Current World Champions Jakob Rosenberger, Sebastian Janser and Thomas Ostenfeld Larsen are all entered to take part in this weekend’s IWT French Open.
They join nearly 100 players taking part in 10 different Junior, Senior and Amateur categories at the tournament in Montreuil.
We’ve already published the elite preview ahead of the tournament. Now it’s time to dive into the rest of the draws.
Men’s B Singles – Weijel Leads a Busy Field
As you would expect from a nation with such racketlon depth, French players dominate the Men’s B Singles draw. There are only three non-French players taking part; although two of them are seeded.
The top seed in this draw and sitting at the top of the bracket is Dutchman Guidi Weijel. With 12 players in this draw, he will take on the winner of Switzerland’s Manfred Grab and France’s Rémi Brazeilles.
The other three first-round matches all feature all-French clashes. There is guaranteed to be at least two Frenchmen in the semi-finals. Stephane Quiquempois takes on Jules Riss with No.4 seed Simon Puthoste waiting in the quarter-finals. Also, at the bottom of the draw, young Lucas Steyer faces Igor Rapeneau for the chance to play No.2 seed, Bertrand Carlier.
India’s Nihit Kumar Singh, one of the best newcomers in 2021, is the No.3 seed. He will begin his 2022 season against either Bastian Vaubert or Nicolas Georges, with the French pair set to kick off the Men’s B Singles draw on Saturday morning.
The full Men’s B Singles draw is available here.
Women’s B Singles – Big Opportunity for a Title in Fresh Draw
Similar to the Women’s A Singles draw, the Women’s B Singles is a four-player box league. Three of those players – Amandine Souin, Maroua Ben Haddada and Laureline Tschanz – are from France. The last player is Sweden’s Anna Lindeberg, who looks to pick up her first racketlon win after two tournaments in 2021.
Both Ben Haddada and Tschanz are making their international racketlon debuts. Excitingly, at least one of them is guaranteed to secure a podium finish in their opening tournament.
The top seed is Amandine Souin, who is currently ranked No.107 in the World. Souin is a badminton specialist, having won every singles set that she’s played so far on the FIR World Tour. Will she keep that badminton run going and possibly secure her first international singles title?
The full Women’s B Singles draw is available here.
Men’s B Doubles – Ahlmer and Enmer Looking to Spring a Surprise
Unfortunately, there were not enough Women entered in the tournament for a Women’s Doubles category to run at the IWT French Open. However, Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Myriam Enmer are teaming up anyway in the Men’s B Doubles as they look to take home another doubles title together.
The two top-10 women begin their quest for the trophy against French pair Gael Gautier and Thomas Vico. While Vico is making his international debut, Gautier is returning to the venue where he finished 3rd in the Men’s D Singles three years ago.
Should Ahlmer and Enmer navigate this first test, then the top seeds could be waiting in the next round. Bertrand Carlier is teaming up with Nihit Kumar Singh at the top of the bracket. Facing these two are French pair Luca Hamon and Armand Maxime. Maxime had a great debut year on tour, winning the Men’s D Singles at the IWT Swiss Open and finishing third in the same category at the World Singles Championship.
In the bottom half, Radu Ionescu and Graham King team up once again to take the No.2 seeding. They begin against French pair Thomas Pauvert and Stephane Quiquempois.
The final match in the first round is a showdown between four French players; three of which are debutants. Nicolas Georges is the only player to have played on the international circuit before. He partners Francois Debrade against Nicolas Latimier and Bastian Vaubert.
The full Men’s B Doubles draw is available here.
Mixed B Doubles – Weinsanto and Carlier Land No.1 Seeding
Similar to the Mixed A Doubles, the Mixed B Doubles competition is a box league. Four pairs will take part, with six of those eight players making their international mixed doubles debut.
Bertrand Carlier’s mixed doubles history means that he is the top seed alongside Laure Weinsanto. Stephane Quiquempois is the other player with a mixed doubles ranking, and he partners Laureline Tschanz.
The chance of a French gold medal is very high in this category, with three of the pairing representing their home country. Dorine Abrahamme and Patrick Ecuyer are the final pair going for gold in their home country.
There is one duo looking to spoil the party in Paris. Sweden’s Anna Lindeberg is teaming up with Australia’s Eric Durand to try and ensure that the gold medal does not land in French hands.
The full Mixed B Doubles draw is available here.
Men’s C Singles – No French Seeds in Eye-Catching Draw
So far, most of the amateur categories have been dominated by French players. That is not the case in the Men’s C Singles draw. Just half of the players are flying under the French flag. The other half – including all four seeded players – are from a range of other countries around the world.
Top seed in this draw is Christian Börner. The German begins his battle for the title against unranked French player Nicolas Latimier. The other match in this top quarter sees fellow French debutant, Victor Mery, take on Finland’s Seppo Raiski.
The country rule means that every first-round match sees a French player take on a player travelling from abroad. Graham King is the seed in quarter two and he opens against Anthony Levavasseur. The two met at last year’s IWT Swiss Open, with King triumphing before tennis. Can Levavasseur get his revenge? The other match in this quarter sees young Austrian Sebastian Janser take on French newcomer Aladin Caussin.
Propping up the Men’s C Singles draw is Poland’s Rafał Szlazak. The Seniors player opens against Amand Maxime, who plays his third tournament after last year’s IWT Swiss Open and World Singles Championship. The theme of French newcomers continues in the bottom half. Thomas Cavé takes on Switzerland Valentin Henin, looking to win his first international racketlon match.
The final quarter features current U13 World Singles Champion, Jakob Rosenberger. The Austrian, who is also taking part in the Juniors U16 Singles, opens against Antoine Favreau. The final match in this section pits Germany’s Thomas Neupert against France’s Thomas Vico in a battle of the Thomas’.
The full Men’s C Singles draw is available here.
Men’s C Doubles – Junior World Champions Janser and Rosenberger Headline Draw
After being crowned the Boys U13 Doubles World Champions in 2021, it seems only fitting that Austria’s Sebastian Janser and Jakob Rosenberger are rewarded with a No.1 seeding in the first tournament of 2022.
If the Austrian juniors are to reach another final then they’ll need to overcome at least two French pairs. In the opening round, they take on Florian Carpentier and Sébastien Floc’H. The second top half showdown pitches Guillaume Artigalas and Dara Chau against Thomas Glavieux-Moreau and Jonathan Pouille.
The bottom half has a more eclectic line-up but also features a Doubles World Champion! Thomas Ostenfeld Larsen won the Seniors +50 Doubles with Jacob Steinmetz last year. In pairs, he lines up alongside fellow Dane Jean-Robert Fiori. It’s a tough opener for the Danish pair as they take on No.2 seeds Antoine Bacha and Matthieu Beurel-Diamant.
The final match in the opening round sees Anthony Levavasseur and Benoit Truc team up to take on Poland’s Adam Borkowski and Patrick Ecuyer.
The full Men’s C Doubles draw is available here.
Men’s D Singles – Newcomers Galore in Massive Draw
Testament to Racketlon France’s substantial growth over the last few years is the number of newcomers taking part in the Men’s D Singles. 13 of the 26 players in this bracket are making their racketlon debut. Good luck to all of the players on their international debut and I hope you enjoy the weekend.
With the top seed forced to withdraw from the tournament, France’s Olivier Soubeyrand is the highest seed remaining and sits at the bottom of the draw. The rest of the seeds are made up of Great Britain’s Ray Ryan, Switzerland’s Benoit Truc and a cluster of Frenchmen; Dara Chau, Florian Carpentier, Thomas Cartalier and Thomas Pauvert.
The full Men’s D Singles draw is available here.
Juniors U16 Singles – World Champion Rosenberger Top Seed
As well as being top seeds in the Men’s C Doubles, Jakob Rosenberger and Sebastian Janser are also the top seeds in the Juniors U16 Singles category. Rosenberger occupies the No.1 seed while Janser is No.2. The other two seeded spots are made up of Switzerland’s Lucas Mateo Moreno and Great Britain’s Daniel Austin.
All four seeded players receive a bye through to the quarter-finals, with four first-round matches determining their opponents. The first round matches consist of six young French players and Nils and Leonie Neupert from Germany.
Nils Neupert faces Raphael Blumstein-Lacronique for the chance to play Jakob Rosenberger. Also in the top half, Alexandre Bayle and Noa Worobel collide, with the winner guaranteed to face Daniel Austin.
The other young Neupert, Leonie, is in the bottom half and takes on Jacques Levy. Moreno awaits the winner of that match, while Janser will take on either Gaspard Filleteau or Ethan Meline.
The full Juniors U16 Singles draw is available here.
Seniors +40 Singles – Grab, Börner, Neupert, Durand and More in Action
The Seniors +40 Singles draw is a beautiful mixture of new and returning players as eight players battle for the trophy. Manfred Grab, No.11 in the Seniors Rankings, is the top seed in the tournament but faces a tough challenge in his opening round against Eric Durand.
The top half features three of the four highest-ranked players. Thomas Neupert, who finished runner-up in the Seniors +40 at last season’s IWT La Santa Open, is also there, taking on French debutant Igor Rapeneau.
Germany’s Christian Börner is the other seed in this draw. The German sits at the bottom of the draw and faces Poland’s, Adam Borkowski. The Pole has played one tournament before, taking part in the World Doubles Championship last year. This is his international singles debut. The last match sees Denmark’s Jean-Robert Fiori play France’s Thomas Vico.
The full Seniors +40 Singles draw is available here.
Seniors +50 Singles – King and Ionescu Joined by World Champion Larsen
The last of our previews come in the Seniors +50 Singles category, headlined by former +65 World Champion Graham King. The King kicks off his 2022 season against unknown Frenchman Michael Gonnon in a fascinating opener.
The second match in the top half sees a current World Champion competing in Thomas Ostenfeld Larsen. The Dane, who won the IWT Czech Open +55 Singles title last year, returns to action in search of another trophy. Standing in his way is Poland’s Rafał Szlazak, who is playing for the first time since the 2019 World Singles Championship.
The bottom half kicks off with Great Britain’s Ray Ryan taking on home favourite Christian Baus. The pair met at this stage of this tournament three years ago, with Baus edging out a victory with a splendid tennis result. Can the Frenchman win again or will we see Ryan earn his revenge?
Last to take to the court is Romania’s No.2 seed Radu Ionescu and Finland’s Seppo Raiski. Ionescu returns to the FIR World Tour after a bizarre 2021 GRAWE sidebyside 15. Austrian Open which saw him have to leave quickly to avoid a COVID lockdown in Romania. The two have met twice before, splitting the results 1-1. However, their last contest was seven years ago at the IWT Vienna Classics.
The full Men’s +50 Singles draw is available here.
The IWT French Open elite preview is available here.
Keep up with the IWT French Open all weekend on Facebook, Instagram and Racketlon.net.
Interested in entering the FIR World Tour? All tournaments are open to players of all ages and abilities. Find out more about the 2022 FIR World Tour here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
