Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Five Events, Trio In The US

There are five tournaments taking place on the Challenger Tour this week, with three of those being held in the United States.

There were three events last week on the Tour, with five winners being crowned. Wales’ Lowri Roberts and Egypt’s Haya Ali both secured their maiden Tour titles, with the Welshwoman taking the PSA de Normandie victory alongside Finland’s Miko Aijanen.

Ali was victorious at the BRESS Breda Open, winning her first tournament. She was joined in the winner’s circle in the Netherlands by India’s Velavan Senthilkumar, while Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei won the UCNY PSA Classic in New York City.

The five events this week will take place across three nations. The two European events will take place from Tuesday, April 18 to Saturday, April 22, with the three events being held in the USA starting and finishing a day later.

The Batch Open will be held in France, while the Cannon Kirk Irish Squash Open will return to the calendar, being played in Dublin. The three American events will be the Atlanta Open, Rochester ProAm and the Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30k Challenger, the biggest of the five tournaments taking place this week.

Here is what is taking place on the Tour this week…

Batch Open
The opening competition of the week’s play will be the Batch Open, which will begin in Paris on Tuesday, April 18. The Society Sportive du Jeu de Paume will host the tournament, which will be a Challenger 5 level men’s draw.

New Zealand’s Lwamba Chileshe will be the top seed for the event, with younger brother Temwa as part of the 9/16 seeding bracket. Spaniard Ivan Perez and Frenchman Edwin Clain, the leading home hope, will be the other members of the world’s top 100 in action.

Czech Republic’s Daniel Mekbib, Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi, Welshman Owain Taylor, England’s James Peach and South African No.1 Dewald van Niekerk will make up the rest of the top eight seeds. 

Cannon Kirk GillenMarkets Irish Squash Open
The Cannon Kirk GillenMarkets Irish Squash Open returns in 2023, and as a Challenger 20 level competition which will feature both a men’s and women’s draw at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin, Ireland.

England’s Jasmine Hutton will be the top seed for the women’s draw, with Malaysia’s Aifa Azman, South African Alexandra Fuller and Egypt’s Fayrouz Aboelkheir as the top four seeds. The Fitzwilliam Club is Fuller’s adopted home, and she will have the crowd behind her throughout the event.

Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng will lead the way in the men’s event. The World No.21 will face competition from Mexican No.1 Leonel Cardenas, US No.1 Shahjahan Khan and Egypt’s Aly Abou Eleinen for the title. In total, there will be four Irish players featuring on home soil this week in Dublin.

Atlanta Open
The Concourse Athletic Club plays host to the Atlanta Open once again, with this week’s Challenger 10 level competition running from Wednesday, April 19 to Sunday, April 23 in the American city.

Canadian David Baillargeon will be the top seed, with the USA’s Timothy Brownell, now at a career-high of World No.46, as the highest-ranked player in the draw. Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas and Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio make up an all-Americas quartet.

A second American, in Christopher Gordon is also among the top eight seeds, joining the Malaysian duo of Addeen Idrakie and Ivan Yuen, the latter of which qualified for the PSA World Championships last week. Egypt’s Zahed Salem, the former World No.14, will also be seeded.

Rochester ProAm
The Rochester ProAm returns once again, with the Challenger 5 level event being held from Wednesday, April 19 to Sunday, April 23 at the University of Rochester in the United States.

After a win in New York last week, Yassin Elshafei will come into this competition full of confidence. He will be the top seed, and will be joined by fellow Egyptians Aly Hussein, Mohamed Nabil and Mohamed Nasser among the top eight seeds.

Argentina’s Jeremias Azana, Brazil’s Diego Gobbi and the Canadian duo of Connor Turk and Liam Marrison make up the rest of the eight seeds for the event. Hollis Robertson, who made his Tour debut at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions as a wildcard earlier this year, will feature for the first time on the Challenger Tour, and as the highest-ranked American in action on home soil.

Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger
The biggest event of the week will be the Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger, with eight members of the world’s top 50 featuring at the Challenger 30 level competition in Florida, United States.

Egypt’s Farida Mohamed will be the tournament’s top seed, with compatriots Jana Shiha and Hana Moataz also among the eight seeded players. Welshwoman Emily Whitlock and Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe, along with the Malaysian duo of Sivasangari Subramaniam and Rachel Arnold, will also be seeded.

Canadian Nicole Bunyan will be the No.8 seed, and the leading player from North America in action. She will be joined by Anna Shumway, who will be one of two wildcards for the tournament, along with Irishwoman Hannah Craig.

This Week’s Schedule:
Batch Open: Tuesday, April 18 – Saturday, April 22
Cannon Kirk GillenMarkets Irish Squash Open: Tuesday, April 18 – Saturday, April 22
Atlanta Open: Wednesday, April 19 – Sunday, April 23
Rochester ProAm: Wednesday, April 19 – Sunday, April 23
Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger: Wednesday, April 19 – Sunday, April 23