Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Four Events, Four Continents

The Challenger Tour spreads its wings far and wide this week, with four events taking place across the next seven days in four continents, from South America to Oceania.

Last week, three events came to a conclusion, with Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi taking victory on home soil at the QSF 3, while Alejandro Enriquez then took his maiden title at the 2nd Squash Inn Classic – Sponsored By Faltami. The Dynam Cup PSA SQ-Cube Open crowns were taken by home favourites Satomi Watanabe and Ryunosuke Tsukue.

This week, the four tournaments on Tour range across four continents, starting with the PSA Regatas Resistencia Open on Tuesday, May 31. The PSA Anyospark then gets underway a day later, with the Tour returning to South Africa on Thursday.

The Assore/Balwin Johannesburg Open kicks off on June 2, with the HydroBlasting Kalgoorlie Golden Open being the final event of the week, starting on Friday, June 3.

Here is what takes place this week on the Challenger Tour…

PSA Regatas Resistencia Open – 10th Edition
The first event of the week will be the PSA Regatas Resistencia Open, the tenth edition of the tournament, and one that will see a Challenger 10 level men’s draw play out at the Club Regatas Resistencia in Argentina over the course of five days.

Colombia’s Ronald Palomino will be the top seed for the competition, with compatriot Edgar Ramirez Bautista also among the top four seeds. Germany’s Valentin Rapp and Brazilian No.1 Guilherme Melo will also be among the contenders for the title.

PSA Anyospark
Club Esportiu Anyos Park plays host to the PSA Anyospark this week, a Challenger 5 level tournament which will take place from Wednesday, June 1 to Sunday, June 5.

The English duo of Robert Downer and Curtis Malik, along with Spain’s Ivan Perez and Welshman Emyr Evans, will make up the top four seeds for the competition, while Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio will also be a contender for the title this week.

Assore/Balwin Johannesburg Open
The first tournament to be held on South African soil for more than a year will take place this week, with the Assore/Balwin Johannesburg Open being held from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5 at the Parkview Squash Centre.

Defending champion Dewald van Niekerk will be the top seed in the men’s draw, with compatriot Jean-Pierre Brits and the Iranian duo of Sepehr Etemadpoor and Sami Ghasedabadi making up the rest of the top four seeds. The South African quartet of Jenny Preece, Teagan Leigh Roux, Shelomi Truter and Makgosi Peloakgosi will head up the women’s draw.

HydroBlasting Kalgoorlie Golden Open
The last event of the week on Tour will be the HydroBlasting Kalgoorlie Golden Open, which will be held from Friday, June 3 to Sunday, June 5 at the Ray Finlayson Sporting Club.

Australia’s Rhys Dowling and Mike Corren, the latter of which has 52 Tour titles to his name, will be the leading two seeds for the men’s draw, while England’s Tayla Mounter and Australian Erin Classen will be the leading pair in the men’s event.

This Week’s Schedule
PSA Regatas Resistencia Open – 10th Edition: Tuesday, May 31 to Saturday, June 4
PSA Anyospark: Wednesday, June 1 to Sunday, June 5
Assore/Balwin Johannesburg Open: Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5
HydroBlasting Kalgoorlie Golden Open: Friday, June 3 to Sunday, June 5