PSA Cognac: Tournament Preview

The first of two European events taking place this week will be the PSA Cognac, which will take place from Wednesday, November 23 to Sunday, November 27 at Squash Cognac La Belle Allee in France.

The Challenger 5 level tournament will feature both a men’s and women’s event, with the Egyptian duo of Men Hamed and Nadeen Kotb leading the way in the latter of the two draws.

They will be joined by Japan’s Akari Midorikawa, Switzerland’s Celine Walser, Malaysian Yassmita Jadishkumar and Scotland’s Katriona Allen, along with the leading two Frenchwomen in the draw, in Lea Barbeau and Taba Taghavi.

In total, a third of the 24-woman draw will be featuring on home soil, with the likes of Ana Munos, Ninon Lemardchand and Kara Lincou in action, along with wildcard Rose Lucas Marcuzzo. Egypt’s Sarah Soudan and Portugal’s Catarina Nunes will be the draw’s other two wildcards.

Spaniard Ivan Perez will be the top seed in the men’s event, with Swiss No.3 Yannick Wilhelmi as the other member of the world’s top 100 in action. Austrian No.1 Aqeel Rehman and Germany’s Valentin Rapp will be in the top four seeds for the competition.

Egypt’s Mohamed Nasser and Abdallah Elmasry, along with the Czech Republic’s Ondrej Vorlicek and the leading Frenchman in the draw, Toufik Mekhalfi, will also be seeded for this week’s men’s Challenger 5 level event.

The event takes place from Wednesday, November 23 to Sunday, November 27 at Squash Cognac La Belle Allee. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

Men’s First Round Draw: PSA Cognac
[1] Ivan Perez (ESP) – [Bye]
[9/16] William Donnelly (NZL) v Lowie Delbeke (BEL)
[9/16] Laouenan Loaec (FRA) v Pablo Dolz (ESP)
[5] Mohamed Nasser (EGY) – [Bye]
[7] Ondrej Vorlicek (CZE) – [Bye]
[WC] Brice Nicolas (FRA) v [9/16] Maceo Levy (FRA)
[9/16] Nils Roesch (SUI) v [WC] Aron Astray (ESP)
[4] Valentin Rapp (GER) – [Bye]
[3] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) – [Bye]
[WC] Robertino Pezzota (ARG) v [9/16] Anthony Lepper (NZL)
[9/16] Manu Paquemar (FRA) v Vinicius Leao Rodrigues (BRA)
[6] Abdallah Elmasry (EGY) – [Bye]
[8] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) – [Bye]
[WC] Titouan Isambard (FRA) v [9/16] Finnlay Withington (ENG)
[9/16] Noah Meredith (ENG) v Baptiste Bouin (FRA)
[2] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: PSA Cognac
[1] Menna Hamed (EGY) – [Bye]
Isabel McCullough (ENG) v [9/16] Ana Munos (FRA)
[9/16] Ella Galova (FRA) v Sabrina Belliot (FRA)
[6] Lea Barbeau (FRA) – [Bye]
[5] Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) – [Bye]
[WC] Sarah Soudan (EGY) v [9/16] Sofia Aveiro Pita (POR)
[9/16] Sanne Veldkamp (NED) v [WC] Maria Fernanda Rivera (MEX)
[3] Akari Midorikawa (JPN) – [Bye]
[4] Celine Walser (SUI) – [Bye]
[WC] Catarina Nunes (POR) v [9/16] Ninon Lemarchand (FRA)
[9/16] Kara Lincou (FRA) v Kincso Szasz (HUN)
[7] Katriona Allen (SCO) – [Bye]
[8] Taba Taghavi (FRA) – [Bye]
[WC] Rose Lucas Marcuzzo (FRA) v [9/16] Ingy Hammouda (EGY)
[9/16] Ambre Allinckx (SUI) v Lilou Brevard-Belliot (FRA)
[2] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) – [Bye]