Central Open Whanganui Preview: Ratcliffe Aiming for Consistency

The Central Open PSA – Whanganui is one of two tournaments taking place on the Challenger Tour this week, with the action taking place from Thursday, June 16 to Saturday, June 18 at the Whanganui Squash Club in New Zealand.

16 players will be aiming for glory in the men’s Challenger 5 level competition, the third to held in New Zealand in the last month, following on from the Barfoot & Thompson Panmure Open and the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open which both took place in May.

The Central Open PSA – Whanganui will feature a 16-man field that hails mainly from the host nation, with brothers Lwamba and Tewma Chileshe, who met in the finals of both the aforementioned events last month, as the top two seeds once again.

They will be joined by Evan Williams and William Donnelly in the top four seeds, with the top eight bing filled by compatriots Anthony Lepper, Zac Millar, Mason Smales and Glenn Templeton.

There will be just two non-Kiwis in the field for the Challenger 5 level tournament, with Scotland’s Tino Antonio Mackay Palacios and Australian Benjamin Ratcliffe both in action. We spoke to the Aussie prior to the event, and he is aiming to bring more consistency into his game.

“I feel like I’m not playing my best or most consistent. I’ve never been terribly consistent to be honest, as I do drift in and out of focus most often during important moments of matches which is mildly frustrating for myself,” Ratcliffe admitted.

“[It is] definitely important playing consistently on tour as there is no substitute for the real thing, which has obviously been challenge the last few years. Being based in Melbourne we did have a good training group to make the most of our exemptions during lockdown periods, and I am very thankful to have been able to train through the entirety.”

Despite being the only Australian in the field for this week’s event, the World No.302 will feel no extra pressure, and he will also be hoping that the upcoming run of events, both in New Zealand and Australia, can help to boost his ranking position.

“I’m not feeling any extra pressure being the only Aussie in the draw as I almost feel like a Kiwi with having so much family over here, if anything more pressure is coming from local tournaments being the only international in the draws,” he explained.

“This run of tournaments will absolutely be helpful to boost my ranking, although its not in the forefront of my mind, it’s the old cliché that I just want to get out there play well, enjoy myself and hopefully make it worth the watch for the people coming along to support the event in Whanganui.”

The event takes place from Thursday, June 16 to Saturday, June 18 at the Whanganui Squash Club in New Zealand. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on *Twitter* and *Facebook* for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: Central Open PSA – Whanganui
[1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) v Elijah Thomas (NZL)
Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) v [7] Mason Smales (NZL)
[6] Zac Millar (NZL) v Oliver Dunbar (NZL)
Michael Shelton Agar (NZL) v [4] William Donnelly (NZL)
[3] Evan Williams (NZL) v Joe Smythe (NZL)
Chris van der Salm (NZL) v [8] Glenn Templeton (NZL)
[5] Anthony Lepper (NZL) v Tino Antonio Mackay Palacios (SCO)
[WC] Allan Bailey (NZL) v [2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL)