Leon Griffiths and Luke Griffiths won their fourth title together this season as they battled for the Men’s Doubles title at the IWT La Santa Open.
The Griffiths brothers had to work hard in the final to take down Nicolas Champod and Sylvain Ternon by 15 points.
Matilda Parslow became the 74th different player to win an Elite Women’s Doubles title. Parslow teamed up with Jennifer Schmitz to beat Flore Allègre and Jo Shelley by 10 points in the final.
Kirsten Kaptein and Nicolas Lenggenhager survived a first-round scare to win the Mixed Doubles title, beating Alexandra Ogram and Luke Griffiths in the final.
Men’s Doubles – Griffiths Brothers Continue Unbeaten Streak
Leon Griffiths and Luke Griffiths have dominated the Men’s Doubles scene this year, winning three titles together before Lanzarote – including the World Championships title. They added a fourth with a triumph at Club La Santa.
The Griffiths brothers received a bye through the quarter-finals and then reached the final by beating James Langworthy and Nicolas Lenggenhager before tennis.
In the other half of the draw, Nicolas Champod and Sylvain Ternon battled through two rounds of action to reach the final. They kicked off their run with a +26 victory over Kresten Hougaard and Jesper Schou Nielsen. Then, in the semi-finals, Champod and Ternon beat Jon Foulds and Duncan Stahl by 18 points thanks to dominant performances in table tennis and badminton.
In the final, Champod and Ternon took the table tennis 21-13 and almost snatched the badminton. Ultimately, the Griffiths boys snuck the badminton 21-17 to half their eight-point lead.
The final swung on the squash court. Both Griffiths’ performed superbly, with the duo securing a dominant 21-7 squash victory to open up a 10-point lead. At gone 9pm local time, the four players took to the tennis court, with the Griffiths’ needing 12. Luke and Leon controlled the tennis to win 12-7 and collect the IWT La Santa Open title. That takes Leon up to 12 career titles with Luke on six – four of those coming this year.
The full Men’s Doubles results are available here.
Women’s Doubles – Parslow and Schmitz Soar in the Sunshine
The eight-pair Women’s Doubles draws was one of the most open in recent memory, with none of the world’s top 10 taking part. That meant the opportunity was there for a duo to mark their name in the racketlon history books.
In the top half of the draw, it was Flore Allègre and Jo Shelley that battled their way to the final. With their success built around strong badminton and squash, the duo first took out Laureline Tschanz and Esther Dübendorfer before defeating Stephanie Chung and Elif Wong in the semi-finals.
A British winner would be guaranteed as Matilda Parslow reached the final alongside Jennifer Schmitz in the bottom half of the draw. They fought hard to win their opener against Aurélie Haurant and Amandine Souin by just 12 points. That was followed by a +16 win over Holly Ranson and Kate Russell, thanks to dominant performances in table tennis and tennis.
In the final, it was Allègre and Shelley that led after the badminton by one point. Parslow and Schmitz had sealed a 21-11 table tennis win before the French-British duo fought back, winning the badminton 21-10. A hard-fought squash was won by Parslow and Schmitz, leaving them needing 19 on the tennis court.
Parslow and Schmitz established an early lead on the tennis court and never looked back. They ran away 19-12 winners to secure the Women’s Doubles crown. For Parslow, that’s a first-ever elite title as she becomes just the 9th British woman to ever win a Women’s Doubles world title on the Racketlon World Tour. For Schmitz, that’s a third Women’s Doubles title, adding to the two she won in 2017 at the IWT German Open and IWT Antwerp Open.
The bronze medal went to Stephanie Chung and Elif Wong, after they beat Holly Ranson and Kate Russell.
The full Women’s Doubles results are available here.
Mixed Doubles – Lenggenhager With Back-to-Back Mixed Doubles Titles, This Time with Kaptein
Just four pairs would battle it out for the elite Mixed Doubles title. Only two players had previously won a Mixed Doubles title on the Racketlon World Tour, and they were paired together. Kirsten Kaptein and Nicolas Lenggenhager had both won titles before, with Lenggenhager actually winning his first at last month’s IWT Czech Open.
The two almost fell at the first hurdle though. They were drawn into a mammoth battle with Aurélie Haurant and James Langworthy. The topsy-turvy match was eventually won by three points by Kaptein and Lenggenhager, with the tennis score at 14-19.
The other semi-final was an all-British affair as Junior No.1s Alexandra Ogram and Luke Griffiths faced Holly Ranson and Ross Wilson. Despite a valiant effort from Ranson and Wilson, it was Ogram and Griffiths who battled their way into the final by 18 points.
The final itself was a one-way affair. Kaptein and Leggenhager imposed their will on the match early on and never looked back. The two top-10 players won 21-7, 21-14 and 21-17 to secure the title before tennis. A triumphant moment for both. For Kaptein, that’s now a third Mixed Doubles title while Lenggenhager has his second in as many tournaments.
After narrowly missing out on the spot in the final, Haurant and Langworthy took home a bronze medal with a +19 victory.
The full Mixed Doubles results are available here.
A full report from all the Amateurs, Juniors and Seniors categories will be available on Tuesday.
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
