CSC Delaware Open Preview: Pelaez Returns After Three Years

The CSC Delaware Open is one of two tournaments on the Challenger Tour this week, and Colombia’s Catalina Pelaez will be returning after three years.

The Challenger 10 level competition will see 16 women battle it out for the title at the Vicmead Hunt Club in Wilmington, DE, United States from Thursday, February 23 to Sunday, February 26. 

Pelaez will be the tournament’s wildcard, with the Colombian making her first appearance on Tour in almost three years, playing for the first time since the Tour’s COVID-19 enforced suspension in March 2020. Unsurprisingly, she is looking forward to getting back out on to court competitively once more.

“I am very excited to finally be back on tour. I am really looking forward to play competitive squash again, feel the adrenaline and hopefully be able to play without pain. I have missed so much the life of a pro squash player and I want to get back to it,” she explained.

“I am grateful with Ray Chan-A-Sue, who contacted me to see if I wanted to wildcard for his tournament. I have played his tournament in Delaware four times in the past, so I am happy that this will be my first tournament back. It’s a small club with great people and host families that brings back a lot of good memories. 

“I am really just hoping to be able to play good squash, enjoy it and see what happens. I know I am at my 100% level yet, but I think this is a good start and it will give me confidence and strength to start over.”

The last time the Colombian featured on Tour was at the Queen City Open in March 2020, one of the very last events held prior to the Tour’s enforced six-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Obviously, that changed things for Pelaez, as it did for a lot of other players on Tour. Since then, the 31-year-old has got engaged, and will get married this year, but it also gave her a bit more time to deal with a long-term injury problem.

“At the end of 2015, my left knee started to bother me. It wasn’t all the time, but then with the years it kept getting worse. After a tough match, I wasn’t able to go up or down the stairs normal and then I wasn’t able to train the next day,” she admitted. 

“In 2017, it was pretty bad, so I took 4 months off to do physiotherapy, but it wasn’t helping much. Eventually it got a bit better and at the end of 2018 I started working on my mind a lot with the help of Maxim Weithers. 

“2019 was a great year. I was able to push myself in training, play tournaments and do well. I was feeling well and started 2020 training in Prague and playing a tournament in Finland. And when pandemic hit, I was in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada at a PSA event [the aforementioned Queen City Open].

“During COVID-19, I trained a lot in my mom’s apartment and outside when the government started to let people work out outside, but it was not the same as moving inside a squash court. 

“In 2021 when finally I started running outside more with my coach and some teammates, my knee started to bother again a bit, so I started to bike instead of run. Then on court my knee didn’t feel normal and it was hurting again. Since the Tour had not started fully yet for all countries, I decided to take some time off court, do physiotherapy and strengthening so I could start 2022 healthy. 

“[At the] beginning of 2022, I had to play a qualifying event for Team Colombia, but my knee did not respond well. It became very swollen and it hurt so after that I decided to take another MRI and see the doctor. The cartilage under my patella was very worn out. 

“From December 2021 to February 2022 it had worn from 10mm to 17mm. So I ended up having surgery on March 12, 2022. During surgery, apart from the cartilage being worn out, there was an area that had no cartilage at all, so the doctor made two perforations to create a bleeding and to create a scar tissue to help with the pain.”

With all those injury issues hopefully behind her, the Colombian can now try and focus on becoming her country’s leading player once more. That won’t be easy, though, with Laura Tovar now a solid member of the world’s top 100. Making it back to her career-high of Wold No.56 is one of Pelaez’s goals for the future.

“I am looking forward to training hard, being able to get back and hopefully achieve a better ranking than my best one yet of World No.56. I am also working hard to get back to Colombian No.1 and to represent my country again.”

Pelaez will face off against Malaysia’s Chan Yiwen in the opening round of the tournament, facing off against the draw’s No.6 seed for the first time in their careers.

World No.44 Ka Yi Lee will be the leading woman in the draw, with the Egyptian duo of Kenzy Ayman and Rana Ismail and Australia’s Sarah Cardwell, the runner-up at this event in 2017, among the top four seeds. A second Malaysian, in Xin Ying Yee, along with India’s Akanksha Salunkhe and Polish No.1 Karina Tyma, who will feature on Tour for the first time in four months, will be in the top eight seeds.

Mexico’s Diana Garcia, fresh off winning the Expression Networks BVAC Women’s Open last week in Calgary, will be aiming for her third win of the year already. Former World No.5 Low Wee Wern will also feature, along with Singaporean No.1 Au Yeong Wai Yhann and New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts.

The event takes place from Thursday, February 23 to Sunday, February 26 at the Vicmead Hunt Club in Wilmington, DE. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: CSC Delaware Open
[1] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) v Menna Nasser (EGY)
[WC] Catalina Pelaez (COL) v [6] Chan Yiwen (MAS)
[7] Karina Tyma (POL) v Low Wee Wern (MAS)
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) v [4] Rana Ismail (EGY)
[3] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) v Wen Li Lai (MAS)
Alex Haydon (AUS) v [8] Xin Ying Yee (MAS)
[5] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) v Diana Garcia (MEX)
Au Yeong Wai Yhann (SGP) v [2] Kenzy Ayman (EGY)