Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Events in France and the USA

The Challenger Tour continues this week with two more tournaments, taking place in France and the United States, along with the conclusion of two events which started at the weekend.

The two events that continue to run into this week will be in the United States and in Kuwait. The GWC Squash House Challenger will see Marina Stefanoni and Laura Tovar will do battle in the final of the Challenger 5 level competition on Monday. Meanwhile, the 1st Kuwait International Squash Championship is as the quarter final stage of the event.

This week, the Challenger 30 level Cleveland Skating Club Open, one of the biggest events on the Tour, will take place once again. L’International des Mirabelles will be the other event on Tour this week, with both kicking off on Thursday, September 29.

Here is what is taking place on Tour this week…

L’International des Mirabelles

The first of two events on Tour this week will be L’International des Mirabelles, which will take place at Squash Le Reve in Nancy, France, from Thursday, September 29 to Sunday, October 2.

The Challenger 3 level competition will feature both a men’s and women’s draw, with World No.102 Yannik Omlor being the men’s top seed, and the tournament’s highest ranked player. Compatriot Yannick Wilhelmi, along with England’s Robert Downer and Ireland’s Sam Buckley, will be among the top four seeds. 

Spaniard Sofia Mateos will be the top seed for the women’s competition, with Scotland’s Katriona Allen, Denmark’s Klara Moller and England’s Katie Wells in close company in the World Rankings. Asia Harris and Kiera Marshall will make it three Englishwomen inside the top eight seeds.

There will also be four Frenchwomen in action on home soil, with Nino Lemarchand, Ella Galova, Elise Romba and Ana Munos all in action. Edwin Clain and Laouenan Loaec will be the two home hopes in the men’s draw in Nancy this week.

Cleveland Skating Club Open

Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng will be the top seed for the tournament, with England’s Adrian Waller as his nearest competitor. The Englishman will also be the defending champion for the tournament, after he defeated Mohamed ElSherbini in a five-game battle in last year’s final.

Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais, England’s Nathan Lake, Swiss No.2 Dimitri Steinmann, Pakistan’s Muhammad Asim Khan and the Mexican duo of Leonel Cardenas and Arturo Salazar will make up the rest of the top eight seeds.

Timothy Brownell will be the leading American on home soil, with Christopher Gordon also among the 9/16 seeding bracket for the tournament. Spencer Lovejoy, Andrew Douglas and the wildcard duo of Dillon Huang and Maxwell Orr, both of whom will be featuring for the first time on Tour, will take up the rest of the American representation.

This Week’s Schedule:
L’International des Mirabelles: Thursday, September 29 – Sunday, October 2
Cleveland Skating Club Open: Thursday, September 29 – Monday, October 3