Morten Jaksland completed a Triple Crown in Lanzarote after winning the Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles titles.
Jaksland defended his Men’s Doubles title with Kresten Hougaard while teaming up with new partner Margaux Randjbar to win the Mixed Doubles on a dramatic gummiarm.
It was a successful week for Randjbar, who won the Women’s Doubles alongside Myriam Enmer, as well as winning her first elite Mixed Doubles title.
Anna-Klara Ahlmer was the other elite champion at the IWT Club La Santa Open, winning the Women’s Singles title without dropping a set.
Men’s Singles – Jaksland Wins Third Singles Title at Club La Santa
Morten Jaksland added a 16th elite singles title to his racketlon collection after a superb weekend. The Dane beat Dan Busby in the final after eliminating Matthew Davidson and Kresten Hougaard in previous rounds.
Jaksland’s match against Davidson ended up being his toughest based on points. After a convincing 21-9 table tennis win, Jaksland struggled in the badminton, with the British teenager winning 21-14. Davidson then produced a superb squash set to get 14 points and force Jaksland to chase 10 point on the tennis court. In the end, a 10-3 win was enough to set up a semi-final against Kresten Hougaard.
Hougaard had battled past Alex Du Noyer in the first round but found it too tough against Jaksland. The World No.1 lost the table tennis 21-19 but won badminton and squash 21-10 and 21-13. Those victories left him needing just four points on the tennis court, which he achieved with ease.
In the final, Jaksland would face Dan Busby. The world No.3 began by beating the returning Luke Barnes before tennis. In the semi-finals, he took out James Langworthy, who had a bye through to the semi-finals after Matthew Haynes was unable to travel to Lanzarote.
In the final, Jaksland came out playing some of his best racketlon this year. The Dane motored to a 21-9 table tennis win before backing that up with a 21-15 badminton win. Earlier on the Sunday morning Busby had beaten Jaksland at squash in impressive style in the Mixed Doubles final. Jaksland wouldn’t lose again. He won the squash 21-15, ruthlessly breaking down Busby to triumph before tennis.
That victory tops off an excellent year for Jaksland who picks up his second singles title after victory in Switzerland. He now heads into 2022 with 16 career titles and is closing in on Calum Reid’s 18 and Christoph Krenn’s 20.
Kresten Hougaard battled to a hard-fought bronze medal, edging out James Langworthy by three points.
The full Men’s Singles results are available here.
Women’s Singles – Awesome Ahlmer Wins Fifth Career Title
Anna-Klara Ahlmer finished a superb season with a near-perfect display at the IWT Club La Santa Open. The World No.2 beat Myriam Enmer, Margaux Randjbar and Kirsten Kaptein in a four-player box league to secure her second singles title of the season and fifth of her career.
The Swedish star was the pre-tournament favourite but played exceptionally. All three of her matches were won before tennis as she also won the title without dropping a set.
She came close a couple of times. Kirsten Kaptein took 17 points off her in table tennis in her opening group match. Ahlmer won by the same scoreline in the table tennis against Randjbar. The French player led for much of the set, before Ahlmer battled back late in to ensure she completed a perfect weekend of singles.
The silver medal was won by Myriam Enmer. The French player won a shoot-out against compatriot Margaux Randjbar, with a 21-4 tennis set the decisive factor in the contest. Randjbar finished third after defeating Kaptein by 10 points.
The full Women’s Singles results can be seen here.
Men’s Doubles – Hougaard and Jaksland Continue Their Dominance on the Island
As a tournament, the Men’s Doubles very much went to script. With the eventual finalists both receiving a bye through to the semi-finals, that left four pairs battling it out to join them.
Luke Barnes and Alex Du Noyer were the first to reach the semi-finals. The Brits, making their long-awaited return to the international circuit – took out French pair Bertrand Carlier and Anthony Duthuillé, thanks largely to a dominant 21-10 squash victory.
The Brits then took on top seeds Hougaard and Jaksland, leading by two after badminton with to a crushing 21-9 badminton win. It could have been a bigger lead after they initially led 18-2 before the Danes rallied late on. Hougaard and Jaksland retaliated with a 21-8 squash win and sealed victory on the tennis court.
The bottom half of the draw saw Guus Van De Burgt step up from the Men’s B Doubles to partner James Langworthy after his original teammate had to pull out due to travel restrictions. They faced Men’s +45 Doubles World Champions Taavi Suorsa and Juho Vuorinen. After a hard-fought match, it was the Finns that triumphed, winning by 10 points to set up a contest with Busby and Davidson.
The Brits were ruthless in the semi-final, winning the badminton and squash 21-17 and 21-4 to triumph before tennis and set up a final with the top seeds.
The courts at Club La Santa are like a second home to Hougaard and Jaksland and they showed this with an emphatic performance in the final. The Danish pair were superb, winning all three sets against Busby and Davidson to seal the title before tennis. A crushing 21-8 table tennis set did the bulk of the damage.
Jaksland’s victory here ties him with Kasper Jonsson on the all-time leaderboard. Both players have 18 Men’s Doubles titles and are tied in 4th place. Hougaard moves up to 13 career titles, drawing him level with Calum Reid at No.7 on the all-time list.
The bronze medal was won by Barnes and Du Noyer. The Brits produced a destructive performance to beat Finland’s Suorsa and Vuorinen by 44 points before tennis. A superb way for them to arrive back on the interntional racketlon circuit.
The full Men’s Doubles results are available here.
Women’s Doubles – Enmer and Randjbar Win Impressive Title
It was an exceptional weekend for Myriam Enmer and Margaux Randjbar. With the two landing on the podium in the Women’s Singles, they also teamed up to triumph in the Women’s Doubles.
The French pair were competing in a three-team box league. The other pairs were Anna-Klara Ahlmer and the returning Jennifer Schmitz, and Jo Shelley playing with Kirsten Kaptein.
Ahlmer and Schmitz were the first team to record a victory, defeating Kaptein and Shelley by 19 points following a 3-3 tennis result. The squash was a particular epic, with Ahlmer and Schmitz winning 26-24 after an awesome second half between Shelley and Ahlmer.
Kaptein and Shelley suffered a second defeat to Enmer and Randjbar, despite winning two sports. The Dutch-British duo won the table tennis and squash but Enmer and Randjbar took badminton 21-4 and tennis 21-7 to set up a showdown with Ahlmer and Schmitz for the final.
Ahlmer and Schmitz made the faster start in the final, racing to a 21-12 table tennis lead. Team France battled back with a 21-10 badminton score before a 21-19 squash loss left the match completely level before tennis. Enmer and Randjbar are both tennis players and their quality shone through, with the pair winning 21-7 in the wind to secure the title.
For Enmer, that is already a third Women’s Doubles title in her young career. For Randjbar, that is title number two and completes a superb weekend as she collects two doubles titles.
The full Women’s Doubles results are available here.
Mixed Doubles – Gummiarm Drama in Unforgettable Final
Losing a gummiarm in a mixed doubles final once is heartbreaking. For it to happen twice in a year is completely surreal. That is what has happened to Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Dan Busby as they were beaten in the IWT Club La Santa final by Margaux Randjbar and Morten Jaksland.
Both pairs got to the final without needing their tennis racket. Ahlmer and Busby took out Myriam Enmer and Anthony Duthuillé, while Randjbar and Jaksland beat Kirsten Kaptein and Guus Van De Burgt. Each victory was comfortable and it set up a mouthwatering final between the top two seeds.
The final was a fascinating encounter. Things were looking good for Ahlmer and Busby in the table tennis as they led at the change of ends. Jaksland then demonstrated exactly why he’s World No.1. The Dane produced a selection of jaw-dropping shots to turn it around and secure a 21-16 victory.
Ahlmer and Busby retaliated with a 21-17 badminton victory and then wrestled control of the match thanks to a superb 21-12 squash triumph. That left them needing 14 on the tennis court.
While all four players struggled to get to grips with the windy conditions, it was Randjbar and Jaksland who fared better. They raced ahead quickly before the fightback from Ahlmer and Busby began. At 13-20, Ahlmer and Busby had a match point but that chance went begging.
After losing the toss in their gummiarm a few months ago in Austria, Ahlmer and Busby won here. After giving the serve away, Jaksland served to Busby. The serve and the return were successful but an Ahlmer volley dropped into the net to secure the title for Randjbar and Jaksland.
For Randjbar, that is a first ever elite Mixed Doubles title. Meanwhile, Morten Jaksland tightens his grip on the No.1 spot in the Mixed Doubles World Rankings as he adds another medal to his huge collection.
The full Mixed Doubles results are available here.
The full report from the Seniors & Amateurs categories will be available later in the week.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
