The draws are out for this weekend’s Finnish Open. Our first IWT of the season promises to be an exciting event, with both World no 1’s playing. It will be a busy tournament with 69 participants which is more than the last time the event was in 2019!
Men’s A Singles – Lenggenhager trying to do one better, tough challenge for defending champion Penttinen
The men’s draw is very strong and is headed by current world number 1 Morten Jaksland. It’s a very international field with exciting line-ups. Jaksland potentially faces Mandrin Mouchet in the quarter-finals, who has started the season well with a final in Thailand. If everything goes according to seeding he will meet Swede René Lindberg in the semi-finals, who first has to battle through wildcard Jesse Kiljunen from Finland. The bottom half of the draw sees Nicolas Lenggenhager as the number 2 seed, and he will try to do one better in Finland after reaching the final in the 2019 event. He will potentially face no 4 seed Luka Penttinen in the semi-finals as a repeat of the 2019 final. Cornelius Radermacher is also a strong contender in the top half of the draw, only being one place behind Luka Penttinen in the February rankings. The other wildcard went to Finnish player Henrik Mustonen (who reached a career-high of world no 35 on the PSA World Tour) who is also a former Finnish Open champion in 2018.
The men’s A draw can be found here
Women’s A singles – Race for the world no 1 spot
The women’s A sees a strong 8-player draw, with lots of home interest. The strong favourites for the tournament are world no 1 Anna-Klara Ahlmer and world no 2 Stine Jacobsen. Jacobsen might have the chance to overtake Ahlmer as world number 1 with a strong result, but she will need to battle past Emilia Kostiainen from Finland before setting up an expected Semi-final against America’s Stephanie Chung. At the top half of the draw, Ahlmer faces Kaisu Anttila from Finland, before playing either world number 14 Nicole Eisler from Switzerland or Heli Mäkelä From Finland, who finished 3rd in the 2019 event. Ahlmer will try to defend her title and start the 2023 season strong after winning the IWT London Open and the IWT Latvian Open last year.
The Women’s A draw can be found here
Men’s A Doubles – Lenggenhager and Lindberg top seeds
The men’s A Doubles draw only has two matches in the first round, between Kiljunen/Steyer vs Jaksland/Thyregod and Barton/Haynes vs Laine/Tennilä . Both winners will face the no 1 and 2 seeds of the tournament. Lenggenhager/Lindberg are the no 1 seed and are looking to do better in the 2023 Finnish Open after finishing 2nd in 2019. If they make it to the semi-finals they will face either (4) Moran/Radermacher or the Finnish duo Nissinen/Vuorinen. The no 2 seeds of the tournament are Duthuille/Kurek. They are expected to meet (3) Pennanen/Penttinen in the semi-finals, if Pennanen/Penttinen can overcome fellow countrymen Kainulainen/Mustonen.
The Men’s Doubles draw is available here
Women’s A Doubles – Ahlmer and Jacobsen aiming for gold together
Where they are opponents in the single’s draw, they are trying to claim the title together in the doubles! Ahlmer and Jacobsen will face Finnish duo Kosonen/Kostiainen in the top half of the draw, whilst no 2 seeds Chung/Eisler face Finnish duo Anttila/Mäkelä. Ahlmer and Jacobsen look the clear favourites as no 1 and 5 in the February rankings.
The women’s doubles draw is available here
Mixed Doubles – Jacobsen/Radermacher and Eisler/Lenggenhager seeded to meet in the final
The mixed doubles are looking very exciting with two first-round matches between Finnish pair Kosonen/Sundel facing Malta Open winners Ahlmer/Thyregod and American duo Chung/Moran facing Kostiainen/Pichler. The winners will face Jacobsen/Radermacher or the Swiss duo Eisler/Lenggenhager in the semi-finals. Ahlmer finished 2nd in 2019, and Radermacher 3rd with their respective doubles partners so they are both aiming to be on the podium again.
The mixed doubles draw is available here
Men’s B Advanced – Pichler and Szlazak top seeds
In the men’s B Pichler will be looking for his first title since the Vienna New Year Classics in 2020. He will face Ruokanen in the first round. The other quarter-final will be between Katola and Peter Barton. Rafal Szlazak is the no 2 seed and is looking to get his first men’s B title after winning the Men’s C IWT Latvian Open in 2022. He will face Seppo Raiski from Finland in the quarter-finals. The other quarter-final is between Ollie Barton and Graham King (FIR Vice president), King is also the no 1 seed for the seniors 60+ whilst Barton is the no 2 seed for the juniors u21 which will be a nice match-up to see if experience or youth will win!
The Men’s B advanced draw can be found here
Women’s B Amateur – Finnish medal guaranteed
The Women’s B amateur draw will only consist of Finnish players. It will be a round-robin, with junior player Elma Vuorinen the only player who has played on the IWT tour before.
The Women’s B amateur draw can be found here
Men’s B Amateur Doubles – three pairs battling for gold
The men’s B is also a round robin with three pairings fighting for gold. Finnish Duo Niemeläinen/Oikarainen will face Austrian duo Pichler/Urban in their first match, and King/Korer in their second match. Pichler/Urban and King/Korer will be playing earlier in the day.
The Men’s B Amateur Doubles draw can be found here
Men’s C – Lots of Finnish interest
The men’s C has a lot of Finnish interest with four players playing in their home country. Markus Elomäki is the no 1 seed for the event, and he is expected to face Ljungberg-Jensen in the final. It could be a completely Finnish podium if all four Finnish players manage to win their matches.
The Men’s C draw can be found here
Men’s D Beginners – Five players to decide the podium
The Men’s D has five players, the top seeds are Stefan Steckermeier and Christoph Steckermeier from Germany, both have played in the Czech Open with Stefan beating Christoph +12. The other three players are from Finland, along with teenager Walle Vuorinen.
The Men’s D draw can be found here
Juniors u21 – Steyer and Barton top seeds
A round-robin format for the u21 as well, with France’s Lucas Steyer as no1 seed. He will face Ollie Barton, Andreas Kotala, and Leo Karppanen in the round-robin. Barton, Kotala, and Steyer are also playing in the Men’s B.
The full Juniors u21 draw can be found here
Seniors +40
The seniors 40+ round robin has five players. Finland’s Tommi Laine is the no 1 seed, and Ersoy Korer from Turkey is the no 2 seed. The rest of the draw is made up of Markus lomäki Jesper Schou Nielsen and Peter Barton. Laine is looking for his first 40+ win since the Vienna Classics in 2019.
The full +40 draw can be found here
Seniors +50
A four-player round-robin will be a battle between Poland, Switzerland, and Finland. Rafal Szlazak is the no 1 seed (and the no 2 seed in the men’s B advanced) whereas no 2 seed Marc-André Rauber is also in the Men’s C draw. The other two players are from Finland, Kimmo Pennanen and Jari Penttinen. Kimmo Pennanen won the +50 in 2018.
The full +50 draw can be found here
Seniors +55 Doubles
The senior +55 Doubles is a draw with four pairings, with Kujala/Tennila leading the way. They face Rauber/Stevenot whilst Pennanen/Raiski will face the no 2 seeds Koskela/Raumanni. Kujala won silver in the B amateur doubles in 2018 and his partner Tennila won the Finish Open +60 event in 2019.
The full seniors +55 doubles draw can be found here
Seniors +60
The Seniors +60 is split into Group A and B. Group A is headed by Graham King, who will face Jean-Pierre Stevenog and Esko Kumpulainen. King will look to build on his strong form from last year, winning the IWT German Open +50 and getting a silver medal at the World Championships in the +65. Group B is headed by Thomas Ostenfeld Larsen, he will face Finnish players Pekka Tennila and Seppo Raiski. Ostenfeld Larsen will also be looking to add another title to his collection, after winning the +55 IWT London Open 22, the IWT French Open +50, and finishing second at the +55 World Championships.
The groups can be found here:
Sanne Veldkamp / FIR Media Officer
