Former World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy has been named as the men’s No.1 seed for the upcoming British National Squash Championships between Tuesday June 14 – Saturday June 18.
The Bristol-based 31-year-old will make his debut at the event after switching allegiance from Egypt to England earlier this week. It will be his first tournament representing England on British soil and he is seeded to meet defending champion Joel Makin in the final at Manchester’s National Squash Centre.
“The British Nationals is an event I want to play in to show my commitment to England Squash,” said ElShorbagy.
“I’m excited to be part of the England group and that starts from now. I’m looking forward to becoming part of the team and meeting up with all the other players next week. For me, it isn’t about needing to show up and to win, it’s about showing that I am committed to being part of the group, and taking part in events like the British Nationals is an important part of that.
“Of course, I am going to give it my best to try and win the title, but there are plenty of great players in the draw, including Joel [Makin] who beat me in Manchester earlier this season. So it’s not about winning, it’s about giving everything I can, being there and around the event with the other England players and playing my part in the group, understanding and getting to know the other players. If I can win the title, it is a bonus.”
ElShorbagy will take on a qualifier in round one and is seeded to play Nathan Lake in the last 16. From there, he is predicted to play 2021 runner-up Adrian Waller before a potential final showdown with Makin.
Makin will play Charlie Lee in round one before potential clashes with George Parker and Patrick Rooney en route to the title decider.
In the women’s event, World No.9 Georgina Kennedy will look to go one better than last year’s runner-up finish as she is named the No.1 seed. The 25-year-old from London is seeded to take on two-time champion Tesni Evans in the final but must first navigate a draw that features a qualifier and the likes of Lucy Beecroft, Lucy Turmel, both of whom are in her path to the final.
Evans gets under way against Scotland’s Alison Thomson and could face players such as Julianne Courtice and Emily Whitlock as she vies to reach a third Nationals final.
Both the men’s and women’s tournaments will feature a qualifying event on June 14, with four players progressing to the main draw, which takes place between June 15-18.
Action from the British National Squash Championships will be shown live on SQUASHTV (to users with a free digital subscription), the England Squash and PSA World Tour Facebook pages, as well as englandsquash.tv.
Men’s Main Draw (updated 09-Jun, Nathan Lake w/d))
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) v Qualifier
[8] Nick Wall (ENG) v Sam Todd (ENG)
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) v Qualifier
[4] Adrian Waller (ENG) v Tom Walsh (ENG)
[3] Patrick Rooney (ENG) v Qualifier
[6] Greg Lobban (SCO) v Qualifier
[7] George Parker (ENG) v Curtis Malik (ENG)
[2] Joel Makin (WAL) v Charlie Lee (ENG)
Men’s Qualifying Draw
Evans Emyr (WAL) Bye
Finnlay Withington (ENG) v Perry Malik (ENG)
Peter Creed (WAL) v Paul Broadberry (ENG)
Hassan Khalil (ENG) v Miles Jenkins (ENG)
Richie Fallows (ENG) v Oscar Hill (ENG)
Will Salter (ENG) v Ben Smith (ENG)
Connor Sheen (ENG) v Stephen Hearst (NIR)
Hasnaat Farooqi (ENG) v Lewis Doughty (ENG)
Women’s Main Draw (updated 10-Jun, [2] Tesni Evans w/d)
[1] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) v Katie Malliff
[7] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) v Katie Malliff (ENG)
[8] Grace Gear (ENG) v Anna Kimberley (ENG)
[3] Lucy Turmel (ENG) v Qualifier
[4] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v Qualifier
[5] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) v Alicia Mead (ENG)
[6] Julianne Courtice (ENG) v Qualifier
[2] Emily Whitlock (WAL) v Alison Thomson (SCO)
Women’s Qualifying Draw
Alicia Mead (ENG) v Jasmin Kalar (ENG)
Amy Royle (ENG) v Asia Harris (ENG)
Katie Wells (ENG) v Lowri Roberts (WAL)
Katie Cox (ENG) v Torrie Malik (ENG)
For updates on the British National Squash Championships, please visit the official tournament website or follow England Squash on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Tickets are available for purchase here.
