British Nationals 2024 Event Lead Miles Jenkins believes this year will see one of the strongest-ever draws in the tournament’s history, when 28 men and 21 women descend upon St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Weybridge on Wednesday.
England No.1s Mohamed ElShorbagy and Georgina Kennedy have been named as the top seeds for this year’s Championships, and the quality by no means stops there, with the likes of World No.9 Joel Makin, No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy, No.17 Greg Lobban, No.18 Sarah-Jane Perry and No.21 Jasmine Hutton all featuring across the two draws.
Defending champions ElShorbagy and Hutton will be looking to make it a hat-trick of wins after clinching the respective titles in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the British Nationals.
Speaking on Brooklands Radio Station last week, Jenkins, who is currently part of Welsh No.1 Makin’s coaching set-up, admitted to his excitement about the calibre of players competing at this year’s event.
He said: “This is probably the strongest British Nationals draw that I have ever seen.
“Ten of the top 50 world-ranked players are in both the men’s and women’s draw. The No.1 seeds are both currently World No.6 and World No.8, and it’s a stacked draw with some unbelievably good squash players.”
For the second time in its 50-year history, the British Nationals will be staged at the St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Weybridge.
With a 240-capacity all-glass exhibition court, along with three glass-backed courts, the venue is seen as one of the leading squash clubs in South East England.
Explaining why St George’s Hill makes for such a good host venue, Jenkins said:
“It’s about the quality of the venue. It’s a very prestigious club and it’s a prestigious tournament. The club has a lot of history behind it – it has an all-glass show court, which is the only one in the south-east of England. Players now play on all-glass courts because it is a much better venue to watch live.
“The seating is really close to the glass, so you’re really close to all of the action and get to see all of the player’s movements. There is also seating down the side, so it means you can fit more people into the venue and around the court.”
A number of local players will also be looking to make their mark on the event and use the local crowd to their advantage when play starts on Wednesday afternoon, as Jenkins added: “We’re very lucky that we have got a long list of elite players who train at our club [St George’s Hill].
“So we have got Joe Lee, last year’s champion Jasmine Hutton – who will be trying to win her third straight title – and a couple of other members including Paul Broadberry.
“Surrey County is extremely strong for squash facilities. There are a lot of clubs nearby and a long list of elite coaches in the area. If you’re not close to Weybridge, but if you’re close to areas from Wimbledon to Woking, they have all got squash clubs. If you’re looking to get your junior involved, then just head to the England Squash website to find out more information.”
Play from St George’s Hill gets underway on August 14th, with a qualifying round preceding the main draw of both the men’s and women’s events. The respective finals will take place on August 18th. You can tune into the Championships live on SQUASHTV, while tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
