Despite only being an IWT event, this weekend’s Czech Open is one of the strongest tournaments of the year. All 8 Women and 12 of the 20 Men in the elite singles draws are ranked inside the Top 25 in the World.
The event starts with doubles today. 3 pairs in the Women’s Doubles, 6 in the Men’s and Mixed.
Check out the draws: Women’s Doubles | Men’s Doubles | Mixed Doubles
As we move to the singles draws, it is worth noting that this is the players’ last chance to win points before the World Tour Finals in Mumbai. The top 8 men and women in the 2025 World Tour Race will qualify – check out the latest standings to see who’s in the running.
Women’s Singles
Adeline Kilchenmann was 9th in the World Tour Race on October 1. The Swiss woman may have already booked her ticket to India after winning the Norwegian Open two weeks ago, but she’s hungry for more! Her first round opponent will be World Championship semi-finalist, Mollie Patterson. Since Worlds, the table tennis star has continued her strong form, reaching the final at the Austrian Open. They’ve never met on the World Tour in singles and this match should be a good one to watch!
In the same half of the draw is Over 40s World Champion, Kirsten Kaptein. The Dutchwoman is the top seed for this tournament and she takes on local Lucie Hlavacova in round 1. The Czech woman boasts a 5-1 lead in the head to head singles record, however Kirsten won their only battle in Prague.
In the bottom half is a battle between Dara Ladner from Switzerland and B Grade World Champion, Anaïs Ben Mansour. They are ranked 24 and 25 in the world respectively.
The last match is Sandra Ettenauer vs. Holly Ranson. Neither Ladner vs. Mansour, nor Ettenauer vs. Ranson has occurred before on the World Tour.
Men’s Singles
20 players in the draw mean that all 8 seeds, plus 4 others with a lucky draw, won’t have to play until round 2. Two matches stand out in round 1:
- Jakub Svec vs. Andreas Kotala. Jakub is a local wildcard who won the B Grade World Championships in 2022. Andreas has had a great season and is just outside the top 8 in the World Tour Race.
- Malte Thyregod vs. Martin Sopko – ranked 26 and 24 in the world respectively
As for the seeds, Austrian Open runner-up, Molnár Gergely, has been dealt a tough draw. The Hungarian is in the same quarter as 2025 World Champion, Leon Griffiths. Michał Kurek from Poland and German Bastian Böhm may meet in the second quarter final.
Koen Hageraats from The Netherlands and Jesper Hedlund from Sweden are seeded to meet in the third quarter final, but both have a tough round 2 match first. In the final quarter, it’s Czech Matěj Volf and Swiss Nicolas Lenggenhager who are expected to meet.
View the draws: Women’s Singles | Men’s Singles
Lastly, Ola Emriksson is back on the World Tour for the first time since 2019. The Swede, who reached as high as 20 in the world, will be competing in the Men’s B this weekend.
