Odense Open 2024: Preview & How to Watch Live

Egyptian duo Mohamad Zakaria and Nardine Garas headline the entry lists for the Odense Open 2024, which kicks off today (Tuesday March 5) at the Squash Center Danmark. 

The event is one of the few tournaments on the Challenger Tour calendar to be played predominantly on a glass court, with matches being played across five days this week. 

Rounds one and two will be split across the glass court and court No.5, with all matches from the quarter-finals onwards on the glass court. You can watch all the matches from the glass court live on the Odense Squash Club YouTube channel, starting today from 2pm local time (1pm GMT).

Joining 16-year-old star Zakaria among the men’s seeds will be Spain’s Ivan Perez at No.2, fresh from his win on home soil at the PSA Club Euro Sport last week.

England’s Declan James is also among the seeds at No.7, as he continues his climb back up the rankings following an achilles injury, while Moustafa Elsirty – who beat James in the final of the Ipswich Sports Club Challenger Cup a couple of weeks ago – will be in first-round action. 

Elsirty – a former World No.22 – has been pulled out in the top quarter of the draw, setting up the potential for a tantalising second-round clash between himself and Zakaria, should he get past Baptiste Bouin in round one. 

In-form Alasdair Prott – who beat Elsirty on his way to the Poznan final last week – is also in the hat, taking on Spain’s Nilo Vidal in round one. 

Danish interest in the men’s draw will rest solely with the three wildcard players, Theis Houlberg, Kristian de Silva and Marcus Søby Jepsen, all of whom will play their round-one matches on the glass court. 

Two of the three women’s wildcards are also Danish players, with Caroline Lyng and Laura Lauridsen joining Sweden’s Lovisa Ronge in those three slots. 

Meanwhile, the highest-ranked Danish player on show will be Odense resident Klara Møller, the World No.124 who has reached the final of two Satellite events already in 2024. 

The 22-year-old will undoubtedly have home support on her side as she kicks off her quest for glory against Spain’s Sofía Mateos, in day one’s penultimate match on the glass court. 

Møller’s reward for victory would be a second-round clash with top seed Garas, one of six Egyptian players in the women’s draw. 

She’s joined by Amina El Rihany, Habiba Hani, Nour Megahed, Ingy Hammouda and 16-year-old Nadien Elhammamy, with Cairo-based French prodigy Lauren Baltayan also in action.

Baltayan, the No.3 seed who has reached at least the semi-finals in three of her last four Challenger Tour events, was beaten by Elhammamy in both the Les Elles de l’Est final and the British Junior Open semi-final earlier this season, though the pair would only meet here should both players reach the final.

You can watch live coverage of the glass-court action at the Odense Open on the Odense Squash Club YouTube channel all week long. 

We will also be on site at the event, providing coverage across the PSA Challenger Tour social channels and the PSA website throughout the tournament.