Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Six Events Over Seven Days

It will be another busy week of action on the PSA Challenger Tour, with six tournaments being played over the course of the week, across six different countries.

Four of those events will be held on European soil, with the week’s play beginning in Barcelona, with the Spanish Rocafort Open, before the Colin Payne Kent Open begins a day later in England.

The first of two events in the Americas gets underway on Wednesday, with the 3rd Guatemala Open Squash Tournament beginning a day before the Wakefield PSA commences on American soil.

The last two events of the week both come from continental Europe, with the Sportwerk Men’s Open following on from the women’s event last week, before the Czech Pro Series IV begins on Thursday and goes through the weekend.

Here’s what is coming up over the course of the next seven days.

Spanish Rocafort Open
The first tournament taking place on the Challenger Tour this week is the Spanish Rocafort Open, with the Challenger 5 level women’s event taking place from Tuesday 14 to Thursday 16 December in Barcelona.

Esportiu Rocafort plays host to the tournament, with Frenchwoman Marie Stephan the top seed. The Spanish duo of Cristina Gomez and Sofia Mateos, along with France’s Elisa Romba, make up the rest of the top four seeds.

The Colin Payne Kent Open Sponsored by 501 Entertainment
Wednesday sees the start of the Colin Payne Kent Open Sponsored by 501 Entertainment, which takes place at the Tunbridge Wells Squash Club and features both a men’s and women’s draw.

Curtis Malik will lead a mainly English draw in the men’s event at the Challenger 3 level tournament, with Joshua Masters, Anthony Royal and Perry Malik amongst the top four seeds.

Torrie Malik will lead the women’s draw, with Kate Bartley as her nearest competitor for the title. Egypt’s Rana Ismail, Japan’s Satomi Watanabe, Portugal’s Sofia Aveiro Pita and Scotland’s Catherine Holland are all amongst the top eight seeds.

3rd 10k Guatemala Open Squash Tournament
The third of three events taking place on Guatemalan soil over the last few weeks will be the 3rd Guatemala Open Squash Tournament, which will be played at the Asociación Deportiva Nacional de Squash.

The Challenger 10 level tournament will once again be led by World No.51 Leonel Cardenas, who took the title at the 2nd Guatemala Open Squash Tournament on Sunday. USA’s Faraz Khan, Mexico’s Alfredo Avila and Colombia’s Ronald Palomino make up the rest of the top four seeds.

Sportwerk Men’s Open
Following on from last week’s women’s event, the Sportwerk club in Hamburg now plays host to a Challenge 10 level men’s tournament, the Sportwerk Men’s Open, which takes place from Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 December.

Frenchman Auguste Dussourd will be the top seed for the tournament, which will also feature three other members of the top 100 in the World Rankings, in Scotland’s Rory Stewart, Englishman Nick Wall and Welshman Emyr Evans.

Wakefield PSA
The sole event on American soil this week, and the first event to be held in the United States since the end of October, will be the Wakefield PSA. The Challenger 10 level tournament will be played in The Plains, Virginia, from Thursday afternoon.

Nathan Lake will be the top seed for the regionally restricted tournament, with the American duo of Shahjahan Khan and Spencer Lovejoy, Jamaica’s Christopher Binnie and Egypt’s Aly Abou Eleinen, all members of the world’s top 100, in action.

Czech Pro Series VI
The final event of the week will be the Czech Pro Series VI, which beings on Thursday at Sportovni Centrum Fajne in Ostrava, with a Challenger 10 level men’s and Challenger 5 level women’s events taking place.

There will be four home hopes among the top eight seeds in the men’s event, with Czech No.1 Daniel Mekbib as the top seed. Martin Svec, Jakub Solnicky and Viktor Byrtus will also be in action, while England’s Robert Downer, Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas, Hungary’s Balazs Farkas and Austrian No.1 Aqeel Rehman making up the rest of the top eight seeds.

Anna Serme, the women’s Czech No.1, will be the top seed, with compatriot Eva Fertekova as the No.3 seed. England’s Lily Taylor and Austria’s Jacqueline Peychär make up the rest of the top four seeds, while France, Scotland and Singapore will all be represented.

This Week’s Schedule:
Spanish Rocafort Open: Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 December
The Colin Payne Kent Open Sponsored by 501 Entertainment: Wednesday 15 – Saturday 18 December
3rd 10k Guatemala Open Squash Tournament: Wednesday 15 – Sunday 19 December
Sportwerk Men’s Open: Thursday 16 – Sunday 19 December
Wakefield PSA: Thursday 16 – Sunday 19 December
Czech Pro Series VI: Thursday 16 – Monday 20 December