Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Events in Japan and Mexico

There are two more tournaments on the Challenger Tour this week to end the month of May, with action coming from Yokohama in Japan, and from the Mexican capital, Mexico City.

These two events will run alongside the ongoing QSF 3, which will come to its conclusion on Tuesday, May 24 in Doha, Qatar, and the upcoming Platinum level El Gouna International, which gets underway on Friday, May 27.

Over the last week, New Zealand’s Lana Harrison claimed her maiden victory with a win at the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open, while compatriot Lwamba Chileshe doubled up after his win in Panmure seven days previously, winning the same event at North Shore Squash Club. The NTA Squash Classic was the other tournament of the week, with England’s Curtis Malik and Lucy Beecroft reigning supreme.

This week, the Tour features events in both Japan and Mexico. First up will be the 2nd Squash Inn Classic – Sponsored by Faltami in Mexico City, with the Dynam Cup PSA SQ-Cube Open beginning a day later in Yokohama.

Here is what is coming up this week on Tour…

2nd Squash Inn Classic – Sponsored by Faltami
The first of the two tournaments this week on Tour is the 2nd Squash Inn Classic – Sponsored by Faltami, which will take place from Thursday, May 26 to Sunday, May 29 at the Squash Inn Club in Mexico City.

A trio of home favourites, in Alejandro Reyes, Miled Zarazua and Allan Nunez will lead the way in terms of seeding for the Challenger 3 level tournament, with Guatemala’s Alejandro Enriquez making up the rest of the top four seeds for the event.

Egypt’s Karim Elbarbary, Colombian Andres Villamizar and Englishman Chris Fuller join another home hope in Rodolfo Vega in making up the top eight seeds, with another Englishman in Nick Sutcliffe also in the draw for the competition.

Dynam Cup PSA SQ-Cube Open
The Yokohama Squash Stadium SQ-Cube will play host to the Dynam Cup PSA SQ-Cube Open this week, with action from the Challenger 5 and 3 level draws beginning on Friday, May 27, and running through to the weekend to Sunday, May 29.

Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei will be the top seed for the men’s Challenger 5 level tournament, with Pakistani Nasir Iqbal, Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Indian Sandeep Ramachandran making up the top four seeds. Ryunosuke Tsukue, the No.5 seed will be the leading Japanese player in action.

Hong Kong’s Cheng Nga Ching and Ching Hei Fung will join Japan’s Satomi Watanabe and Akari Midorikawa as the top four seeds in the women’s draw, with Egypt, Malaysia and the Philippines also represented.

This Week’s Schedule:
2nd Squash Inn Classic – Sponsored by Faltami: Thursday, May 26 to Sunday, May 29
Dynam Cup PSA SQ-Cube Open” Friday, May 27 to Sunday, May 29