Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Seven Events Over Seven Days

It’s another busy week on the PSA Challenger Tour this week, with seven tournaments being played over the next seven days.

The action begins on Wednesday with tournaments in Scotland and Guatemala, and there will be four continents that host tournaments, with play coming from Europe, Asia, and both Central and South America.

The Lockerbie Challenge and the 2nd 10k Guatemala Open Squash Tournament both begin on Wednesday, with the sole Asian-based event, the MST Dubai Squash Series I then starting on Thursday.

Two more events, in the Sportwerk Women’s Open and the X5 Squash Open, also commence on Thursday, with Friday seeing the start of the Open Costa Del Sol. The last event of the week takes place over Saturday and Sunday in Moscow, the Women’s PSA Squash Tour III.

Lockerbie Challenge
The first tournament of the week will be the Lockerbie Challenge, which will take place from Wednesday 8 to Sunday 12 December at Lockerbie Squash Club in Scotland.

The English duo of Nick Wall and Curtis Malik will lead the way in the Challenger 5 level men’s competition, with the latter coming off a victory at the Commercial Water Solutions Grange Challenger in Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon.

India’s Abhay Singh and Aadit Zaveri will be the other members of the top four seeds, as well as being the only non-British players involved in the tournament. Owain Taylor will be the sole Welshman, and there will be eight Scots in action on home soil, with No.7 seed Alasdair Prott leading their charge.

2nd 10k Guatemala Open Squash Tournament
Also beginning on Wednesday will be the 2nd 10k Guatemala Open Squash Tournament, which will take place at the Asociacion Deportiva Nacional de Squash in Guatemala City.

New Mexican No.1 Leonel Cardenas will be the top seed for the Challenger 10 level tournament, with compatriots Alfredo Avila, Miled Zarazua, Allan Nunez and Alejandro Reyes among the top eight seeds at the event, which is regional restricted on entries due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Colombia’s Edgar Ramirez Bautista, Guatemala’s Josue Enriquez, and Connor Turk, one of several Canadians travelling south for the event, will be the other members of the top eight seeds.

MST Dubai Squash Series I
The lone event on Asian soil this week will be the MST Dubai Squash Series I, which will take place between Thursday 9 and Saturday 11 December at the Aviation Club at the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel in the United Arab Emirates.

India’s Sandeep Ramachandran will be the top seed for the 16-man draw, with the Egyptian trio of Abdelaziz Hegazy, Seifeldin Shams and Omar Afifi joining home hopes Ali Miski and Sampuran Banerjee among the top eight seeds.

Sportwerk Women’s Open
The first of two women’s tournaments this week will take place in Hamburg, Germany, with the Sportwerk Women’s Open beginning on Thursday 9 December and running through to Sunday afternoon.

The Challenger 10 level tournament will be regionally restricted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, allowing only those currently based in Europe to participate. England’s Jasmine Hutton and Dutch No.1 Milou van der Heijden will be the top two seeds in the draw.

The French pairing of Enora Villard and Marie Stephan will be joined by Latvian No.1 Ineta Mackevica, Switzerland’s Nadia Pfister, Spain’s Cristina Gomez and Tessa ter Sluis of the Netherlands. 14 of the world’s top 100 will be in action in Hamburg.

X5 Squash Open
Delta Tennis & Sports in Sao Paulo will host the X5 Squash Open this week, with play taking place from Thursday 9 to Sunday 12 December at the Challenger 3 level tournament.

Once again, Guilherme Melo and Diego Gobbi will be the main contenders for the title at the regionally restricted tournament, while England’s Hassan Khalil and the Argentinian duo of Miguel Pujol and Lisandro Ortiz will be the only non-Brazilians featuring.

Open Costa Del Sol
Beginning on Friday, the Challenger 3 level Open Costa Del Sol will take place across two days, once again with regional restrictions on entry, allowing only those currently based on European soil to participate.

The 16-man field will feature eight Spaniards on home soil, with World No.101 Hugo Varela as the top seed for the tournament. England’s Tom Walsh and Jordan Warne will be among the top eight seeds.

Women’s PSA Squash Tour III
The sole domestic event of the week’s Tour slate will be held at Squash Club Moscow in Russia, with the Women’s PSA Squash Tour III taking place on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 December.

Varvara Esina will the top seed for the tournament, with Maria Arseniev, Varya Kliueva and Kseniya Borkova as her nearest competitors in the all-Russian draw.

This Week’s Schedule:
Lockerbie Challenge: Wednesday 8 – Sunday 12 December
2nd 10k Guatemala Open Squash Tournament: Wednesday 8 – Sunday 12 December
MST Dubai Squash Series I: Thursday 9 – Saturday 11 December
Sportwerk Women’s Open: Thursday 9 – Sunday 12 December
X5 Squash Open: Thursday 9 – Sunday 12 December
Open Costa Del Sol: Friday 10 – Saturday 11 December
Women’s PSA Squash Tour III: Saturday 11 – Sunday 12 December