We sat down with some of the biggest stars in Racketlon in their preparation for the 2024 FIR Racketlon World Championships! It’s safe to say everyone is ready to go.
How has your season been so far?
Luke: “it’s been pretty good, I haven’t been that active but when I’ve been playing I’ve been playing very well. Very happy to win the doubles World Champs and defend both my titles there, and also the singles in Denmark was pretty good for me.”
Sylvain: “Not bad, I’ve only lost against really strong players, and won a few titles! A bit of trouble with my squash sometimes, but I feel a lot more confident after winning the title in Viena last week. I worked a lot on it and it’s going in the right direction.”
Kevin: “The 2024 season has been great for me with decent results in the Asian tour, with the highlight having won the Hong Kong Open on home turf.”
Holly: “I’ve had to focus on exams this year, so I haven’t been ale to play as many tournaments as I’d have liked, but I was pleased with my performance at the Swiss Open, and it was good practice for Rotterdam!”
Joerg: “With my first two IWT titles in Warsaw and Nussloch, this season has obviously been my most successful. I was able to play some great matches, certainly with a bit of luck on my side when I needed it. But I’m very happy with how the year went so far.”
What are your goals for the Championships?
Luke: “My goals are to try and defend my two titles [Elite and U21]. It’s going to be tricky – there are a lot of good players in both the U21 and the elite draw, and also I hope to help my GB team try and finish as best as we can in the World Cup! Hoping to win it and doing the best that we can.”
Sylvain: “I want to go in and not regret anything. I trained hard and smart to be ready on D-day, so I want to apply what I’ve worked on in all four sports and leave it out there on court. I’m an outsider for the title, I will give everything on court even if I should die on court.”
Kevin: “For the team event it will be Hong Kong’s first time playing in the top category, so we hope team HK can give everyone a tough time! For singles, my goal is to get a lucky draw (haha) but jokes aside, I will fight to snatch as many wins as I can!”
Holly: “I’m looking forward to the team event, and hoping our British team will be on the podium. I’m hoping to see some improvements in my squash and my overall performance especially if I play the top 5 players. I really want to enjoy the experience.”
Joerg: “It’s hard for me to set a specific goal. It’s the first time I get to play in the Men’s A at the World Champs and winning a round or two would be great. After that, let’s see what’s possible 😊.”
What is your biggest improvement this season?
Luke: “I think the biggest improvement this season has been my consistency, I’ve played at a consistently high level whereas before I might have had a few games where the intensity would’ve dropped. Physically I’m feeling good too.”
Sylvain: “Be more relaxed when I play tennis, and I worked on my table tennis skills.”
Holly: “My squash has really improved this season, I’ve been practicing regularly and playing a lot of matches, but I now want that to translate into better scores against the top players.”
Kevin: “I would like to say my squash but it’s still not good enough at elite level 😉.“
Joerg: “In the tournaments I played this year, I was mostly very happy with my results in squash”.
How have you prepared for next week?
Luke: “In the summer is when I’m away from uni [university] so it means I’ve got more free time to play a lot of the sports consistently. Training lots of badminton and playing a lot of squash and tennis. Table tennis as well which doesn’t always happen throughout the season.”
Sylvain: “I played a lot of tennis to be confident enough to relax on court. I went to Vienna for a training camp and of course, the most important thing is the regular training I’ve had this year.”
Kevin: “As there are no clay courts in HK, team HK has planned for training camps in Shenzhen and Taipei with our longest day having practiced for seven hours!!”
Holly: “Since I finished my GCSE [British school exams taken in year 11] at the end of June, I’ve been trying to train in all four sports and to play matches regularly. I haven’t done as much tennis as I’d have liked, because the weather has been so bad unfortunately.”
Joerg: “Pretty much the same way as for other tournaments: Playing as much tennis and badminton at my clubs as possible, and squeezing in some squash and table tennis sessions wherever I can”.
What are you looking forward to wilst visiting Rotterdam?
Luke: “I’m looking forward to visit Rotterdam again, especially the Market Hall which has a lot of food but also just seeing everyone it’s a great community and be great to watch and play some good matches. Looking forward to the tournament!”
Sylvain: “Some good results and spending time with my family and friends who are coming down to support me during the individual event”.
Holly: “It will be great to see all the people I know from all over the world and catch up and socialise with everyone. It’s always brilliant to be part of the British team – the team support is phenomenal, and the team event is a great experience. I’m hoping it will be sunny this year!!”.
Joerg: “I’m looking forward to another great Racketlon event at one of the best venues I’ve played at. On the court, I’m really looking forward to playing some intense matches and especially the team competition.”
Stay tuned for part two with Anna-Klara, Koen and Jesper!
