Two spots up for grabs
While two wildcards have already been granted to Lauren Baltayan and Melvil Scianimanico by the Paris Squash 2024 organizers, there are two more to grab. They will be at stake at the men's and women's wildcard playoff tournaments, from the 11th to 13th of September.
There is a change compared to the 2023 edition: no more pool format where the two winners faced each other in a final to get the wildcard, this time it’s a regular draw.
WOMEN'S DRAW
THE FAVORITE - In the women's draw all eyes will be on Camille Serme, coming back on the PSA World Tour after a serious injury and the birth of her first child. If she is playing at the same level than at the French League playoffs in June, where she had beaten Tesni Evans, she will be very hard to take down. But the stakes will be completely different at Squash Montmartre, and the former world number 2 told us last week that she does not want to get ahead of herself. In other words, she is fully focused on the first step and not thinking about a possible clash with Nour El Sherbini, since the wildcard playoff winner will face the the world number 1 in round 1 of the main draw. Note that the playoff draw will determine whether Camille is in Marie Stéphan's or Énora Villard's half.
Camille Serme will be the favourite in the women's draw, and if she lives up to it she will make her comeback on the PSA World Tour on the 15th of September (Photo credit: FFSquash)
THE CHALLENGERS - The task will obviously be complicated for Marie Stéphan and Énora Villard, who have never beaten Camille Serme for obvious reasons (see DID YOU KNOW). The French number 2 and 3 will nevertheless be able to draw inspiration from the performance of Kara Lincou, who came very close to beating La Panthère a few days ago in a PSA Satellite in Antibes. It should be noted that both Énora and Marie are already well into their season, having competed at the Individual European Championship (they finished 4th and 5th, respectively) as well as the CIB Egyptian Open in Cairo.
Marie Stéphan and Énora Villard, here during the 2024 French Nationals final, will be Camille Serme's challengers at Squash Montmartre (Photo credit: Paris Squash Project)
THE OTHER PLAYERS - Élise Romba reached her highest ranking thanks to some good results towards the end of 2023/24 and will be hoping to spoil the party for her higher-ranked opponents. As far Ana Munos and Léa Barbeau go, they are currently in South Africa for the World University Championships and will go straight into the wildcard event when they return, while 17-year old Inès Guyot will be the youngest player in the draw.
DID YOU KNOW? Camille Serme has not lost against a French fellow countrywoman since 2008! But as we mentioned above, Kara Lincou came very close to creating a big upset a few days ago.
THE FIELD
[1] Marie Stéphan (French No.2, World No.49)
[2] Énora Villard (French No.3, World No.50)
[3/4] Camille Serme (French No.4, World No.381), Élise Romba (French No.4, World No.90)
[5/8] Ana Munos (French No.7, World No.124), Léa Barbeau (French No.6, World No.126), Inès Guyot (French No.12, World No.362)
SCHEDULE
The matches will take place at Squash Montmartre, 14 Rue Achille Martinet, 75018 Paris – Free entry
🕐 Wednesday, 11th of September, 6pm local time: quarterfinals
🕐 Thursday, 12th of September, 7pm: semifinals
🕐 Friday, 13th of September, 1pm: final
The women's draw will take place at Squash Montmartre (Photo credit: Squash Montmartre)
MEN'S DRAW
THE FAVORITE - A regular in Platinum tournaments in the last 4 years, 28-year old Auguste Dussourd did not make the main draw due to the new format - 32 players instead of 48. After an excellent start in 2023/24, reaching the round of 16 both in Paris and Hong Kong and a highest world ranking of 21, Auguste's second part of the season was plagued by physical issues. With his experience, he will be the hot favorite in the men's wildcard playoff, facing players whom he has never lost against. Should he go through, he'll set up an encounter with world number 5 Mazen Hesham, who ended his run in the round of 16 last year at the Palais de Tokyo.
If he goes through, Auguste Dussourd will face Mazen Hesham, who had beaten him in the round of 16 at the Paris Squash 2023 (Photo credit: PSA World Tour)
THE CHALLENGERS - 22-year old Toufik Mekhalfi and 24-year old Edwin Clain have had similar trajectories, having both broken into the world top 100 in 2023. Funnily enough, they are tied in the new PSA rankings published on Monday the 2nd of September! Last year, they faced each other in the final of the wildcard playoff tournament - Toufik had won in straight games - but this year the situation is different with the presence of Auguste Dussourd in the entry list. The draw will determine whether Edwin is in Auguste's or Toufik's half.
Last year, Toufik Mekhalfi (on the left) had beaten Edwin Clain in the final of the wildcard playoff tournament (Photo credit: Paris Squash Project)
THE OTHER PLAYERS - After winning his first PSA title and breaking into the world top 100, Brice Nicolas did not carry the momentum towards the end of the season, but the young man from New Caledonia is an opponent to take very seriously. Antonin Romieu, Manuel Paquemar and Rohan Mandil will not be favourites in the first round against one of the four players mentioned above and will try and pull an upset.
DID YOU KNOW? The Squash Horizon club is not unfamiliar territory for Auguste Dussourd. The World no.33 had won a national tournament overthere in 2022 beating Edwin Clain in the final, while Manuel Paquemar and Toufik Mekhalfi were the other two semifinalists.
THE FIELD
[1] Auguste Dussourd (French No.5, World No.33)
[2] Toufik Mekhalfi (French No.7, World No.78)
[3/4] Edwin Clain (French No.8, World No.86), Brice Nicolas (French No.9, World No.100)
[5/8] Antonin Romieu (French No.17, World No.190), Manuel Paquemar (French No.16, World No.228), Rohan Mandil (French No.24, World No.749)
SCHEDULE
The matches will take place at Squash Horizon, 107 Rue de la Croix Nivert, 75015 Paris – Free entry
🕐 Wednesday, 11th of September, 6pm: quarterfinals
🕐 Thursday, 12th of September, 7pm: semifinals
🕐 Friday, 13th of September, 1pm: final
The men's draw will be played at Squash Horizon (Photo credit: Squash Horizon)
The draw for the wildcard playoff tournaments will be done on Monday the 9th of September, stay tuned.
You'll be able to follow the action on our website and social media.
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