Springfield Scottish Open Preview: Courtice Glad To Be Back

The Springfield Scottish Squash Open begins on Wednesday 22 September, with 48 players aiming to take home the titles from Inverness Tennis and Squash Club come Sunday afternoon.

The Challenger 10 level event, which features both a men’s and women’s draw in Inverness, will be the first fully international Challenger Tour event on British soil since prior to the Tour’s suspension in March 2020.

Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais will be the top seed for the men’s event, with Portuguese No.1 Rui Soares, Scotland’s Rory Stewart, Czech Republic’s Jakub Solnicky and Welshman Emyr Evans, all part of the world’s top 100, in action.

Stewart is one of four Scots in action, with Fergus Richards, Alasdair Prott and Martin Ross all receiving wildcards to the men’s draw.

Seven of the eight top seeds in the women’s draw hail from the United Kingdom, with Scottish duo of Alison Thomson and Georgia Adderley in action on home soil in Inverness.

France’s Marie Stephan is the other member of the top eight, along with the English quintet of Grace Gear, Alicia Mead, Georgina Kennedy, Rachael Chadwick and Julianne Courtice.

Courtice, the World No.31, is the top seed for the Springfield Scottish Squash Open, and we spoke to the Englishwoman ahead of the tournament. After having COVID-19, she is just happy to be back on Tour.

“It’s been a struggle after getting COVID and having a prolonged period off so just to be playing feels like a win and I’m grateful to be back” she said.

“It’s felt a long time since my last PSA tournament and a lot has happened since then, I’m excited to be getting back out there and in that competitive arena, I’ve worked hard on improving my game and I’m looking forward to putting that practice into a match situation.”

Courtice is the top seed for the tournament in Inverness, but she will be appearing on Tour for the first time since the CIB PSA Black Ball Squash Open in March. It is because of that, that the Englishwoman is just looking to enjoy her time on court.

“Regardless of seeding, after this year I am happy to be healthy and out there competing. It’s given my time to step back, appreciate, enjoy and not see this as a pressure but a challenge!” she explained.

“I want to be the best version of myself so keep working on my game, enjoying the process, pick off those higher ranked player and see where the journey takes me, which will hopefully be that breakthrough ranking.”

The event takes place from Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 September at the Inverness Tennis and Squash Club, where Julianne Courtice is the top seed for the women’s event. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

Action from Inverness will be streamed throughout the week on the PSA Challenger Tour YouTube channel, where you can watch Challenger Tour action, and interviews with rising stars.

Men’s First Round Draw: Springfield Scottish Squash Open
[1] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) – [Bye]
Stuart MacGregor (ENG) v [9/16] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP)
[9/16] Miles Jenkins (ENG) v Ben Smith (ENG)
[8] Viktor Byrtus (CZE) – [Bye]
[7] Abhay Singh (IND) – [Bye]
Javier Martin (ESP) v [9/16] Tom Walsh (ENG)
[9/16] Nick Wall (ENG) v [WC] Martin Ross (SCO)
[3] Rory Stewart (SCO) – [Bye]
[4] Jakub Solnicky (CZE) – [Bye]
[WC] Alasdair Prott (SCO) v [9/16] Connor Sheen (ENG)
[9/16] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) v Charlie Cowie (ENG)
[5] Emyr Evans (WAL) – [Bye]
[6] Peter Creed (WAL) – [Bye]
Perry Malik (ENG) v [9/16] Curtis Malik (ENG)
[9/16] Harry Falconer (ENG) v [WC] Fergus Richards (SCO)
[2] Rui Soares (POR) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: Springfield Scottish Squash Open
[1] Julianne Courtice (ENG) – [Bye]
Saran Nghiem (ENG) v [9/16] Katriona Allen (SCO)
[9/16] Sofia Mateos (ESP) – [Bye]
[6] Georgia Adderley (SCO) – [Bye]
[5] Alison Thomson (SCO) – [Bye]
Tayla Mounter (ENG) v [9/16] Rana Ismail (EGY)
[9/16] Kace Bartley (ENG) v [WC] Lucy Murchie (SCO)
[4] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) – [Bye]
[3] Marie Stephan (FRA) – [Bye]
[WC] Catherine Holland (SCO) v [9/16] Sanne Veldkamp (NED)
[9/16] Kincso Szász (ROM) v Katie Wells (ENG)
[8] Grace Gear (ENG) – [Bye]
[7] Alicia Mead (ENG) – [Bye]
[9/16] Lea Barbeau (FRA) – [Bye]
[9/16] Torrie Malik (ENG) v Emilia Korhonen (FIN)
[2] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) – [Bye]