The IWT Swiss Open is taking place this coming weekend in Zurich, with all draws having already been made. Current World Champion and defending Swiss Open champion Stine Jacobsen headlines the 11-player Women’s Singles draw, with top ten players Myriam Enmer, Kirsten Kaptein and Astrid Reimer-Kern also competing.
The Men’s Singles draw is one of the most open we’ve seen in years, with Emanuel Schöpf the only player to have previously won a Racketlon World Tour elite men’s singles event. The Austrian is joined in the draw by top seed Nicolas Lenggenhager and 14 other players.
Here are your previews for all of the elite draws at the 2022 IWT Swiss Open.
Women’s Singles – Jacobsen Headlines as Altmann Returns
Current World Champion Stine Jacobsen is the headline act in the Women’s Singles draw as she is the top seed in the tournament. The Dane sits at the top of the bracket, enjoying a bye through to the quarter-finals courtesy of her ranking of No.4 in the world.
Facing her in the first round will be either Switzerland’s Dara Ladner or the returning Silke Altmann. The German has not stepped foot on the Racketlon World Tour since the 2019 World Championships. As a former World No.1, she returns with a huge amount of pedigree and could set up a mouthwatering match against Jacobsen.
Two-time Swiss Open champion and last year’s runner-up, Astrid Reimer-Kern is the other seed in the top half of the draw. The world No.8 also receives a bye through to the quarter-finals.
The Women’s A and Women’s B draws were combined to create this 11-player bracket. That has left Carola Von Heimburg and Susan Rutschmann to battle it out for a quarter-final showdown against Reimer-Kern. Von Heimburg has the historical head-to-head advantage. Could Rutschmann spring a surprise in Switzerland?
Women’s Singles – Enmer the No.2 Seed in Switzerland
The No.2 seed in the draw is Myriam Enmer. The French star has flown up the rankings to No.5 in the world and has finished on the podium in eight of her last 10 tournaments. If she is to do that again, she’ll have to beat the winner of Irina Olsacher and Adeline Kilchenmann in her first match.
Having recorded wins over both Kirsten Kaptein and Margaux Randjbar in 2021, Kilchenmann will fancy her chances of testing Olsacher in this eye-catching first-round clash. The other match in this half sees Heike Voigt take on Kirsten Kaptein for a place in the semi-finals. Kaptein has a 2-0 head-to-head record over Voigt, although their last meeting was in 2015.
This is a fascinating draw with defending champion Stine Jacobsen back looking for more glory. She beat Astrid Reimer-Kern – who is a two-time Swiss Open winner herself – twice on Swiss soil in 2021, so the German will be chasing revenge. Eisler is also a former champion here while Altmann has been on the podium a number of times as well.
The full Women’s Singles draw is available here.
Men’s Singles – Lenggenhager Leads Swiss Army in Top Half of Draw
After reaching a career-high No.6 in the world at the start of the month, Nicolas Lenggenhager is the top seed in a Men’s Singles draw for the first time in his career. The star is one of five Swiss players to have landed in the top half of the Men’s Singles draw, although he’ll begin his campaign against Anthony Duthuillé.
The two have seen plenty of each other this year, having taken part in all three previous events of the season – and playing each other in two. Lenggenhager won both of those match-ups, leaving Duthuillé seeking redemption at Vitis SportCenter.
The other match in the top quarter sees Switzerland’s Léon Mamié take on Czech player Martin Sopko. Mamié is making his elite-level debut after winning the Boys U21 Singles title here 12 months ago. It’s a tough opener for the youngster against Sopko though. The Czech is a dangerous floater in this draw, having taken out Lenggenhager,
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The other Mamié brother, Noah, is involved in the final top half match. He’ll be starring in an all-Swiss contest against wildcard Nico Hobi. The duo met in the semi-finals of the Men’s B category at last year’s World Championships, with Hobi edging out the improving youngster.
Men’s Singles – Wiggin’s Debut and the German Quarter
While there are five Swiss players in the top half, quarter-three of the draw is entirely made up of German players. Cornelius Radermacher is the pick of the crop, with the World No.13 taking the fourth seeding in the draw. He’ll open against Max Plettenberg, who was one point away from his first elite final at this year’s Nick Matthew Steel City Open.
The other all-German battle is between Patrick Oettl and Steffen Neumann. This is a season-opening event for both players as they look to get off to a fast start in 2022.
The bottom quarter sees the hugely anticipated debut of New Zealand’s Sion Wiggin. A multiple champion in his home country, this is the first time he’s taken his talents to the Racketlon World Tour, so we’re excited to see how he gets on. Facing him is experienced Brit Jack Bishop.
Emanuel Schöpf is the No.2 seed in the bracket and is also the seed in this section. He’s also the only player to have previously won an elite singles title in this draw. If he wants to continue that then he’ll first have to defeat Ray Jordan.
The full Men’s Singles draw is available here.
Mixed Doubles – Six Pairs Battle for Glory
We’ve got six pairs competing in the Mixed Doubles competition at the IWT Swiss Open. The two seeded pairs have received a bye through to the semi-finals, with the other four pairs fighting to join them.
Top seeds are Myriam Enmer and Nicolas Lenggenhager. The French-Swiss pair are teaming up for the first time this season. They will either take on either the familiar pairing of Stine Jacobsen and Cornelius Radermacher or the unknown quantity of Carola Von Heimburg and Sion Wiggin.
In the bottom half of the draw, it’s Austrian power couple Irina Olsacher and Emanuel Schöpf that are competing together once again. Like Enmer and Lenggenhager, they have received a bye through to the semi-finals, as they chase their first title together as a pair.
Their first match will be against the winners of a Germany against Switzerland showdown. Two former number ones, Silke Altmann and Nicole Eisler will square off partnered by fellow countrymen. Eisler is playing alongside Noah Mamié for the first time while Altmann is teaming up with Steffen Neumann.
Silke Altmann is the most successful mixed doubles player in the draw with six titles. However, Jacobsen and Radermacher are the only duo to have won a title together. Enmer and Eisler have also collected trophies in the past so, unless Jacobsen and Radermacher win the title, there will be a first-time male winner on the Racketlon World Tour.
The full Mixed Doubles draw is available here.
Men’s Doubles – German Duo Headline Intriguing Draw
Similarly to the Mixed Doubles, the Men’s Doubles draw is also to be contested by six different pairs. Headlining the field are German top seeds Max Plettenberg and Cornelius Radermacher. They occupy the top spot in the draw while Damien Andre and Nicolas Lenggenhager are the other seeds.
Noah Mamié is partnering with Christian Schaefer in the top half of the draw as the duo looks to set up a Swiss-German showdown against the top seeds. Looking to stop them is a fascinating pair; Emanuel Schöpf and Sion Wiggin. Schöpf is the most successful player in the draw, with three Men’s Doubles titles in the past. Could he help Wiggin get his first-ever Racketlon World Tour title in his first event?
Jack Bishop and Ray Jordan are also teaming up to represent their country. The British duo will take on Patrick Bürgi and Steffen Neumann in the quarter-finals. The winner will advance to take on Andre and Lenggenhager.
The full Men’s Double draw is available here.
Women’s Doubles – Four Pair Shoot-Out for Title
The final draw from the elite classes is the Women’s Doubles draw. The top seeds in this four-player shoot-out are Myriam Enmer and Irina Olsacher. Despite having a slightly lower combined ranking, No.2 seeds Nicole Eisler and Stine Jacobsen are the most successful duo in the draw.
With a combined 10 women’s doubles titles between them, the two enter as slender favourites ahead of the rest of the field. Their opening match is against the first-time pairing of Kirsten Kaptein and Adeline Kilchenmann. The latter is one of only two players in the draw to have not won a women’s doubles title before. Could that change here?
In the other semi-final, Enmer and Olsacher will take on German duo Silke Altmann and Astrid Reimer-Kern. This is a tough draw for Enmer and Olsacher, and it should be a fantastic match from start to finish, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the final.
The full Women’s Doubles draw is available here.
Check out the 2022 Racketlon World Tour here. We currently have several different tournaments open for players of all ages and abilities.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / Rene Zwald & Jonas von Sachs
