Nash Cup Preview: Todd Enjoying Being Back On Court

The Nash Cup gets underway on Tuesday afternoon in Ontario, Canada, with the Challenger 10 level tournament featuring both a men’s and women’s draws over the five-day event.

The tournament, which will be held at London Squash & Fitness, will see more than 40 players in action, all aiming for glory come Saturday evening.

Seven members of the world’s top 100 will be in action in the men’s event, which will be led by Frenchman Auguste Dussourd. The World No.57 is the top seed for the tournament, and he will face competition from a number of different nationalities.

USA’s Spencer Lovejoy, Czech No.1 Daniel Mekbib, Hong Kong’s Chi Him Wong and the Canadian trio of Shawn DeLierre, Michael McCue and David Baillargeon will all be aiming to claim victory at the Nash Cup this week.

The women’s draw features plenty of different nationalities as well, with Egypt’s Hana Moataz and Hong Kong’s Vanessa Chu leading the field. The likes of France, Guyana, Poland, Spain and the United States are also represented.

The top Canadian in the draw is World No.66 Nikki Todd, who will be the No.3 seed for the Challenger 10 level event, and we spoke to her prior to the tournament starting.

This will be just her second appearance since the Tour was suspended in March 2020, and she admits that the last 18 months have not been the easiest.

“I am certainly not playing my best, but I am also not my worst! Working on feeling good on court again after a long break, but just enjoying being back out there,” she explained.

“The 18 months with no tournaments was an interesting time for sure. I had to find new ways to keep busy and new ways to train without courts or actually playing squash.

“In Toronto and much of Canada we didn’t have access to courts for the majority of the 18 months so it wasn’t just no competition, it was no squash at all. I missed all of it.”

She made her return at the biggest event of them all, the PSA World Championships, which were held in Chicago in June. Todd faced Welsh No.1 Tesni Evans, and although she lost out in the first round, the Canadian took a lot from the experience.

“It was a great experience, and an awesome feeling being back in competition. I think Tesni could have sent me an invoice for the lesson she gave me but it was a great learning experience playing someone of her level and it showed me just how much work I have to do if I want to play at that level,” she said.

Looking ahead to the Nash Cup, Todd is not too bothered about whether she plays to her seeding or beyond. The 31-year-old is just glad to be back, and s hoping to find her form once more.

I am not looking too much into my seeding this event as it’s only my second one back but instead, [I am] just going to try and play my best and enjoy the squash.”

The event takes place from Tuesday 14 to Saturday 18 September at the London Squash & Fitness Club in Ontario, Canada. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

Men’s First Round Draw: Nash Cup
[1] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) – [Bye]
[WC] Rafi Khan (PAK) v [9/16] Connor Turk (CAN)
Simon Herbert (ENG) v [9/16] Lewis Doughty (ENG)
[8] Nick Sachvie (CAN) – [Bye]
[5] Michael McCue (CAN) – [Bye]
Jayden Shortt (CAN) v [9/16] Cameron Seth (CAN)
[9/16] Chris Fuller (ENG) v Adrian Ostbye (NOR)
[4] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) – [Bye]
[3] Shawn DeLierre (CAN) – [Bye]
Charles De La Riva (CAN) v [9/16] Cory McCartney (CAN)
[9/16] Tang Ming Hong (HKG) v [WC] Elliott Hunt (CAN)
[7] David Baillargeon (CAN) – [Bye]
[6] Chi Him Wong (HKG) – [Bye]
James Wyatt (ENG) v [9/16] Darosham Khan (CAN)
[9/16] Timothy Brownell (USA) v [WC] Stu Hadden (IRL)
[2] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: Nash Cup
[1] Hana Moataz (EGY) – [Bye]
[9/16] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) – [Bye]
[9/16] Hannah Blatt (CAN) v [WC] Laura Savage (CAN)
[8] Lea Barbeau (FRA) – [Bye]
[6] Marina Stefanoni (USA) – [Bye]
Iman Shaheen (CAN) v [9/16] Arisha Khan (CAN)
Hannah Guthrie (CAN) – [Bye]
[3] Nikki Todd (CAN) – [Bye]
[4] Karina Tyma (POL) – [Bye]
[WC] Maria Fernanda Rivera (MEX) v [9/16] Mary Fung-A-Fat (GUY)
[9/16] Catherine Giachino (CAN) v [9/16] Amal Izhar (CAN)
[7] Sofia Mateos (ESP) – [Bye]
[5] Marie Stephan (FRA) – [Bye]
[WC] Holly Delavigne (CAN) v [9/16] Laura Tovar (COL)
[9/16] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) – [Bye]
[2] Vanessa Chu (HKG) – [Bye]