England No.1s Mohamed ElShorbagy and Georgina Kennedy have been named as the No.1 seeds for the upcoming British National Squash Championships, which will be held at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club between August 15-19.
Bristol-based ElShorbagy returns to defend the title he won last June when he marked his debut at the event by beating 2021 winner and Welshman Joel Makin in the title decider.
ElShorbagy will begin his title challenge against No.9 seed Simon Herbert before predicted matches against No.8 seed Curtis Malik in the quarter-finals and No.3 seed Patrick Rooney in the last four. The 32-year-old is seeded to play No.2 Makin in the final again.
Makin opens up against a qualifier before playing the winner of No.6 seed George Parker or No.12 seed Joe Lee. He is then seeded to play the man he beat in the 2021 final – Adrian Waller – in the semi-finals.
In the women’s draw, 2021 runner-up Kennedy returns to this event after missing out due to injury last year. The London-based 26-year-old has enjoyed a fine season which has seen her cement herself as a fixture in the top eight of the world rankings. She will get under way in Weybridge with a match against a qualifier in round one, before a potential match against No.8 seed Georgia Adderley in the last eight.
Defending champion Jasmine Hutton is seeded on the same side of the draw as Kennedy but is likely to have a tough challenge against 2019 runner-up Emily Whitlock in the quarter-finals as she bids to regain her trophy.
Seeded at No.2 is Tesni Evans, the only Welsh player to get her hands on the women’s trophy to date. The 2018 and 2019 winner will take on a qualifier in round one and is then seeded to play No.6 seed Lucy Turmel and two-time winner Sarah-Jane Perry en route to the final.
Both the men’s and women’s tournaments will feature a qualifying event on August 15, with four players from both events progressing to the main draw, which takes place between August 16-19.
2023 British National Squash Championships: Men’s Main Draw
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) v [9] Simon Herbert (ENG)[8] Curtis Malik (ENG) v [Qualifier]
[7] Charlie Lee (ENG) v [Qualifier]
[3] Patrick Rooney (ENG) v [10] Sam Todd (ENG)
[4] Adrian Waller (ENG) v [11] Ben Smith (ENG)
[5] Nick Wall (ENG) v [Qualifier]
[6] George Parker (ENG) v [12] Joe Lee (ENG)
[2] Joel Makin (WAL) v [Qualifier]
Men’s Qualifying Draw
Heston Malik (ENG) v Miles Jenkins (ENG)
Perry Malik (ENG) v Jared Carter (ENG)
Finnlay Withington (ENG) v Archie Turnbull (WAL)
James Peach (ENG) v Ruudi Clarke (ENG)
Jordan Warne (ENG) v Paul Broadberry (ENG)
Emyr Evans (WAL) v Bailey Malik (ENG)
Matt Gregory (ENG) v Nathan Mead (ENG)
Stephen Hearst (NIR) v Jack Mitterer (ENG)
2023 British National Squash Championships: Women’s Main Draw
[1] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) v [Qualifier][8] Georgia Adderley (SCO) v Grace Gear (ENG)
[5] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
[4] Emily Whitlock (WAL) v [Qualifier]
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v Alicia Mead (ENG)
[7] Katie Malliff (ENG) v [Qualifier]
[6] Lucy Turmel (ENG) v Torrie Malik (ENG)
[2] Tesni Evans (WAL) v [Qualifier]
Women’s Qualifying Draw
Kiera Marshall (ENG) v Lowri Roberts (WAL)
Alison Thomson (SCO) v TBC
Asia Harris (ENG) v Katie Wells (ENG)
Saran Nghiệm (ENG) v TBC
Action from the British National Squash Championships will be shown live on SQUASHTV.
For updates on the British National Squash Championships, please visit the official tournament website or follow England Squash on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
