Finnish junior Jesse Kiljunen has won his first ever World Tour title, taking out the Men’s Singles after losing the final last year. In the Women’s Singles, Anna-Klara Ahlmer has won her 5th Finnish Open.
Women’s Open – pathway to the final
The Swede was clinical from the start of the tournament, defeating Brit Kirsten Atkinson and Katherine Serrano before tennis. The Spaniard won the table tennis, but Anna-Klara won every other set on Saturday to book her place in the final.
Viivi Paksu was ranked 74 in the world before the tournament started. She began proceedings with a shock win against World Number 4, Kirsten Kaptein. The Finnish squash star was not only fantastic in her own sport, but also followed up with a 21-7 win in the tennis.
Paksu then defeated compatriot Kaisu Anttila in the semi final, by just one point!
Women’s Open Final
In the final, the World Number 1 showed her racketlon experience, using heavy backspin to unsettle her younger opponent. The Swede seemed almost apologetic after the 21-2 win, but later described her table tennis performance as “efficient.”
Anna-Klara again showed off her tactical experience in the badminton, hitting clears to Viivi’s backhand before following up with drop shots. The Finn fought hard in the second half, but could only manage 7 points.
Then, the energy shifted!
Before they’d even played a point, Viivi Paksu casually slotted a few nicks after some solo figure-eights. When the warm up was over, the Finnish national squash team representative showed excellent energy and hit superior length to take an 11-1 lead.
After the break, the defending champion showed more positive stroke-play and hit some good volleys. But the Finnish junior was too fast and closed the set 21-4.
“Her squash is really, really good! She completely destroyed me,” Ahlmer said. “I thought I played pretty good in the second half, but she just got everything back with quality! I was impressed.”
Viivi showed some good control and variation of spin on the tennis court too, but Anna-Klara needed just 6 points. The Swede secured her 5th Finnish Open title with a good, deep return of serve that Paksu was unable to keep in play.
Kaisu Anttila defeated Katherine Serrano by 4 points to win the bronze medal.
Men’s Singles – Gummiarm playoff required in Group B
Jesse Kiljunen was ruthless in his first round match, defeating Polish Piotr Ostaszyk before tennis. He was made to work harder in his second match against World Number 10, Mandrin Mouchet. The Frenchman led by 12 points after two sports, before Jesse recovered, winning both squash and tennis to single figures.
Andreas Kotala’s path to the final was considerably more difficult. The Swiss player defeated Finn Toni Ruokanen by just 2 points. Toni then defeated Keith Lesser from Great Britain by 4 points, before the Brit defeated Andreas by 2 points in the final group match.
Given that all players won one match each, all three players arrived earlier on Sunday for a Gummiarm playoff* (i.e. 4 points against each other in every sport.)
It was Andreas’ success in the playoff that earned his spot in the final.
* Read about The Gummiarm Playoff in the FIR Players and Draws Regulations under sections 3.11 and 3.12
Men’s Open final
The young Swiss started the final strongly, reading the spin well and controlling the table tennis. An 11-8 lead halfway became 21-12 when Kiljunen missed the table going for attacking topspins.
The Finn looked alert in the badminton, using some fantastic control to take the shuttle in short. Jesse continued his dominance with some deceptive strokes in the second half to take the set 21-4.
The Finnish junior carried the momentum into the squash, racing to a 7-0 lead. Andreas then found room to play his shots a bit more and came up with some great volley drops. The set still finished in Jesse’s favour, but 21-14 is not as bad as it could have been for the number 2 seed.
Jesse won the tennis set 11-9, playing a few extra points after winning the title at 7-6.
In the bronze medal match, Keith Lesser defeated Mandrin Mouchet by 16 points. Keith was thrilled with the result, posting on his facebook, “First podium finish in an open singles. Only taken 22 seasons.”
Next tournament: SWT Polish Open 2025, March 21-23.
Photo credit: Racketlon Finland
