Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Six Events Across Five Countries

It’s going to be another busy week on the Challenger Tour, with six events being held in five different nations this week.

It follows on from a week where just the one event took place, as England’s Charlie Lee was victorious at the Guilfoyle PSA Squash Classic in Toronto, Canada.

This week starts with the 2nd Bangamata International Squash Tournament presented by SA Group and the Odense Open, with both competitions beginning on Tuesday, March 7.

The Calgary CFO Consulting Services PSA Women’s Squash Week begins a day later in Canada, before both the SNS Foods PSA Poznan Open and the B&R Open begin on Thursday. Friday sees the start of the week’s last tournament, the University of the West of England Bristol Open.

Here is what is taking place in a busy week on the Challenger Tour…

2nd Bangamata International Squash Tournament presented by SA Group
The first event on the Challenegr Tour this week will be the 2nd Bangamata International Squash Tournament presented by SA Group, which will take place from Tuesday, March 7 to Saturday March 11.

The Challenger 5 level men’s competition will take place at the Chittagong Club in Chattogram, Bangladesh and will feature a 32-strong draw with ten Bangladeshis in action on home soil.

The Egyptian duo of Ibrahim Elkabbani and Seif Shenawy will be the top two seeds for the competition, with Malaysia’s Darren Rahul Pragasam, Kuwait’s Ammar Altamimi, India’s Sandeep Ramachandran and Sri Lankan No.1 Ravindu Laksiri all in the draw.

Odense Open
The first of two events to feature both a men’s and women’s draw this week will be the Odense Open. The Odense Squash Club will play host to the Challenger 10 level tournament from Tuesday, March 7 to Saturday, March 11.

Defending champion Balazs Farkas will be the top seed for the men’s competition, with Portuguese No.1 Rui Soares, Scotsman Rory Stewart and Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas all in action.

Switzerland’s Cindy Merlo will be the top seed for the women’s event, with compatriot Nadia Pfister, Finnish No.1 Emilia Soini and Spain’s Marta Dominguez Fernandez making up the rest of the top four seeds.

In total, six Danish players will be in action on home soil. Klara Moller, Caroline Lyng and Sarah Lauridsen will feature in the women’s draw, with Theis Houlberg, Marcus Soby Jepsen and Joacim Jepsen featuring in the men’s event.

Calgary CFO Consulting Services PSA Women’s Squash Week
The biggest event of the week will be the Challenger 20 level Calgary CFO Consulting Services PSA Women’s Squash Week, which will take place at the Calgary Winer Club in Canada.

The event which kicks off on Wednesday, March 8, will feature five of the world’s top 50. Englands Lucy Turmel will be the top seed for the women’s tournament, with home favourite Danielle Letourneau looking to continue her return from injury.

Hong Kong’s Tomato Ho and Tsz-Wing Tong, along with Englishwoman Lucy Beecroft, will be the other members of the world’s top 50 in action. Two more English players, in millie Tomlinson and Katie Malliff will also be among those seeded, with Maddison Laine being the tournament’s wildcard, and the second Canadian in action.

SNS Foods PSA Poznan Open
The 11Punkt Squash Klub will play host to the SNS Foods PSA Poznan Open this week, with the Challenger 3 level men’s tournament being played from Thursday, March 9 to Saturday, March 11.

Reigning World Junior Champion Rowan Damming will be the top seed for the men’s competition, with England’s Robert Downer, Scotland’s Alasdair Prott and the Spanish duo of Marc Lopez and Nilo Vidal among those seeded.

The Polish duo of Dariusz Filipowski and Filip Jarota will be the top players in the unseeded bracket, with Tomasz Matejski as the third Pole in action, and he will be the tournament wildcard.

The B&R Open
The Badminton & Racquet Club in Toronto will play host to the B&R Open this week. The Challenger 10 level competition will be held from Thursday, March 9 to Sunday, March 12.

Four Americans will be among the top eight seeds for the competition. Faraz Khan will be the top seed, with Timothy Brownell, Andrew Douglas and Christopher Gordon also seeded for the tournament.

After winning the Guilfoyle Squash Classic at the weekend, England’s Charlie Lee will be aiming for back-to-back wins on Canadian soil. He will also be seeded, along with Hong Kong’s Tsz Kwan Lau, Canada’s David Baillargeon and Argentinian Leandro Romiglio.

University of the West of England Bristol Open
The last tournament of the week will be the University of the West of England Bristol Open, which will take place from Friday, March 10 to Sunday, March 12 in the English city.

England’s Anna Kimberley will be the top seed in the women’s competition, with compatriots Asia Harris, Kiera Marshall and Polly Clark all in the top eight seeds. Malaysian Yasshmita Jadishkumar, Scotland’s Alison Thomson, Finland’s Emilia Korhonen and Welshwoman Lowri Roberts will also be in that bracket.

The men’s event will also have a bulk of English players in the seeds. James Peach will be the top seed, with Finnlay Withington, Perry Malik, Miles Jenkins and Stuart MacGregor all in action. New Zealand’s Temwa Chileshe, Welshman Elliot Morris Devred and Irish No.1 Sam Buckley will also be seeded.

This Week’s Schedule:
2nd Bangamata International Squash Tournament presented by SA Group: Tuesday, March 7 – Saturday, March 11
Odense Open: Tuesday, March 7 – Saturday, March 11
Calgary CFO Consulting Services PSA Women’s Squash Week: Wednesday, March 8 – Sunday, March 12
SNS Foods PSA Poznan Open: Thursday, March 9 – Saturday, March 11
The B&R Open: Thursday, March 9 – Sunday, March 12
University of the West of England Bristol Open: Friday, March 10 – Sunday, March 12