Luke Griffiths will return to court for the first time since being crowned Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles World Champion at this week’s IWT La Santa Open.
Griffiths joins a stacked Men’s Singles draw in Lanzarote that also features Leon Griffiths, Nicolas Lenggenhager, Kresten Hougaard and Duncan Stahl.
A new Women’s Singles champion is also confirmed on the Racketlon World Tour, with eight players battling for the title. Kirsten Kaptein is the top seed, while Girls No.1 Alexandra Ogram is also seeded.
Here’s your full preview of the IWT La Santa Open elite categories.
Men’s Singles – Griffiths’ Brothers Headline the Sunshine Showdown
There are 12 players taking part in the Men’s Singles category at Club La Santa. The four seeded players all receive a bye through to the quarter-finals, leaving eight players to battle it out in the first round.
As the top seed, Leon Griffiths is the seed in the first quarter of the draw. The Brit will take on either Matthew Davidson or Patrick Moran in his first match. While Davidson is hunting a spot in the Top 10 of the world rankings, Moran is making his elite debut at the IWT level. He has played elite singles racketlon before but that was at the Thailand Open Challenger a few years ago.
The other first-round match in the top half is an all-French contest. Separated by just three spots in the rankings, Anthony Duthuillé and Sylvain Ternon meet for the first time on the Racketlon World Tour. The reward for the winner is a quarter-final clash with Duncan Stahl.
The bottom half is Brit-heavy. All four first-round competitors in the bottom half are British, including Luke Griffiths. The younger Griffiths brother finds himself in quarter three and will take on familiar face Ross Wilson in round one. The winner will book themselves a date with Tournament Director Kresten Hougaard who sits at No.6 in the World Rankings.
After his title at the IWT Czech Open last month, Nicolas Lenggenhager is the No.2 seed. The Swiss talent will either take on doubles partner James Langworthy or Luke Barnes. The two Brits will collide in the fourth quarter after both competing at the IWT La Santa Open one year ago.
Perhaps most intriguing about this draw is the possibility of a first all-Griffiths Men’s Singles final. This is something that the Racketlon World Tour is yet to see.
The full Men’s Singles draw is available here.
Women’s Singles – First-Time Champion Guaranteed
Both Myriam Enmer and Anna-Klara Ahlmer entered this tournament at various stages in the last month. But due to a variety of reasons, both decided to withdraw. That’s left us with a draw that is stuffed full of opportunity as eight players all battle to win the first-ever Women’s Elite Singles title.
The only top-10 player in the draw is Kirsten Kaptein. The Dutch star is the top seed and will enjoy a rematch with Great Britain’s Holly Ranson. The two met in Prague last month, with Kaptein grinding out a 13-point victory. Will history repeat itself or could Ranson get her revenge?
The other match in the first half pitches four-time Women’s Seniors +50 World Champion Jo Shelley against America’s Stephanie Chung. While Shelley enters this draw with a wealth of racketlon experience, Chung is still a relatively new name on the Racketlon World Tour. However, she’s already made quite an impact, winning the Women’s B Doubles title at this year’s World Championships alongside countrywoman Joanne Schickerling.
The third match in the draw will be a badminton battle as Great Britain’s Cherisse Lau takes on France’s Flore Allègre. The two badminton specialists will battle it out in Lanzarote with a semi-final spot on the line. Allègre is into the elite draw on a wildcard – can she make the most of the opportunity?
The final match is an all-British affair as No.2 seed Alexandra Ogram takes on Matilda Parslow. The latter is ranked just one spot behind Ogram in the World Rankings and will be looking to reach the latter stages after an impressive World Cup debut in Austria. With two elite semi-finals already this year, Ogram is looking to add to her success.
The full Women’s Singles draw is available here.
Men’s Doubles – World Champions Back in Action
Just four months ago, Luke Griffiths and Leon Griffiths teamed up to be crowned the Men’s Doubles World Champions. They return to action at the IWT La Santa Open, where they’ll enter as favourites.
With six pairs in the draw, the top-seeded Griffiths brothers receive a bye through to the semi-finals – as do No.2 seed Matthew Davidson and Duncan Stahl at the bottom of the draw. That leaves four pairs battling to join them.
Nicolas Lenggenhager and James Langworthy are teaming up in the top half of the draw. The Swiss-British duo will take on Johnny Bispham and Luke Barnes with the winning pair advancing to face the Griffiths brothers. Lenggenhager already has one Men’s Doubles title this year, winning at the IWT London Open alongside René Lindberg.
Kresten Hougaard lurks in the bottom half. The former Men’s Doubles World Champion is teaming up with Seniors star Jesper Schou Nielsen and will take on Sylvain Ternon and Nicolas Champod in the first round. The winning pair will advance to face Davidson and Stahl in the semi-finals.
The full Men’s Doubles draw is available here.
Women’s Doubles – Biggest Elite Doubles Draw
The biggest of the three elite doubles draws is the Women’s Doubles, with eight pairs set to fight it out for the title.
Kirsten Kaptein and Esther Dübendorfer are the top seeds in the Lanzarote sunshine. Despite their regularity on the Racketlon World Tour, this is the first time the two have played alongside each other. They kick off their campaign with a quarter-final clash with Jo Shelley and Flore Allègre.
The other match in the top half of the draw sees the return of Stephanie Chung. The American won the Women’s B Doubles title with Joanne Schickerling at the World Championships in August. In La Santa, she partners Hong Kong’s Elif Wong, who is returning to the Racketlon World Tour for the first time since 2019. They will begin against Finnish pair Ronja Kosonen and Emilia Kostainen.
The bottom half is Brit-heavy. Five Brits are among the eight players, although just one is involved in quarter three. That is Matilda Parslow, who partners with Germany’s Jennifer Schmitz in the draw. They will kick off their campaign against Amandine Souin and Aurélie Haurant.
The fourth and final match is headlined by No.2 seeds and Girls U21 Doubles World Champions Alexandra Ogram and Cherisse Lau. The Juniors stars take on fellow Brits Kate Russell and Holly Ranson with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs.
The full Women’s Doubles draw is available here.
Mixed Doubles – Four Pairs Fighting For Title
While the Women’s Doubles draw is the largest, the Mixed Doubles is the smallest. Four pairs will battle for the title. Fresh off the back of his first elite Mixed Doubles crown at the IWT Czech Open, Nicolas Lenggenhager is back and claims the top seed alongside Kirsten Kaptein.
Kaptein and Lenggenhager’s campaign begins against Aurélie Haurant and James Langworthy. The French-British duo are teaming up for the first time as they attempt to shock the top seeds.
The second match is an all-British affair. No.2 seeds Alexandra Ogram and Luke Griffiths feature in this match. They will take on Holly Ranson and Matthew Davidson as all four players look to win their first elite Mixed Doubles title.
The full Mixed Doubles draw is available here.
A full preview of all the Juniors, Seniors and Amateurs categories will be available soon.
Keep up with all the action from the IWT La Santa Open all weekend on Facebook, Instagram and Racketlon.net.
Interested in competing on the Racketlon World Tour? The 2023 Racketlon World Tour is now live, with the Thailand Open Challenger, IWT RSL Finnish Open, IWT Nordic Racket Games and IWT Swiss Open all open for player entry.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image / rubinfoto.com
