Volkswagen Australian Open: Tournament Preview

For the second time in 2021, the PSA Challenger Tour features a tournament Down Under, with the national open, the Volkswagen Australian Open, the event held this week.

Like all events on the Challenger Tour right now, entries have been limited, with only players currently residing in Australia and New Zealand being allowed to enter the Challenger 10 level tournament.

The women’s event will see former World No.1 Rachael Grinham as the top seed once again, and she will be hoping to perform better than she did at the Sandgate Open, where she went out in the quarter-finals.

The woman who beat her, Tamika Hunt, went on to win the title in what was her first tournament on Tour since September 2017, and the 27-year-old, who is now back inside the top 125 in the World Rankings, will be looking to double up this week.

The likes of Sarah Cardwell and Jessica Turnbull, both inside the top 65 in the World Rankings, will also be looking to be victorious in their home open this week.

There is also a men’s draw at the VW Australian Open this week, with the nation’s No.1, and World No.167, Joseph White, the top seed for the tournament. He will face tough competition from Nicholas Calvert, who sits just two places below him in the World Rankings.

Calvert’s older brother Thomas will be the No.3 seed for the men’s event, with Rhys Dowling, Rohan Toole, Damon Macmillan, Benjamin Ratcliffe and Javed Ali the rest of the seeded players in the 16-man draw.

The event takes place from Wednesday 3 to Sunday 7 at the Bega Country Club in New South Wales, Australia. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

Men’s First Round Draw: Volkswagen Australian Open
[1] Joseph White (AUS) v William Curtis (AUS)
Solayman Nowrozi (AUS) v [8] Javed Ali (AUS)
[7] Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) v Peter Vaughan (AUS)
Tate Zak Norris (RSA) v [3] Thomas Calvert (AUS)
[4] Rhys Dowling (AUS) v Mansoor Zaman (AUS)
Tye Harland (AUS) v [5] Rohan Toole (AUS)
[6] Damon Macmillan (AUS) v Robert Palmer (AUS)
Aidan Parkes (AUS) v [2] Nicholas Calvert (AUS)

Women’s First Round Draw: Volkswagen Australian Open
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) – [Bye]
[6] Jessica Osborne (AUS) – [Bye]
[7] Kate Winters (AUS) v Hannelize Human (RSA)
[4] Selena Sheikh (AUS) – [Bye]
[3] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) – [Bye]
[5] Alex Haydon (AUS) – [Bye]
[8] Tamika Hunt (AUS) v Remashree Muniandy (AUS)
[2] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) – [Bye]