Challenger Events
Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Home Hopes High in Hong Kong
There are two tournaments on the PSA Challenger Tour this week, a 3K territory event in Brno, Czech Republic, and a 9k in Hong Kong.
Read our previews of both competitions below.
Hong Kong Squash PSA Challenge Cup 2024 – 2nd Leg
A host of top-100 players will be in action at the Hong Kong Squash PSA Challenge Cup 2024 – 2nd Leg, which takes place at the Hong Kong Sports Institute.
The men’s draw is topped by Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei, a five-time winner on the PSA Tour who currently sits at No.70 in the world.
Just below him in the seedings is the highest-ranked home player, Tang Ming Hong, who will be hoping to go one better than in the Hong Kong Squash PSA Challenge Cup – 1st Leg a few weeks ago, when he finished as runner-up to compatriot Wong Chi Him.
Wong is once again in the draw here too, this time as the No.6 seed, and the pair could face off in the semi-finals should both get that far, having been placed in the same half of the draw.
To do so, Wong will likely have to get past fourth seed Mohammad Syafiq Kamal in the quarter-finals, should the Malaysian avoid an upset in round two, where he will play either Andes Ling or wild card Tommy Tam.
The women’s draw also features both the winner and runner-up from the 1st Leg in January, with runner-up Cheng Nga Ching the No.1 seed, while champion Toby Tse is at No.7.
Among the other names to watch out for will be talented Egyptian pair Habiba Hani and Jana Swaify, as well as recent Oceana Junior Championships winner Madison Lyon.
18-year-old Hani has only played two Challenger Tour events to date, but reached the final of both, winning the 12k SACC Costa Rica Open, while Swaify – still just 16 years of age – reached the semi-finals of the British Junior Open in a few weeks ago.
Australia’s Lyon, meanwhile, will be hoping to kickstart a breakout year on the senior tour in 2024, after winning the Australian Junior Open as well as the Oceana title in 2023.
Brno Open
Home players dominate the field at the Brno Open, with the No.1 seeds in both the men’s and women’s draws hailing from the Czech Republic.
World No.75 Martin Svec is the top seed in the men’s draw, hoping to win his third career Tour title.
The 29-year-old last won a Challenger Tour event in 2021, claiming the Squash Eredvisie – Speelronde 6, but will fancy his chances of ending that trophy drought here, as the only player inside the top 100.
Fellow Czech players Daniel Mekbib and Jakub Solnicky are the No.2 and 3 seeds respectively, with New Zealand’s Anthony Lepper at No.4.
There are no first-round byes in this event, with the men’s first-round matches taking place on day one.
The women’s event will then begin on day two, with both the first round and quarter-finals scheduled to happen in one day, sandwiching the men’s quarter-finals in between.
Tamara Holzbauerová is the women’s top seed, targeting a first ever PSA Tour title, while Serbia’s Jelena Dutina is the No.2.
The third seed is 17-year-old Sofi Zrazhevska of Poland, who made a splash on her Challenger Tour debut at the Czech Open in November, beating Holzbauerová in round one before knocking out former World No.38 Anna Serme in round two, on her way to the semi-finals.
She followed that up by winning the 2023 Polish Junior Open, and will begin her quest for glory here against another Czech player in Tereza Zdubova.
Stay tuned across the PSA Tour website and Challenger Tour social channels throughout the week for updates from both events.
