Nash Cup Preview: Beecroft Aiming To Defend Crown

The Nash Cup, one of the stalwart events on the Challenger Tour, gets underway on Tuesday, September 13, with the Challenger 20 level competition taking place over five days at the London Squash Club in Ontario, Canada.

England’s Nathan Lake will be the highest-ranked player in the tournament, with the World No.38 heading up a strong men’s draw. Hong Kong’s Henry Leung, Canadian No.1 David Baillargeon and Mexico’s Arturo Salazar, who already has two titles to his name over the course of the summer months, will make up the rest of the top four seeds.

The American duo of Christopher Gordon and Timothy Brownell, the latter of whom claimed the title at the Sam Aguiar Louisville Open on Saturday afternoon, will be seeded, while there will be seven other Canadian men in the draw, joining Baillargeon, as home hopes for the title.

Latvian No.1 Ineta Mackevica will be the top seed in the women’s draw, with the United States’ Haley Mendez as her nearest competition for the title. England’s Lucy Beecroft and Scotland’s Georgia Adderley join them in the top four seeding bracket, and we spoke to the Englishwoman before the competition.

Beecroft will be the defending champion for the women’s tournament, and despite losing out in the opening round in Houston last week, she is happy with where her game is ahead of the defence of her 2021 title.

“I had a really good end to last season, winning my second Challenger 10 level title and reaching the final of both the British Nationals and the World Games,” she explained. 

“I was very disappointed with my performance at the Zed Open in August, especially after having a great block of training before it and feeling good about my game. My performance last week in Houston, despite losing, had patches of really good squash, it just has to become a lot more consistent now to compete with the top girls.

“It was exciting to get into my first PSA Gold event and it was also my first time in Texas. It’s great to see what they are doing for squash there, and to see the game growing in a different part of the country. I was looking forward to playing Jazz again after our last match being in the nationals final. I was much happier with my performance last week despite Jazz still coming out on top, there were definitely positives to take from the match and I will look to build on these throughout the season.”

Beecroft took what, at the time, was her biggest career title to date when she lifted the Nash Cup in 2021, and the Englishwoman admits that it was one of the high points of her season. She also says that she is aiming to go back-to-back, and claim the win again now it is a Challenger 20 level crown.

“The Nash Cup was a highlight of last season for me, being my first 10k title and feeling like I put together some really good back to back performances. Winning this event gave me confidence and helped my ranking to allow me to get into some of the bigger events,” the Englishwoman explained.

“Defending the title is definitely something that I’d love to do next week. Last year the event was a Challenger 10 and this year it’s a Challenger 20, so it’s a great challenge for me. I’m excited to get back to London and I’m sure it’s going to be a great event. Last year was a little different because of some COVID restrictions, so I’m sure this year will be even better!”

Poland’s Karina Tyma, Spain’s Marta Dominguez Fernandez, Scotland’s Alison Thomson and USA’s Marina Stefanoni make up the rest of the top eight seeding bracket, with a trio of Canadians, in Nikki Todd, Iman Shaheen and Amal Izhar also in action on the opening day in London.

The event takes place from Tuesday, September 13 to Saturday, September 17 at the London Squash Club in Ontario, Canada, where Lucy Beecroft will be the defending champion for the women’s event. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

Action from London will be streamed throughout the week on the PSA Challenger Tour YouTube channel, where you can watch Challenger Tour action, and interviews with rising stars.

Men’s First Round Draw: Nash Cup
[1] Nathan Lake (ENG) – [Bye]
Valentin Rapp (GER) v [9/16] Yannik Omlor (GER)
[9/16] Michael McCue (CAN) v Mark Broekman (ENG)
[7] Christopher Binnie (JAM) – [Bye]
[5] Timothy Brownell (USA) – [Bye]
Connor Turk (CAN) v [9/16] Daniel Mekbib (CZE)
[9/16] Edmon Lopez (ESP) v Salah Eltorgman (CAN)
[4] Arturo Salazar (MEX) – [Bye]
[3] David Baillargeon (CAN) – [Bye]
[WC] Matthew Henderson (CAN) v [9/16] Andrew Douglas (USA)
[9/16] Alfredo Avila (MEX) v [WC] Liam Marrison (CAN)
[8] Curtis Malik (ENG) – [Bye]
[6] Leandro Romiglio (ARG) – [Bye]
Guilherme Melo (BRA) v [9/16] Shawn DeLierre (CAN)
[9/16] Nick Sachvie (CAN) v Diego Gobbi (BRA)
[2] Henry Leung (HKG) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: Nash Cup
[1] Ineta Mackevica (LAT) – [Bye]
Laura Tovar (COL) v [9/16] Zeina Zein (EGY)
[9/16] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) v [WC] Amal Izhar (CAN)
[7] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) – [Bye]
[8] Alison Thomson (SCO) – [Bye]
Lucie Stefanoni (USA) v [9/16] Torrie Malik (ENG)
[9/16] Diana Garcia (MEX) v Margot Prow (ENG)
[3] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) – [Bye]
[4] Georgia Adderley (SCO) – [Bye]
Katerina Tycova (GER) v [9/16] Ali Loke (WAL)
[9/16] Anna Kimberley (ENG) v [WC] Iman Shaheen (CAN)
[5] Marina Stefanoni (USA) – [Bye]
[6] Karina Tyma (POL) – [Bye]
Sofia Mateos (ESP) v [9/16] Ambre Allinckx (SUI)
[9/16] Alicia Mead (ENG) v Nikki Todd (CAN)
[2] Haley Mendez (USA) – [Bye]