Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Stefanoni Leads Home Hopes in Florida; Laksiri Seeking Indore Glory

There are three events on the Challenger Tour this week, with a pair of 3k tournaments preceding a women’s 30k competition in Florida. 

Read on below to see our preview of the week ahead. 

HCL Squash Tour – Indore 2024 

Kicking off the week is the HCL Squash Tour – Indore, where Ravindu Laksiri will hope to make it fourth time lucky in his quest for glory. 

The Sri Lankan has been the No.1 seed in each of his last three Challenger Tour events, only to be beaten in the final of all three, and he once again tops the entry list here. 

India’s Rahul Baitha – who beat Laksiri 3-2 in the first of those three finals – is the No.2 seed, but Laksiri will be glad to see an entry list without Suraj Kumar Chand, who beat him in the other two finals. 

Instead, Laksiri is joined among the seeds by fellow Sri Lankans Shamil Wakeel, Nevindu Lakman and Tuwin Nilakshana Herathm, with India duo Om Semwal and Vedant Patel joining Kuwait’s Athbi Hamad to make up the rest of the top eight. 

The women’s draw, meanwhile, is headlined by Chennai’s Rathika Suthanthira Seelan, while 16-year-old Malak Samir will be hoping to claim her first Tour title from the No.2 seeding. 

The young Egyptian is playing just her third Challenger Tour event and is one of two non-Indian players in the draw, but comes into the event having won a Satellite competition in March.

The only other overseas player is third seed Sri Lanka’s Yeheni Kuruppu, who is also playing at this level for the third time in her career. 

Clube de Campo Figueiras Porto Ferreira Squash Open 2024 

Almost 9,000 miles away, the Clube de Campo Figueiras Porto Ferreira Squash Open gets underway in Brazil, where Francesco Marcantonio will be targeting a second successive title. 

The Paraguyuan claimed the ECP Open trophy last week – his first on the Challenger Tour – and will be confident of claiming another crown here as the No.2 seed. 

He’s sandwiched in the seedings between a pair of home hopefuls, with Brazilian duo Pedro Mometto and Rhuan Sousa at No.1 and No.3.  

The pair have been placed in the same half of the draw meaning they would meet in the semi-finals, should both players get that far, while Marcantonio’s semi-final opponent would be another Brazilian in fourth seed Guilherme Melo, should results follow the seedings. 

Expression Network LLC Kinetic Racquet Women’s 30k 2024 

The final event of the week, in a somewhat unusual occurrence, kicks off on a Sunday, as the Expression Network LLC Kinetic Racquet Women’s 30k takes place in Florida. 

A women’s-only event, the entry list boasts an exciting mix of World Tour stars and exciting prospects, with 16 top 100-players in action. 

Wales’ Emily Whitlock is the top seed, with England’s Jasmine Hutton and French No.1 Melissa Alves at No.2 and 3 respectively, with all three players currently inside the world’s top 30. 

Marina Stefanoni heads up home interest as the No.5 seed, leading a US contingent that also features teenagers Riya Navani and Madison Ho, two of the most exciting young stars of the women’s game. 

Ho is still only 17 years of age and has a wildcard for this event, with Ireland’s Hannah Craig her first-round opponent and No.6 seed Torrie Malik awaiting in round two. 

Enora Villard and Nour Heikal make up the remainder of the seeds – at No.4 and 8 respectively – and will meet in the quarter-finals should both win in round two. 

Stay tuned to the PSA website later in the week for an in-depth preview of the Expression Network LLC Kinetic Racquet Women’s 30k. 

 We will also be on site providing coverage of the event throughout the week across the PSA Challenger Tour social media channels.  

You can stay up to date with all the results on the Challenger Tour here.