Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Action in France, Netherlands and the USA

After a week which only finished one tournament, the Challenger Tour sees three events this week, with two of those being played in Europe.

Malaysia’s Ainaa Amani won her second Tour title at the Vikram Goyal SRFI Open, as she went back-to-back after her maiden victory a couple of weeks previously.

This week, the action begins in the United States, with the UCNY PSA Classic beginning on Monday, April 10. There are then two events in Europe, with the BRESS Breda Open and PSA de Normandie rounding out the week.

Take a look at what is happening on Tour this week here…

UCNY PSA Classic
The first event of the week will take place in New York, with the UCNY Classic being played from Monday, April 10 to Thursday, April 13.

The Challenger 5 level competition will be played at the University Club of New York, which was one of several venues for the early rounds of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in January.

Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei and Aly Hussein will be the top two seeds for the competition, with the Pakistani duo of Noor Zaman and Muhammad Ashab Irfan making up the rest of the top four seeds.

BRESS Breda Open
The first of two events taking place on European soil will be the BRESS Breda Open, which will return to the calendar after it’s first edition in 2022.

This year’s event will take place from Wednesday, April 12 to Sunday, April 16, and will feature a women’s draw for the first time. Dutch No.1 Tessa ter Sluis will be the top seed on home soil, with France’s Taba Taghavi, Egypt’s Haya Ali and Irish No.1 Breanne Flynn as her main competitors for the title.

Switzerland’s Robin Gadola will be the top seed for the men’s event. Welshman Elliott Morris Devred, the Czech Republic’s Jakub Solnicky and Irishman Sam Buckley will be in the top four seeds. Buckley finished runner-up at this event last year to England’s Ben Smith in the final.

PSA de Normandie
The last tournament of the week will be the PSA de Normandie, which will feature a Challenger 3 level men’s and women’s draw at the Art Sport Cafe in Le Havre, France.

The event, which takes place from Thursday, April 13 to Sunday, April 16, will see reigning World Junior Champion Rowan Damming lead the way in the men’s draw. Toufik Mekhalfi will be the leading home hope, with Sri Lankan No.1 Ravindu Laksiri and the Czech Republic’s Ondrej Vorlicek in the top four seeds.

Denmark’s Caroline Lyng will be the women’s top seed, with two of the top three hailing from host nation France. Lauren Baltayan, who had her first taste of Tour action at the Back Ball Open earlier this year, and Ella Galova will lead the French hopes in the tournament.

This Week’s Schedule
UCNY PSA Classic: Monday, April 10 – Thursday, April 13
BRESS Breda Open: Wednesday, April 12 – Sunday, April 16
PSA de Normandie: Thursday, April 13 – Sunday, April 16