Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Events In Australia and the Americas

After four consecutive weeks of the Tour only seeing one event a week, there will be three tournaments taking place on the Challenger Tour over the coming seven days, with action from both Australia and the Americas. 

Last week’s sole competition was the Bremer Schlussel, which came to its conclusion on Friday afternoon at the ULC Sportwelt in Bremen, Germany. Egypt’s Aly Abou Eleinen took the title, beating Viktor Byrtus to claim his maiden victory on the Tour.

This week, the action will start in Australia, with the Costa North Coast Open beginning on Wednesday, August 17. There will also be two events in the Western Hemisphere, with the JK Windsor Open and the Torneo Profesional Mexicano de Squash both starting on Thursday, August 18.

Here is what is coming up on the Tour over the next week…

Costa North Coast Open
The first event of the week will be the Costa North Coast Open, which will take place from Wednesday, August 17 to Sunday, August 21 at the Coffs Harbour Squash & Swim Centre in Coffs Harbour, Australia.

World No.39 Chan Sin Yuk will be the top seed for the women’s event at the Challenger 10 level competition, with England’s Grace Gear, Egypt’s Nadeen Kotb and compatriot Cheng Nga Ching joined by the Australian quartet of Sarah Cardwell, Alex Haydon, Jessica Turnbull and Rachael Grinham among the top eight seeds.

Hong Kong’s Henry Leung joins Yuk as the men’s top seed, with Pakistan’s Muhammad Asim Khan, Malaysia’s Addeen Idrakie and New Zealand’s Lwamba Chileshe making up the rest of the top four seeds. Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi and Robin Gadola will be the only Europeans in the 24-strong men’s draw.

JK Windsor Open
The Challenger 5 level JK Windsor Open will be the first of two tournaments taking place in North America this week, with the Devonshire Mall in Windsor, Canada playing host to the women’s competition from Thursday, August 18 to Sunday, August 21.

Home hope Nikki Todd will be the top seed for the tournament, with Mexico’s Diana Garcia as the nearest contender in terms of seeding. Colombia’s Laura Tovar, USA’a Arisha Khan and Japan’s Erisa Sano Herring will add more nationalities to the top eight seeds.

Torneo Profesional Mexicano de Squash
The final event of the week will be the Torneo Profesional Mexicano de Squash, which will also take place from Thursday, August 18 to Sunday, August 21. The men’s Challenger 5 level competition will be held at the Pro Squash Polanco in the Ciudad de Mexico.

Home favourites Arturo Salazar and Alfredo Avila, who faced off in two finals in July, will be the top two seeds, joined by Brazilian Guilherme Melo and Guatemalan Alejandro Enriquez among the top four seeds for the competition.

This Week’s Schedule:
Costa North Coast Open: Wednesday, August 17 – Sunday, August 21
JK Windsor Open: Thursday, August 18 – Sunday, August 21
Torneo Profesional Mexicano de Squash: Thursday, August 18 – Sunday, August 21