Randburg Open Preview: Roux On The Brink Of First Title

The PaybyFace Randburg Open gets underway on Wednesday, October 19 in South Africa. The Challenger 5 level tournament will feature both a men’s and women’s draw.

The French duo of Edwin Clain and Toufik Mekhalfi will lead the men’s draw, with the South African pair of Dewald van Niekerk and Jean-Pierre Brits making up the rest of the top four seeds. Another pair of Frenchman, in Laszlo Godde and Paul Gonzalez, will be in the top eight seeds for the competition. Nigerian Adegoke Onaopemipo and Egypt’s Seif Nasser will also be in that bracket.

In total, there will be twelve South Africans featuring on home soil in the men’s draw, with 2019 WSF World Team Championships member Gary Wheadon among them. Tristen Worth, Ruan Olivier and Damian Groenewald will also be in action on home soil.

Like the men’s draw, the women’s event will also be led by a French player. Elise Romba will be the top seed, and she will be joined by compatriots Kara Lincou and Lilou Brevard-Belliot in the top eight seeds. Egypt’s Nour Megahed and Ukraine’s Anastasiia Kostiukova, along with the South African trio of Teagan Leigh Roux, Cheyna Wood and Jenny Preece, round out the top eight.

We spoke to Roux prior to the tournament, and the World No.182 believes that she is edging closer to her maiden Tour title after making the final of the Assore/Balwin Johannesburg Open in her last outing.

“I have been training extremely hard and I am trusting that all the hard training will pay off in this upcoming tournament. I believe that I am playing very well and have made leaps of progress in the last while,” Roux explained.

“I have learnt that each day is a new day and just because you played well in a previous match doesn’t mean you must just expect things to come easy in all matches. 

“You need to focus on each match individually and realise that you have to win the match, no opponent is just going to give it to you. Everyone wants to win so you always need to make sure that you are ready and well prepared for every single match.

“It felt very good to make it to the final, obviously I did want to win it but I came up against an extremely tough opponent in Cheyna Wood. I feel that I am right on the brink of taking my first title. I have been putting in all the effort and doing all the preparation so I believe that the results are coming soon.”

Roux is aiming to follow in the footsteps of South African No.1 Alexandra Fuller, who moved up to a career-high on Monday. To learn from the new World No.24, along with a host of other compatriots, is key for Roux as she continues to improve.

“Alex Fuller is such an amazing player and getting to see someone from South Africa make it so high in the World Rankings is inspiring and makes me believe that I can also do it,” she explained. 

“There is so much to learn from a player like her and it is just amazing to have someone like her to try and follow in the steps of.  We also have players like Cheyna Wood who reached a high of World No.60 and I have the opportunity of getting to train with her quite a lot and receive a lot of guidance and mentorship from her which has been extremely amazing and helpful.

“We also have Lizelle Muller here in South Africa. She entered the PSA scene very late but she is extremely talented and has won quite a few Challenger Tour titles and quite a lot of PSA Satellite events. She has also helped me see what it takes to be at the top. She has also offered a lot of insight and guidance for me to take forward into the upcoming tournaments and matches.”

Roux is currently the World No.182, but has been as high as World No.125 in her short career so far. She knows that consistency is key for her to move up the rankings once again.

“I need to become more consistent in my performances and just learn to control the nerves before big games so that I can ensure that my performance is at its peak,” she explained. 

“We also need more PSA tournaments in South Africa to help us reach these higher rankings. I am hoping to be consistent in winning the tournaments in South Africa and then taking the step to play more and more tournaments in other countries. I am very passionate and determined to get my PSA ranking much higher.”

The event takes place from Wednesday, October 19 to Sunday, October 23 across two venues in Johannesburg. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

Men’s First Round Draw: PaybyFace Randburg Open
[1] Edwin Clain (FRA) – [Bye]
Nathanael Ndebele (RSA) v [9/16] Hayden Worth (RSA)
[9/16] Shamil Wakeel (SRI) v Tertius de Bruin (RSA)
[8] Paul Gonzalez (FRA) – [Bye]
[5] Adegoke Onaopemipo (NGR) – [Bye]
Jonty Matthys (RSA) v [9/16] Yusuf Elsherif (EGY)
[9/16] Abdelrahman Abdelkhalek (EGY) v Diodivine Mkhize (RSA)
[3] Dewald van Niekerk (RSA) – [Bye]
[4] Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) – [Bye]
Gary Wheadon (RSA) v [9/16] Ruan Olivier (RSA)
[9/16] Damian Groenewald (RSA) v Youssef Matta (EGY)
[7] Laszlo Godde (FRA) – [Bye]
[6] Seif Nasser (EGY) – [Bye]
Muhammad Essa (PAK) v [9/16] Tristen Worth (RSA)
[9/16] Moeen Ud Din (PAK) v Gerard Mitchell (RSA)
[2] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: PaybyFace Randburg Open
[1] Elise Romba (FRA) – [Bye]
Megan Shannon (RSA) v [9/16] Kimberley McDonald (RSA)
[9/16] Shahd Elrefaey (EGY) v Awande Malinga (RSA)
[6] Teagan Leigh Roux (RSA) – [Bye]
[5] Lilou Brevard-Belliot (FRA) – [Bye]
Angie Clifton-Parks (RSA) v [9/16] Jess McDonald (RSA)
[9/16] Shelomi Truter (RSA) v Bongi Seroto (RSA)
[3] Anastasiia Kostiukova (UKR) – [Bye]
[4] Kara Lincou (FRA) – [Bye]
Nadia Dippenaar (RSA) v [9/16] Helena Coetzee (RSA)
[9/16] Mariska Wiese (RSA) v Alexa Pienaar (RSA)
[8] Chenya Wood (RSA) – [Bye]
[7] Jenny Preece (RSA) – [Bye]
Favour Utukpe (NGR) v [9/16] Noor Ul Ain Ijaz (PAK)
[9/16] Nour Khafagy (EGY) v Jordan Campbell (RSA)
[2] Nour Megahed (EGY) – [Bye]