Seniors Singles Preview | Racketlon World Championships

Our preview series ahead of the Racketlon World Championships continues with the Seniors Singles categories.

There are 11 different age categories in total, with seven for male players and four for females. These range from +40 all the way up to +70 age brackets.

Let’s dive straight in to see the state of the draws before the singles begins on Saturday.

Seniors +40 Singles

Edition: 5th

2021 Champion: Cédric Junillon

Most Titles: Jason Granville, Duncan Stahl, Elmar Schaub, Cédric Junillon (1)

In 2021, Ray Jordan was the top seed in this draw, falling in the semi-finals to eventual champion Cédric Junillon. One year later and Jordan is the top seed once again. While Jordan is back for another crack at the title, Junillon is not returning.

What we do have in this year’s draw, is a tonne of players who have a prolific racketlon record. Jermaine Manners, Janez Makovec and Marcel Weigl have all won multiple Men’s Elite Singles titles in the past, and all sit in the top half with Jordan. In fact, Manners and Makovec are due to meet in the second round, a blockbuster of an opener.

Germany’s Torsten Kuntz is also seeded in the top half, facing India’s Sanjeev Kumar in the second round after both received a bye. The top half first matches see Oliver BOdem take on Tsz Chung Chan and Peter Browning face Marek Hrůza.

Last year, Mohammed Tarik Koubaa finished as the runner-up but made history as the first African and Arabic player to reach a Racketlon World Championship final. He opens against the winner of Kristian Kuch and Tom Branke after receiving a bye through the first round as the No.4 seed.

Croatia’s Nikola Mikac, eligible in his first year on the Seniors circuit, is the No.2 seed and will begin against either Werner Schindling or Varinder Singh. Seeds Keith Lesser and Eric Durand take on Andreas Escher and Luke Penna respectively to complete the bottom half.

Women’s +40 Singles

Edition: 5th

2021 Champion: Stine Jacobsen

Most Titles: Anita Voelkel (2)

Stine Jacobsen won the title a year ago but will sit it out this year, focusing her attention on the Teams event and the Women’s Elite Singles. We do have one former champion back for another run at the title though.

Germany’s Silke Altmann won this crown in 2019. Now, she looks to win her second, tying with Anita Voelkel’s record of two. The No.2 seed is Joined by Kirsten Kaptein, Alice Flatman and late entry Maria José Gomis.

Altmann boats a 3-0 head-to-head winning record over Kaptein, but has not been nearly as active as the Dutch woman, who has been an ever-present force this season.

Flatman is returning for her second World Championships after finishing with a bronze medal in this category last year behind Kaptein and Jacobsen. Will the table tennis star manage better than bronze this year?

A 13th-hour entry, Maria José Gomis is flying the flag for Spain as the only female Spaniard competing in this year’s tournament. She takes part in her second event after making her racketlon debut at last year’s Austrian Open.

The four players will compete against each other in a Box League for the title.

Seniors +45 Singles

Edition: 19th

2021 Champion: Andre Bandi

Most Titles: Par Carleke/Peter Bittar (3)

One of the biggest draws at this year’s FIR Racketlon World Championships, the Seniors +45 Singles sees 30 players battling for the title. Last year was a complete lockout for hosts Switzerland, as Andre Bandi beat Nico Hobi and Magnus Ekstrand for the title. None of the trio is back this year.

One former champion is returning though in the form of Marcel Weigl. The Austrian beat Ashutosh Avinash Pednekar for the title in 2019 and returns as the No.2 seed, looking to become just the third player to win this title more than once.

Weigl is sandwiched by a pair of Brits in the seedings, with Duncan Stahl and Jermaine Manners the No.1 and No.3 seeds. Stahl and Weigl will both start with a bye while Manners faces a tricky opener against Soeren Smit, who is the current Men’s +40 Doubles World Champion and also Men’s +45 Singles champion at last year’s IWT Czech Open.

Torsten Kuntz is the No.4 seed and lone German in the draw, while Ersoy Korer, Peter Barton, Anders Fyrst and Magnus Åberg make up seeds five through eight. The draw itself is a fascinating mixture of players, with 14 different nationalities represented amongst the 30 players.

India is the Nation that is the most well-represented, with five players making the long journey to Austria. Divik Kandpal, Manish Bhati, Gourav Rakshit, and Sanjeev Kumar join Varinder Singh, who we’ve already mentioned above.

Alongside multiple players from racketlon regulars Great Britain, Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Poland, we’ve also got players from Turkey and South Africa. Long-term racketlon star Ersoy Korer flies the flag for Turkey, while South Africa is represented by Daniel Schoeman.

Women’s +45 Singles

Edition: 10th

2021 Champion: Esther Dübendorfer

Most Titles: Capper/Dübendorfer (3)

Barbara Capper and Esther Dübendorfer have won every Women’s +45 Singles title at the World Championships since 2013. With neither in attendance this year, we’re guaranteed a new name in the history books.

Having already won two Women’s +40 Singles crowns, Germany’s Anita Voelkel is the top seed and favourite. She is joined in the three-player Box League by debutants Nora Barta-Boncz and Renate Perschinka. The former is playing for Hungary, while Perschinka makes up part of the enormous Austrian squad competing at these home Championships.

Seniors +50 Singles

Edition: 10th

2021 Champion: Jacob Steinmetz

Most Titles: Peter Sákovics

One of the most stacked draws at this year’s Racketlon World Championships based on previous titles won is the Seniors +50 Singles draw. The draw is littered with former World Champions across singles and doubles, including Ashutosh Avinash Pednekar, Michael Holzinger and the return of Hungary’s Levente Nándori for the first time in three years.

One of the favourites among the 29-strong draw is defending champion Jacob Steinmetz, who lands as the No.8 seed and could face Pednekar in a blockbuster second round match.

Australia’s Eric Durand, who lost to Steinmetz in the final last year, is the top seed. He receives a bye through to the second round, as does No.2 seed Ulrich Schlepphorst and Beat Ladner. Poland’s Rafał Szlazak, Hungary’s György Janzer, Czech Republic’s Jan Port and Sweden’s Anders Åkesson are the other seeds, ensuring that the eight are all from different nations.

Rachid Bech-Azeddine, who won the Seniors +50 Singles title at this year’s IWT Latvian Open, is one of the non-seeded players. Jon Foulds, who has won three Elite Mixed Doubles titles in the past, is also in for Great Britain, opening against Holzinger in an eye-catching first round. Tomas Kuban is another name to monitor after he won the Senior +50 Singles title at the Czech open three years ago.

Women’s +50 Singles

Edition: 6th

2021 Champion: Jo Shelley

Most Titles: Jo Shelley

Few players have dominated a World Championships category quite like Jo Shelley in the Women’s +50 Singles. The Brit has won each of the last three World Championships and returns searching for an unprecedented fourth-straight title.

She’ll have to play four matches this year as she is one of five players taking part in a Box League. Shelley is joined by British players Jane Galsworthy and Katie Hill, as well as No.2 seed Heike Voigt and Jana Severinova.

Having lost their previous three meetings, Shelley beat Heike Voigt last year on her way to a third Women’s +50 Singles title. If she wants to win this year then she’ll probably have to do it again.

Severinova had a good run last year in the Women’s C Singles, only losing to eventual champion Cherisse Lau. Meanwhile, both Jane Galsworthy and Katie Hill are playing in the World Singles Championships for the first time.

Seniors +55 Singles

Edition: 15th

2021 Champion: Thomas Knaack

Most Titles: Richard Whitehouse/Michael Karacsonyi (2)

The myriad of mighty monrads continues with 28 players competing for the Seniors +55 Singles title. Defending champion Thomas Knaaack is back and seeded No.7, with an opener against Switzerland’s Marc-André Rauber. He’s not the only former champion to be competing though.

Richard Hobzik, who won the title in 2019, is present and receives a first round bye as the top seed. Seeds two, three and four – Manfred Grab, Radu Ionescu and Zoltan Matecsa – also advance straight to round two. Avi Shemri, who lost out to Thomas Knaack in the 2021 final, also lands in the top quarter with Hobzik and Knaack – meaning we’ll get some blockbuster matches early on.

There’s a heavy Swiss, German and Hungarian presence among the unseeded players. Alongside Knaack, Frank Böhm is also seeded, while Werner Seel and Dirk Stock lurk in the top half. On the other hand, Swiss players Beat Ladner, Giovanni Gentile and Gregor Meyer are all in the bottom half of the draw.

After winning the Seniors +50 Doubles title alongside Jacob Steinmetz last year, Denmark’s Thomas Ostenfeld Larsen is a player to keep an eye on. Victor Solomon continues to be the trailblazer for Greek racketlon, as he lands near the foot of the draw.

Women’s +55 Singles

Edition: 5th

2021 Champion: Carola Von Heimburg

Most Titles: Carola Von Heimburg (2)

Not a lot of players in racketlon players have won a World Championship title three years in a row. Jo Shelley and Esther Dubendorfer achieved this feat last year. Now, Carola Von Heimburg has the opportunity in 2022.

She’s one of four players competing in the Women’s +55 Singles Box League. The top seed in the draw is actually the 2018 champion, Katrin Maldre. Following Maldre is Zuzana Vancuríková, who actually beat Von Heimburg on a gummiarm just a few weeks ago at the IWT German Open. A World Championships crown has always eluded Vancuríková – could this be her year?

Dianne Baker is the fourth player in the division. The experienced Brit will be looking to cause a stir as she chases a place on the podium. All of the players in this Box League know what it takes to win big racketlon matches. Given their similar levels of quality, could we see a first Gummiarm Playoff at a World Championships?

Seniors +60 Singles

Edition: 9th

2021 Champion: Peter Sákovics

Most Titles: Graham Cain/Peter Sákovics (2)

In the last preview we mentioned how Carola Von Heimburg is looking to join an elite club of players who have won three consecutive World Championship titles. Well, Peter Sákovics is looking to do it for a record-breaking second time! After four straight victories at Seniors +50 Singles level, the superstar is now aiming to do the same at Seniors +60 Singles level.

Peter Sákovics is the No.2 seed and sits at the bottom of the draw. He could potentially have a tough opener against Magnus Edby though. The Swede won the Seniors +60 Singles titles in Sheffield and Malta and has looked superb so far this season.

There are further threats to Sákovics’ challenge scattered throughout the draw. Last year’s beaten semi-finalists, Duncan Marlow and Alan Plater, sit in quarter-three, along with prolific German Volker Sach. Martyn Langston, who lost to Sákovics is last year’s final, is also back as the No.4 seed in quarter two.

Sákovics knows all about the dangers of Slovakia’s Lubomir Budinsky. The duo teamed up last year to win the Seniors +60 Doubles world title. The list of dangers hasn’t even yet mentioned top seed Frank Kleiber. The charismatic German is making his debut at this age category, and will be a thunderous force.

One of the most heavyweight divisions at this year’s World Championships, this will be a draw to watch intensely.

Seniors +65 Singles

Edition: 7th

2021 Champion: Julian Clapp

Most Titles: Six Players (1)

Speaking of draws dripping with World Championship quality, lets move on to the Seniors +65 Singles draw. The top three seeds – Graham King, Julian Clapp and Graham Cain – have all won World Singles titles. In fact, Clapp is the defending champion, after beating Stefan Blomgren in the final last year.

Former champion Steen Hesselbjerg could await Clapp in the quarter-finals, if the Dane can beat Sweden’s Jörgen Eriksson. Jesper Schou Nielsen is also a former World Seniors Singles champion. The Dane takes on Peter Weigl to set up a potentially mouthwatering showdown with Graham King in the quarter-finals.

One quarter-final matchup is already set up, with doubles partners Jean-Robert Fiori and Ray Ryan ready for a battle for a spot in the semi-finals. Hesselbjerg, King and Clapp all have the chance to become the first player to win this title twice. Will any of them manage it?

Seniors +70 Singles

Edition: 4th

2021 Champion: Timo Räisänen

Most Titles: Lennart Eklundh, Steve Rayson, Timo Räisänen (1)

A new name will be on the Seniors +70 Singles title. That is an absolute guarantee, with none of the previous champions playing this year. Three members of last year’s five-player box league are back this year though.

Peter Arbuthnott finished second a year ago, with Jan Stålberg and Geoff Jordan also back. Last year, the top seeds were Steve Rayson and Timo Räisänen. Neither are playing this year, but have instead been replaced by new top seeds Graham Cain and Steen Hesselbjerg. Both are World Champions at lower age categories – will one of the prolific doubles duo triumph?

The Juniors Teams preview is available here.