Spanish Rocafort Open Preview: Mateos Improving After Surgery

The first tournament of the week on the PSA Challenger Tour will come from Esportiu Rocafort in Barcelona, with the Spanish Rocafort Open taking place from Tuesday 14 to Thursday 16 December.

The Challenger 5 level women’s tournament is being run with regional restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, allowing only those currently based in Europe to participate in the three day event.

Frenchwoman Marie Stephan, the World No.60, will be the op seed for the tournament, but Cristina Gomez, the Spanish No.1, will actually be the highest ranked player in the draw, with the World No.58 aiming to win on home soil.

She will be joined by compatriots Sofía Mateos and Marta Dominguez Fernandez, the latter of whom secured her first win on Tour earlier in the year, amongst the top eight seeds.

Also in that seeding bracket will be France’s Elise Romba and Ninon Lemarchand, Sanne Veldkamp of the Netherlands, and Russia’s Varvara Esina, who won her first Tour title in Moscow on Sunday afternoon.

Mateos will be one of five Spaniards in the draw on Tuesday, and we spoke to the 20-year-old prior to the event starting, as she continues her return to the Tour after a knee injury, and she is also really excited to be playing on home soil.

“I’m really happy to play in this tournament because I had surgery on my knee a few months ago and I think I am now starting to play better. I will do the best I can and give my 100{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885} on court,” she explained.

“Playing a PSA event at home, in Barcelona, is really exciting. Having the support of family, friends and the crowd behind me [is great]. Also, my coaches Victor Montserrat and Bet Consegal will be there cheering me on and helping me during the tournament.”

Mateos is one of a number of Spaniard starting the climb up the rankings, with Cristina Gomez, the No.2 seed for the tournament, as the highest ranked of those in the women’s side of the Tour. She believes that having players moving up the rankings can only be good for the state of the sport in Spain.

“Cristina is now moving up in the ranking, she is playing good and I’m really happy for her because she is working hard and she deserves it,” the young Spaniard explained.

“I think that is good also for squash in Spain. Cristina [Gomez], Marta [Dominguez Fernandez] and myself are now playing a lot of tournaments and going up in the rankings and that’s really good for the Spanish Squash and for the juniors to motivate them to keep training and competing.”

Mateos currently occupies the World No.128 spot but has been as high as just outside the top 100 in the World Rankings. She believes that she is close to breaking that barrier, but she knows it will not be easy to achieve.

“My highest world ranking is World No.105, but I am now World No.128 because of my injury. Now though, I’m ready to compete again and break into the top 100. I know it’s not easy to get up the rankings but I will keep pushing, training and competing to achieve it.”

The event takes place from Tuesday 14 to Thursday 16 December at Esportiu Rocafort in Barcelona. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: Spanish Rocafort Open
[1] Marie Stephan (FRA) v Juliette Permentier (NED)
Ines Gomez Valois (ESP) v [5] Sanne Veldkamp (NED)
[7] Varvara Esina (RUS) v Ona Blasco (ESP)
Andrea Fjellgaard (NOR) v [4] Elise Romba (FRA)
[3] Sofía Mateos (ESP) v Maia Pannell (ENG)
Breanne Flynn (IRL) v [8] Ninon Lemarchand (FRA)
[6] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) v Caroline Lyng (DEN)
Gabi Fritsche (NED) v [2] Cristina Gomez (ESP)