Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Four Events In Four Nations

Following on from one of the busiest weeks on the Tour, there will be four more tournaments taking place this week on the Challenger Tour. 

There were six events over the last seven days on Tour with Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez and Belgium’s Nele Gilis winning the Challenger 30 level City Tattersalls Club Australian Open, the biggest prize of the week.

Meanwhile, Hana Moataz claimed wins in back-to-back weeks with a victory at the Hamilton Open, and Rory Stewart won the Challenger 10 level PSA Bordeaux Gradignan. Marwan Tarek and Wen Li Lai were victorious at the Greenwich Open, with the English duo of Ben Smith and Katie Malliff winning the Swiss Open titles.

This week, there are four more events, with two of those taking place in Europe. The Open PSA Lagord Tennis Squash kicks off the week’s action, while the Czech Open begins a couple of days later.

In between, the QPCC Premiere PSA Squash Tournament and the Sport Central Open by Underhill Geomatics will also begin, both taking place in the Western Hemisphere.

Here is what is taking place on Tour over the next seven days…

Open PSA Lagord Tennis Squash
The opening event of the week will be the Challenger 20 level Open PSA Lagord Tennis Squash, which will take place from Tuesday, November 1 to Saturday, November 5 in France.

Lagord Tennis Squash will be the host for the tournament, where former World No.1 James Willstrop will be the top seed. The Englishman will have compatriot Declan James in close competition, along with Auguste Dussourd and Mazen Gamal making up the rest of the top four seeds.

Two of last week’s winners, in Swiss Open champion Ben Smith and Rory Stewart, the victor at the PSA Bordeaux Gradignan, will also be in action, along with players from a host of nations, including Belgium, Wales and Israel. Edwin Clain, Toufik Mekhalfi and Laszlo Godde will join Dussourd as the French contingent in action on home soil.

QPCC Premiere PSA Squash Tournament
The QPCC Premiere PSA Squash Tournament will be just the second tournament of the year to be held in the Caribbean, with action coming from Trinidad and Tobago from Thursday afternoon.

Colombia’s Andres Herrera will be the tournament’s top seed, and he will come into the event off the back of reaching the final of the Greenwich Open on Sunday. Canada’s Cory McCartney will be his nearest competitor by seeding, with New Zealand’s Elijah Thomas and World Junior Champion Rowan Damming making up the rest of the top four seeds.

Another Kiwi, in Anthony Lepper, will be among the eight seeds for the competition, with England’s Noah Meredith, Mexico’s Carlos Vargas and Frenchman Maceo Levy also in that mark. Six home hopes will be in action, with Colin Rasmara, Seth Thong, Zachary Loquan, Brandon de Montrichard, Joel Augustine and Nicholas Lequay featuring.

Sport Central Open by Underhill Geomatics
Sport Central in Richmond, Canada will play host to the Sport Central Open by Underhill Geomatics this week, with the tournament being held from Thursday, November 3 to Sunday, November 6.

Mexico’s Alfredo Avila will look to add to his ever-growing tall of Challenger Tour titles this week. He will be the top seed for the Challenger 5 level competition, with compatriot Alejandro Reyes, Canadian Connor Turk and England’s Perry Malik as the nearest contention.

Another pair of Canadians featuring on home soil, in Salah Eltorgman and Liam Marrison, will be in action this week, among the top eight seeds. They will be joined in that bracket by Argentinian Jeremias Azana and Mexico’s Miled Zarazua.

Czech Open
The final event of the week will be the Czech Open, which will take place from Thursday, November 3 to Monday, November 7 at the Centrum Viktoria in Brno, Czech Republic. The event will feature a Challenger 30 level men’s draw and a Challenger 3 level women’s competition.

Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller and German No.1 Raphael Kandra will lead the way in a stacked men’s draw, which feature nine players ranked inside the top 50 in the World Rankings. The Egyptian duo of Omar Mosaad and Karim El Hammamy, along with England’s George Parker and Nathan Lake will all be in action.

Dutch No.1 Tessa ter Sluis will be the top seed for the women’s event with Torrie Malik, fresh off the back of being crowned British National Junior Champion in Sheffield this week, as her nearest competition. Alison Thomson and Anastasiia Kostiukova will make up the rest of the top four seeds.

This Week’s Schedule:
Open PSA Lagord Tennis Squash: Tuesday, November 1 – Saturday, November 5
QPCC Premiere PSA Squash Tournament: Tuesday, November 1 – Saturday, November 5
Sport Central Open by Underhill Geomatics: Thursday, November 3 – Sunday, November 6
Czech Open: Thursday, November 3 – Monday, November 7