They’ve had to sit and wait until Sunday to get going but finally, the Women’s Singles competition is almost upon us and we could be witnessing history from Christine Seehofer.
The World No.1 is chasing 100 singles wins in a row and is currently on 97. That means that if she wins the tournament she will become the first woman and only second player in racketlon history to achieve this extraordinary feat.
The GRAWE sidebyside 14. Austrian Open Women’s Singles draw has also thrown up a classic first-round match with No.2 seed Bettina Bugl set to face fellow countrywoman Martina Meissl.
Christine Seehofer could add another chapter to her legacy
Christine Seehofer is already one of the most decorated athletes in racketlon history. In Graz, on Sunday, she has a chance to add another incredible achievement to her career.
For Seehofer to reach 100 wins she first has to beat Sona Konigsmarkova in the first round. Czech’s Konigsmarkova is making her debut on the FIR World Tour and faces a tough test against the world No.1.
The second quarter-final in the top half also features two World Tour debutants. Austria’s Martina Nost was originally scheduled to face Negin Saremi but the Iranian was forced to withdraw. Stepping in at the last minute is fellow Austrian Birgit Seiner who plays in her first tournament as a debutant.
It’s going to be an eye-opening debut for Konigsmarkova, Nost and Seiner as they all land in the half of the draw with Seehofer. Could any of them cause a shock and ruin Seehofer’s dream of reaching 100 straight wins?
Martina Meissl against Bettina Bugl an epic first-round showdown
Across the men’s and women’s singles draws, few matches were as eye-catching as Martina Meissl and Bettina Bugl. With four debutants in the draw, it seems cruel that the two have been drawn against each other but that is the nature of racketlon.
The Austrian pair have, perhaps surprisingly, only met three times on the FIR World Tour since 2014. Of those three meetings, Meissl has two wins and Bugl has one but, crucially, all three have gone to tennis.
Their most recent meeting occurred at this year’s IWT Vienna Classics with Meissl winning the last three sports to take the victory. If she can do that again she’ll knock out the No.2 seed and advance to the semi-finals. It’s also worth noting that Meissl is the current Austrian National champion.
The fourth and final debutant, Myrian Enmer, is involved in the other match in the bottom half. The French player has been active on the domestic scene but now takes the step up to the international level. In the opening round, she faces Afghanistan’s Shaghyegh Tabatabaie. The teenager is competing in an elite singles field for the first time.
The full Women’s Singles draw is available here.
You can watch every match on Sunday 22nd November here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / rubinfoto.com
