Summer Squash Series Moves To Eden Epsom

The second tournament of the Barfoot & Thompson PSA Summer Squash Series continues this weekend with the Eden Epsom Doug Flint Memorial PSA Open in Auckland and more opportunities for up-and-coming professional to gain world ranking points.  

The men’s and women’s Satellite tournament feature a number of the best from around New Zealand including national women’s champion, Emma Millar with a current world ranking of 98

Millar, 29 won last week at the Henderson PSA Challenger while  men’s top seed Lwamba Chileshe ranked 149th was the beaten finalist in the 2020 nationals.

A couple of notable new players in the men’s draw include former top ranked juniors Gabe Yam and Matthew Lucente from the Belmont Club. Both have had experience in the US College system and played in several Junior World Championships in the past.

Yam has an interesting first round clash against Temwa Chileshe on the Friday evening which will see if he has still got his competitive edge in New Zealand.

Also in the top half of the draw is the finalist in Henderson, Joel Arscott ranked 248is who is seeded to face Lwamba Chileshe in the semis if matches go to plan. Both players have points to prove as Arscott had four match balls against top 100 ranked Evan Williams in last week’s final, but eventually lost in five games while Chileshe was knocked out of the tournament in the early rounds.

In the bottom half of the draw Elijah Thomas, ranked at 253 in the world who was a semifinalist last weekend is on his home courts and will be keen to show his home supporters how much his improving, despite only being 18-years-old.

Thomas is seeded to face second seed Sion Wiggin in the semifinals.

In the women’s draw Abbie Palmer comes in after missing last week’s tournament. Palmer has a current world ranking of 111 and as second seed could progress to the final against Millar to repeat the national champs title match from 2020.

The tournament starts Friday evening until the finals on Sunday from 2pm. There will be livestreaming and commentary on the Eden Epsom facebook page here

Barfoot & Thompson PSA Summer Series Schedule:

February 19-21: Henderson Rochelle Hobbs Open (Challenger 5 Men’s and Satellite Women’s)
February 26-28: Eden Epsom Doug Flint Memorial Open and PSA Satellite
March 4-7: Auckland Open at North Shore (Challenger 10 Men’s and Challenger 5 Women’s)
March 12-14: Eastern BOP Open and PSA Satellite at Whakatane
March 19-21: Royal Oak Open (Challenger 3 Women’s and Satellite Men’s)