The first Polish Open Challenger takes place this weekend with 25 players descending on Warsaw to compete for a number of titles.
Home favourite Michał Kurek is the top seed in the inaugural event and is joined in the Men’s Elite Singles by Arturs Zaicevs, Wojciech Wajda and Christian Börner.
This is one of four tournaments left on the 2022 Racketlon World Tour, with the Romanian Open Challenger, IWT Czech Open and IWT La Santa Open still available for players to enter.
Here’s a full preview of the Polish Open Challenger draws.
Men’s A Singles – Kurek Looking for First Title
A new champion is the only thing that is guaranteed when the Men’s A Singles category kicks off on Saturday. Four players will be competing for glory in a Box League, with home favourite Michał Kurek the top seed.
While Kurek has never won an elite title, he is no stranger to silverware. After winning the Men’s E Singles title at the 2018 World Championships, the Pole went on a ferocious run in 2019. He won four Men’s B Singles titles in Berlin, Oudenaarde, Vienna and Malta to explode his way onto the racketlon scene. This is his best chance to become Poland’s second-ever title winner.
Joining him in the Box League are Latvia’s Arturs Zaicevs, Polish wildcard Wojciech Wajda and Germany’s Christian Börner. Zaicevs is the only other player with elite level pedigree, having previously won a Men’s Elite Doubles and Mixed Elite Doubles title in Estonia in 2016. The Latvian also showed some form at the World Championships, knocking out
Wajda and Börner are both making their debuts at the elite level. Wajda took part in the World Championships last month, losing to Duncan Stahl in the second round of the Seniors +45 Singles. Börner is an ever-present on the Racketlon World Tour but is making his elite singles debut here in Warsaw.
The full Men’s A Singles draw is available here.
Men’s A Doubles – King and Walczak Top Seeds
Eight pairs will compete in the Men’s Elite Doubles draw, which will also see a pair of first-time elite champions. Graham King and Darius Adam Walczak are the top seeds and will open against Szajda Przemysław and Szczepan Rubczynski. The latter pair teamed up at the Racketlon World Championships, finishing with a bronze medal in the Men’s D/E Doubles category.
Michał Kurek is also in the top half of the draw, competing alongside
Speaking of Tallinn, it’s a pair of Estonians – Timm Rannu and Kristjan Teeäär – who are the second seeds in the draw. They begin their campaign against Miroslaw Kalicki and Daniel Lipowski.
The final match in the first round sees Adam Borkowski and Jaroslaw Pupiallo take on Daniel Ladny and Jacek Ladny. The Ladny’s played their only previous tournament in Switzerland at the World Championships last year. Borkowski finished with a bronze medal in the Men’s D Single, losing to eventual champion Hei Nam Lee.
The full Men’s A Doubles draw is available here.
Men’s B Singles – Hrůza & Rannu Lead the Seeds
Adam Borkowski is also in action in the Men’s B Singles. The Pole is the No.3 seed, and one of 11 Polish players in the 14-player draw. It is a pair of travelling players that occupy seeds one and two though. Czech player Marek Hrůza is the top seed, with Estonia’s Timm Rannu No.2. Both receive a bye through to the quarter-finals.
As No.3 seed, Borkowski opens against debutant Mateusz Stempel. Stempel is not the only debutant in the draw, with Rafal Jablonski and Piotr Kawalko also competing for the first time. Daniel Lipowski is the final seeded player and he begins his campaign against Szajda Przemysław.
Przemysław’s doubles partner, Szczepan Rubczynski, takes on Jacek Ladny with the winner set to face Rannu in the quarter-finals. Kristjan Teeäär is the other Estonian in the draw. He begins with a contest against returning Polish player Maciej Gul.
The full Men’s B Singles draw is available here.
Juniors U16 Singles – Two Ladny’s Battling for Glory
As well as competing in the doubles, Daniel Ladny is also in singles action at Juniors U16 level. He is one of three players competing in the Box League. Joining him are a pair of debutants – Kacper Ladny and Antoni Kozłowski. Will Daniel’s experience shine through or will one of the unknown duo triumphs?
The full Juniors U16 Singles draw is available here.
Seniors +40 Singles – Börner Top Seed in Varied Draw
The most varied draw in the tournament is the Seniors +40 Singles, with eight players from four different countries competing. Christian Börner is the top seed. The experienced German opens with a showdown with Polish debutant Rafal Jablonski.
The winner of that match will then go on to face either Kamil Kurak or Kristjan Teeäär. Kurek is returning for the first time since 2017, while Teeäär is competing in just his second tournament after making his debut at this year’s IWT Latvian Open.
There’s a second Polish-Estonian showdown in the bottom half of the draw. Separated by just two ranking places, Adam Borkowski and Timm Rannu will meet for a place in the quarter-finals.
The final match is perhaps the tastiest. Marek Hrůza, who is the top seed in the Men’s B Singles, takes on Poland’s Wojciech Wajda, who has received a wildcard into the Men’s A Singles.
The full Seniors +40 Singles draw is available here.
Seniors +50 Singles – King Headlines Draw
In the Seniors +50 Singles, it’s the ever-present Graham King that headlines. Fresh from the World Championships, the Swiss star is the top seed and receives a bye through to the semi-finals where he’ll face either Jaroslaw Pupiallo or Jacek Ladny. All six of the other players are Poles, with each looking to stop King from winning the title.
King’s doubles partner, Dariusz Adam Walczak, is the No.2 seed. He opens against Miroslaw Kalicki. The winner of their contest will take on either Daniel Lipowski or Dariusz Muc.
The full Seniors +50 Singles draw is available here.
Follow all the results from the Polish Open Challenger here, with the tournament beginning on Saturday and ending on Sunday.
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Interested in competing in a Racketlon World Tour event? We’ve got three left between now and the end of the year and you can enter all three here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
