European duo Joel Makin and Nele Gillis have been confirmed as the top seeds for the inaugural German Open 2024, presented by Sportswork, after the draw results for the PSA World Tour Bronze level event have been announced.
The event will be held at the Sportswork Center in Hamburg from April 3 to 7, 2024, and will be the first PSA World Tour event to be held in Germany. The event will be live streamed on SQUASHTV and tickets can be purchased here.
The Sportswork Center has 15 squash courts, including a four-walled glass court. The center court can accommodate up to 300 spectators and is the largest squash center in Germany. The venue has hosted the German Junior Open, German Nationals, German Junior Nationals, German Masters, Bundesliga Playoffs, and several PSA Challenger Tour tournaments.
In the men's draw, Wales' Joel Makin leads the pack as he looks to win his first title of the season. The world No. 9 has been plagued by injuries so far this season, competing in just five tournaments. So far, his only tournament in 2024 has been the Florida Open, where he lost in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Mazen Hesham. The Welshman will be hoping that his injury problems will be resolved during the season and he will be able to push on for the remaining games of the 2023/24 season. He will face either America's Timothy Brownell or India's Abhay Singh in the second round of the tournament.
England's Marwan Elshobagy is the second seed in this tournament. The 30-year-old reached the final twice this season, at the New Zealand Open and the Pittsburgh Open, but both times he fell at the final hurdle. Elshobagy is determined to win the title this season and reaffirm into the top eight of the world rankings, having dropped four places since October.
Malaysia's Ain Yaw Ng and Mohamed Elsherbini occupy three-quarters of the seedings. The 26-year-old has had a disappointing start to the year, winning just one game, but he will be hoping to find some form of form in 2024. Elsherbiny made it to the last 16 at another platinum event, the Windy City Open, a few weeks ago. He will be hoping the form he showed there will help him in his bid to reach his first final since the World Tour. February of last year. You Ng will face either George Parker or Daniel Poleszczuk, while Elsherbiny will face Spencer Lovejoy or Lucas Selme.
Home favorite Rafael Candra will take advantage of his home advantage as the seventh seed and enjoy the full support of the Hamburg crowd. Kandra will face either Yannick Wilhelmi or Tom Walsh in the opening match on Thursday, April 4th.
World No. 4 Nele Gillis will lead the way in the women's event, aiming for her fifth World Tour title and third of the season. The Belgian No. 1 has had a difficult start to 2024, losing early in both platinum competitions. Gillis' spirits rarely falter, and she always seems ready for the next event. Gillis will be desperate to maintain her world No. 4 spot and aim to do well in sportswork alongside athletes aiming to beat her. She will open the event on day two with a match against Ewen Chan or Tory Malik.
Nele's younger sister Tinne, who is ranked 8th in the world, is the second seed in this tournament. Tinne achieved her first top 10 finish early in the season after her strong performance earned her an impressive victory. Since then, the Belgian No. 2 has reached the final four times, but has lost twice to her sister Nelle, as well as Amina Orfi and Olivia Weaver, and is yet to win the title this season. Not yet. Tinne will aim to rectify that in Germany, where she will begin her campaign against either Marta Dominguez or wildcard Maya Weishaar.
England's Georgina Kennedy and Egypt's Rowan Ellerbee are the third/fourth seeds and pose a serious threat to the top two seeds. Kennedy has been very consistent this season, reaching the semi-finals or higher in seven of the 10 tournaments. But she won't be happy about this, as she's the one who hasn't tasted silverware yet this season. Elarabee has regained her form and put in some great performances this season that have rekindled her love for the game, with her win over former world No. 1 Nolan Gohar at the DAC Pro Classic helping her It is the biggest highlight. Elarabee is definitely playing a game of squash that troubles everyone, and she'll be looking to turn that into a win for her in April.
The wildcards in the men's event are Germany's No. 3, world No. 151 Valentine Rupp and Marek Panacek of the Czech Republic, while in the women's event Katerina Tykova and Maja Wejschar will be looking for an upset to please the home crowd.
For more information on the German Open, please visit the tournament website here. For more information on the PSA World Tour, visit his website at PSA or follow PSA. twitterFacebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube.
Men's lottery:
[1] Joel Makin (WAL)
Abhay Singh (IND) v [9/16] Timothy Brownell (USA)
[9/16] Faraz Khan (USA) v [WC] Marek Panacek (CZE)
[6] Greg Lobban (SCO)
[5] Abdullah Al Tamimi (QAT)
Yassin Elshafei (Egypt) v [9/16] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND)
[9/16] George Parker (ENG) v Daniel Poleszczuk (ISR)
[4] Ein Yo Ng (MAS)
[3] Mohamed Elsherbini (Egypt)
Spencer Lovejoy (USA) v [9/16] Lucas Selmet (France)
[9/16] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) v Tom Walsh (ENG)
[7] Rafael Candra (GER)
[8] Dimitri Steinman (SUI)
[WC] Valentin Rupp (GER) v [9/16] Louis Soares (POR)
[9/16] Bernat Jaume (ESP) v Ben Smith (ENG)
[2] Marwan Elshobagy (English)
Women's lottery:
[1] Nele Gillis (BEL)
Ewen Zhang (MAS) v [9/16] Tory Malik (English)
[9/16] Chen Nga Chin (HKG) v Yashmita Jadish Kumar (MAS)
[8] Malak Kafagi (Egypt)
[5] Salma Honey (Egypt)
Rana Ismail (Egypt) v [9/16] Saskia Beinhardt (GER)
[9/16] Haya Ali (EGY) v [WC] Katerina Tykova (GER)
[4] Rowan Elarabee (EGY)
[3] Georgina Kennedy (English)
Nadia Pfister (SUI) v [9/16] Aina Amani (MAS)
[9/16] Ineta Hopton (LAT) v Nardine Glass (EGY)
[6] Fairouz Aboerkeir (EGY)
[7] Tesney Murphy (WAL)
Asia Harris (English) v [9/16] Cindy Merlo (SUI)
[9/16] Marta Dominguez (ESP) v [WC] Maya Weishal (GER)
[2] Tin Gillis (BEL)
