Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Five Events In Bumper Week

The Challenger Tour continues with a bumper week of action, with five tournaments starting in five countries, along with the two events that started last week which also come to a conclusion.

The Torneo Profesional Mexicano de Squash and the CIB Egyptian Challenger Tour 2 both continue into this week. Action from Mexico City ends on Monday, while the Wadi Degla Club in Maadi plays host until Wednesday.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the five tournaments which begin this week all have restricted entries, with action coming from Colombia, England, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland.

Scottish Circuit Event

The first event of the week gets underway on Monday in Edinburgh with the Challenger 5 level Scottish Circuit Event being held at Scottish Squash Oriam at Heriot-Wyatt University.

The event, which is only available to those currently based in Scotland, sees World No.91 Rory Stewart as the top seed, with the likes of Fergus Richards, Alasdair Prott and Chris Leiper all challenging the Scottish No.3.

Colombian Open
The biggest tournament of the week is the Challenger 10 level Colombian Open, which takes place from Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 August at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento Cancha de Squash in Bogota.

The tournament allows regional entrants, meaning those from across the Americas are allowed to participate. USA’s Christopher Gordon will be the top seed, with Canada’s David Baillargeon, and the Colombian duo of Edgar Ramirez Bautista and Ronald Palomino all in action.

AS Insurance Services Ltd NM Academy Open
Another week, another event in England, with the AS Insurance Services Ltd NM Academy Open taking place at the Hallamshire Tennis and Squash Club from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 August.

The Scottish duo of Alison Thomson and Georgia Adderley will headline the women’s draw, with Alicia Mead, Grace Gear and Lucy Beecroft also in action. Connor Sheen, Nick Wall, Harry Falconer and Stuart MacGregor lead the way in the men’s draw.

Elan Vital Open
Monchengladbach, Germany plays host to a Challenger Tour event this week, with the Challenger 5 level Elan Vital Open being played across the weekend.

Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais tops the draw at the tournament, which has allowed regional entrants. Germany’s Yannik Omlor and Czech Republic’s Ondrej Uherka will aim to challenger, while Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are also represented.

Squash Eredivisie – Speelronde 6
The third event to take place over the weekend will take place in the Netherlands, as Frans Otten Stadium hosts it’s second tournament of 2021, in the Squash Eredivisie – Speelronde 6.

The Challenger 3 level event will feature seven nationalities, four of which occupy the top four seeds. Czech Republic’s Martin Svec, Dutch No.1 Roshan Bharos, Belgium’s Joeri Hapers and Zimbabwean Blessing Muhwati will all be aiming for glory.

This Week’s Schedule
Scottish Circuit Event: Monday 16 – Wednesday 18 August
Colombian Open: Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 August
AS Insurance Services Ltd NM Academy Open: Friday 20 – Sunday 22 August
Elan Vital Open: Friday 20 – Sunday 22 August
Squash Eredivisie – Speelronde 6: Friday 20 – Sunday 22 August