THE Lexden Rackets and Fitness Club Open will boast the biggest and strongest draw the competition has ever seen when it takes place next month.
The Open, sponsored by Wright Ruffell Sturricks, returns on August 3-6, with 32 men and 16 women competing for the top prize and valuable PSA ranking points.
Headlining the Men’s draw is WR 102 Perry Malik.
Malik is enjoying his highest world ranking to date, having made the final of the Liverpool Cricket Club Open $6k as well as the semi-final of the Lagos International Classic $12k where he lost to his elder brother, Curtis.
Perry lost in the semi-final of the LRFC Open two years ago and is returning with the aim of taking the title.
Second seed is WR 112 Owain Taylor.
Local to Lexden and now resident in Nottingham, Taylor recently won the Kent Open $3k, beating Perry in the semi-finals.
Three to seeds are last year's finalist Will Salter and local Aaron Allpress, world ranked 245 and 248 respectively.
They won’t want to let Perry and Owain have it all their own way.
Others to watch are last year's champion and former WR9 Daryl Selby, 2021 finalist John Meehan, 2x British Junior Champion Denis Gilevskiy, as well as England O40s player Neil Cross, club champion Kieran Hillman, and Essex County Champion, Stan Sykes.
The ladies draw is headlined by WR 70 Torrie Malik who is on a roll, winning the Kent Open $3k, English Junior Championship, $6k Mozart Open, $6k Liverpool CC Open, and $6k Lagos International Classic all within the last six months.
Norfolk County’s Katie Cox WR184 is second seed.
Striking a balance between studying and training, she will look to kick on this summer and bring home some silverware.
Three-four seeds are England U19 International Isabel McCullough WR 189, and recent addition to the Scottish National set-up, Carys Jones WR 207.
Ones to watch are Drexel University Scholar and 2022 finalist Emma Bartley WR 217, as well as locals Lara Newton WR 396, Becky Woolfe and Loughborough University Scholar Piper Tatum.
Thanks to sponsorship by Wright Ruffell Sturricks, the Open has made viewing for all matches free for the tournament.
They hope to welcome you to Lexden Rackets & Fitness Club from August 3-6.
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