Taking place from 15–19 April, the PSA Smyths Toys Hinckley Challenger returned to Hinckley Squash & Racketball Club for its third edition, once again attracting some of the world’s best young squash talent, with a record 19 nations represented.
Alongside the ranked players, wild-card entries were awarded to local talent Ali Mutch and James Bowden (Hinckley), and Rachel Calver (David Lloyd Meridian). All three impressed: Calver took a game off rising star Réka Kamecsei (England) in round one; Mutch pushed South Korea’s Jooyoung Na; and Bowden battled hard against Caleb Boy (England) in a spirited 3–1 defeat.
In the women’s draw, round two delivered several five-game thrillers. Notable performances came from Nigeria’s number one and second seed Rofiat Abdulazeez, who edged past England’s Katie Cox, and South Korea’s wild card Sunghee Oh, who upset higher-ranked Ellie Jones (Scotland).
Third seed and last year’s runner-up Ellie Breach (Wales) reached the final after a hard-fought 3–2 win over top seed Karolína Šrámková (Czech Republic). Keen to go one step further than last year, she faced England’s Emily Coulcher-Porter, a rising talent who reached the final dropping only a handful of games. Despite losing the first game, Breach responded with relentless pace and attacking play to claim the title 3–1 (8–11, 11–7, 11–5, 11–3).
The men’s event also produced early upsets. Jooyoung Na (South Korea) stunned top seed Baptiste Bouin (France) in round two, while second seed Samuel Gerrits (Netherlands) was beaten 3–0 by France’s Titouan Isambard. In arguably the match of the tournament, Wales’ Elliott Morris Devred beat Jooyoung Na 3-1 in what was described as “the highest quality squash match I’ve seen played at Hinckley” by club coach James Bowden.
The final saw England’s AbdAllah Eissa, a familiar face in local leagues, take on Egypt’s Ahmed Rashed, who turned 19 during the tournament. In a high-quality contest featuring long rallies and precise shot-making, Rashed’s composure at key stages of close games proved decisive as he secured his first senior title with a 3–0 victory (11–8, 11–8, 11–9).
Hosting two PSA Challenger Tour events simultaneously required significant effort, and the club extends its thanks to member Tim Solley and his team of volunteers Ali Nicholas, Terrie Godden, Amy O’Hara, Paul Goodwin, Alan Cantes, Tim Parratt and Simon Eves for delivering a smooth and professional tournament. Thanks also go to Emma Chester (@chesteremma_photos) for the additional photography that really helped to capture the athletes in full flow! Matches were also streamed online, attracting over 10,000 viewers on YouTube.
With squash set to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, our club is proud to support the next generation of players as they build their careers—and perhaps even future Olympic success. And who knows, in future years we may be able to bring some of our own local talents to the world stage!
