” she added.

“That’s all I’ve been doing the last couple of months and it’s been paying off. I think I’m enjoying playing squash now more than ever and it feels really good. I hope I can keep doing that and then the ranking will speak for itself.”

England’s Lucy Turmel and Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold will make up the rest of the top four seeds, while South Africa’s Alexandra Fuller will be playing at her home club, on adopted home soil in Dublin.

After going all the way to the semi-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester this weekend, England’s Patrick Rooney will be the top seed at the Fitzwilliam Club, with compatriot George Parker as the No.2 seed for the men’s competition.

Another Englishman, in Declan James, will join them amongst the seeds for the tournament, along with the French duo of Lucas Serme and Auguste Dussourd, Scotland’s Greg Lobban and Alan Clyne, and Indian Mahesh Mangaonkar.

The event takes place from Tuesday, April 19 to Saturday, April 23 at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on *Twitter* and *Facebook* for daily updates from the event.

Action from Court 1 at the Fitzwilliam LTC will be broadcast live throughout the week on *SQUASHTV*.

Men’s First Round Draw: Cannon Kirk Irish Squash Open
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) – [Bye]
Ivan Perez (ESP) v [9/16] Max Lee (HKG)
[9/16]Faraz Khan (USA) v Chi Him Wong (HKG)
[7] Alan Clyne (SCO) – [Bye]
[5] Auguste Dussourd (EGY) – [Bye]
[WC] Sam Buckley (IRL) v [9/16] Henry Leung (HKG)
[9/16] Rui Soares (POR) v Addeen Idrakie (MAS)
[3] Lucas Serme (FRA) – [Bye]
[4] Greg Lobban (SCO) – [Bye]
[WC] Sean Conroy (IRL) v [9/16] Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS)
[9/16] Ivan Yuen (MAS) v Robert Downer (ENG)
[6] Declan James (ENG) – [Bye]
[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) – [Bye]
Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) v [9/16] Rory Stewart (SCO)
[9/16] Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) v Jakub Solnicky (CZE)
[2] George Parker (ENG) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: Cannon Kirk Irish Squash Open
[1] Emily Whitlock (WAL) – [Bye]
[WC] Breanne Flynn (IRL) v [9/16] Chan Yiwen (MAS)
[9/16] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) v [WC] Hannah McGugan (IRL)
[8] Julianne Courtice (ENG) – [Bye]
[5] Anna Serme (CZE) – [Bye]
Emilia Korhonen (FIN) v [9/16] Grace Gear (ENG)
[9/16] Anna Kimberley (ENG) v Lea Barbeau (FIN)
[4] Rachel Arnold (MAS) – [Bye]
[3] Lucy Turmel (ENG) – [Bye]
Wen Li Lai (MAS) v [9/16] Alicia Mead (ENG)
[9/16] Torrie Malik (ENG) v Rana Ismail (EGY)
[6] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) – [Bye]
[7] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) – [Bye]
Saran Nghiem (ENG) v [9/16] Jessica Turnbull (AUS)
[9/16] Ali Loke (WAL) v Sofia Mateos (ESP)
[2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) – [Bye]