This will be the first time the international Racketlon tour has come to Augsburg and we can expect some high-quality Racketlon matches this weekend. The event is organised by Natalie Paul, a former top 10 racketlon player and former World Doubles Champion. She unfortunately had to leave Racketlon after an injury in 2020, but she is making her return in the women’s A draw this weekend.
This is the last tournament before the 2023 FIR World Doubles and a good chance for people to measure where they are at.
A possible Swiss Open final repeat here in Augsburg
Ther is a possible repeat of the Swiss Open final over a week ago, with Bühler and Ternon being top seeds for this event. It’s also a draw with up and coming junior players, Ried, Kotala, and Böhm. Ried will face top seed Ternon in his first match, whilst Kotala and Böhm will battle it out for a spot in the semi-finals. The other quarter-finals are between Vaclahovsky and wildcard Kanonenberg, and Wiggin and Bühler. Wiggin and Bühler are 1-1 in their head-to-head, with Bühler winning their last meeting at the Swiss Open in the round of 16.
The full draw can be found here
Natalie Paul returns to the Racketlon Tour
Next to organising the event Natalie Paul will play her first international Racketlon tournament since the Czech Open 2021. She will play her first match against world no 2 Ahlmer, their head-to-head is 3-3, before facing fellow German player Silke Altmann. The two German players know each other very well, even though they haven’t played each other on the tour for a while, Altmann has a 4-1 head-to-head against Paul. The last time they played it was Paul who won the match at the German Open in 2017. Ahlmer is in good form this season and will be looking for another event win and keep her momentum going.
The draw can be found here.
Lots of German interest in the men’s elite doubles and mixed elite doubles
Oettl and Vaclahovsky are the favourites to win the title in Augsburg but they have to battle past strong opponents. They might have a slight advantage having played, and won, tournaments together. They will face Kanonenberg/Wiggin in their first match on Friday, before playing Bühler/Böhm in their final match. Where they play together in the mixed they will face each other in their first mixed doubles round. Paul/Vaclahovsky and Altmann/Oettl will kick off doubles day at 10am on Friday. Ahlmer/Wiggin are the favourites for this event but will have to battle past their German opponents.
Men’s Doubles draw | Mixed Doubles draw
Sanne Veldkamp/ FIR Media Officer
