2022 WSF World Doubles Championship Daily Updates

The 2022 WSF World Doubles Championship has come to an end in Glasgow, Scotland. 

Find out how the Australian team performed throughout the week below.

9 April (Day 5)

The final day of the World Doubles Championships has come and gone. 

It started off with Rhys Dowling and Rex Hendrix taking ninth place in the men’s doubles after defeating Hong Kong’s Tsz Kwan Lay and Henry Leung. 

It was a long and tense battle between the pairs, having taken a game each which led to a third. It went down to the wire for Dowling and Hedrick as the Hong Kong duo made it difficult for the Aussies to solidify the win.

Then at 10-10, a mistake from Hong Kong saw Dowling and Hedrick claim the 11-9 9-11 11-10 win after over an hour on court.

Ryan Cuskelly and Zac Alexander went on to win their fifth-place play-off 11-7 11-8 against Maylasia’s Rain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen. 

It wasn’t long until Cuskelly had to back up for his mixed doubles match with Rachel Grinham. Coming up against Scotland's Rory Stewart and Georgia Adderley for the second time this tournament, the Aussies made the first move going 11-4 in the first game. Settling into the swing of thing, the young Scots managed to put it to a deciding set after taking the second 11-7. 

The third and final game proved to be tough one, and once again it was hard to separate the two pairs. Eventually, Stewart and Adderley were able to find the points they needed to win and take fifth place in the mixed event. Cuskelly and Grinham finished sixth overall.

Find the full results and daily schedule here

8 April (Day 4)

Australia have secured two fifth-place playoff spots overnight in the mixed and men's doubles event.

After reaching the quarter-final in the mixed event, Rachael Grinham and Ryan Cuskelly faced no.4 seeds Adrian Waller and Alison Waters of England. Yet to be defeated this tournament, the English started off strong once again and pulled out 11-6 11-8 victory. The result meant Grinham and Cuskelly were headed into the 5-8 pace play-off.

It would be the pairs only match of the day after Joelle King pulled out of the tournament with an injury, resulting in her pairing with world no.1 Paul Coll withdrawing from the tournament. The Aussie pair will face Rory Stewart and Georgia Adderley for fifth spot.

Cuskelly also enjoyed a win in the men’s alongside Zac Alexander. The Aussie duo faced Peter Creed and Emyr Evans of Wales. It was another mammoth match for Cuskelly and Alexander after going down 8-11 in a tight first game. Fighting back, they put on a brilliant display to win the next two 11-4 11-5 to secure their fifth-place play-off against Mtaylasia’s Rain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen.

Elsewhere, Alex Haydon and Jessica Turnbull went down to New Zealand’s Abbie Palmer and Kaitlyn Watts to finish 12th in the women’s event. Meanwhile, Rhys Dowling and Rex Hedrick won in straight games over South Africa’s Jean-Pierre Brits and Christo Potgieter 11-6 11-6. 

The result saw them advance to the ninth-place play-off.

7 April (Day 3)

Alex Haydon and Jess Turnbull managed their first win of the World Doubles Championships and they took a big scalp.

It was a fierce three game battle against the no.5/6 seeds Georgina Kennedy and Lucy Turmel of England. After going down in the first, the Aussie pair dug deep to pull it back in the second. Coming into the third, it was anyones game but after a tight tussle the win went to Australia.

In their last pool match, Hayden and Turnbull suffered a loss to Scotland’s Georgia Adderley and Lisa Aitken. In another three game match the Australia duo took the second in style (11-3) but the Scottish pairing came back in the third to take a 7-11 11-3 3-11 win.

Elsewhere, with a quarter-final spot on the line Rex Hedrick and Rhys Dowling faced Scotland's Alan Clyne and Douglas Kempsell. After the the Scots took the first, Hedrick and Dowling fought back to take the second. It was a close battle between the two but the Scottish duo proved to be too strong and advanced to the quarter-final. Awaiting them in the quarter-final was another Australian pair in Zac Alexander and Ryan Cuskelly.

Taking momentum from their previous win, the no.5 seeds took it to the Australians from the get go. It was a blistering start from the Scots, going up early before Alexander and Cuskelly were able to pull two points back. It was the last points they would win for the game as Clyne and Kempsell went on to win the first.

The second was a much more tighter affair with it going toe-to-toe as it went game for game. It was a match highlighted by it's long rallies, which for the neutral fan were great  but for Scots and Aussies alike, it was edge of your seat viewing. While Alexander and Cuskelly managed to take a 8-5 lead there were some tense moment when the Scottish duo worked their way back into the game. 

As the Aussies managed to take the second, it all came down to the third with a spot in the semi-finals up for grabs. The match, once again, started off with neither side being able to be separated and continued that way for much of the game. But as the hour marked closed in, so did the final tense moments. As 10-10 a piece it was going down to the wire but a missed shot by the Aussies saw the Scots jump for joy as they secured victory.

Unfortunately due to an injury Donna Lobban will not be able to play for the rest of the tournament. Due to injury, Australia's pairings of Lobban/Grinham and Lobban/Alexander have been withdrawn from the women’s and mixed event.

6 April (Day 2)

It was a day of mixed results for the Australian pairs at the World Doubles Championship as the pointy end of the competition approaches.

It was a hard-fought loss for Ryan Cuskelly and Rachael Grinham in the mixed doubles, who faced Scotland's Rory Stewart and Georgia Adderley, first up on Court 1. With fellow Australian team members Rhys Dowling and Rex Hedrick in commentary for this match and it being the Scottish pair's first match together at the tournament, it was sure to be a tough one.

Only in their early 20's, Stewart (25) and Adderley (21) took it to the two Australian squash legends, taking the first game after winning five consecutive points. Despite, the Scottish pair using their momentum to build a small 3-1 and then a 5-3 lead in the second, Grinham and Cuskelly were able to bring it back to level at 8-8 before taking the lead and rounding out a solid game. 

Grinham and Cuskelly took the early lead in the third but the Scots managed to level it at 5-5, before gaining the lead. Going blow for blow, the Aussie pair fought until the end but were unable to secure the win. 

Cuskelly and Grinham didn't have to wait long to bounce back from that loss, taking just 18 minutes to defeat Malaysia's Ivan Yuen and Rachel Arnold 11-4 11-8.

Cuskelly also had success in the men's doubles with Zac Alexander as they kept their undefeated streak alive in an 11-9 11-9 victory over David Baillargeon and Nick Sachvie of Canada.

It was a tough day on the court elsewhere with Alex Haydon/Jessica Turnbull and Donna Lobban/Grinham suffering losses in the women's doubles. In their only match of the day, Lobban and Grinham came up against no.2 seeds Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters. It was a close battle as the match head for a third but in the end, the English duo maintained their winning ways to sit top of the pool with Lobban and Grinham in second.

Dowling and Hedrick were also downed by 2018 Commonwealth Games men's doubles silver medallists Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller 11-7 11-5.

In one of the most anticipated matches of the day - for the Australian team - it was an all-Aussie match up for Cuskelly/Grinham and Alexander/Lobban. With 13 Commonwealth Games medals between the four of them along with multiple World Championships and PSA Titles, fans watching were in for a treat. 

Grinham and Cuskelly ran away with the first set 11-2 after opening up a considerable lead but that didn't deter Lobban and Alexander. In the second, it went down to the wire with Lobban and Alexander securing the win 11-10 but Grinham and Cuskelly once again showed their prowess to round off the win in the third with a dominant 11-4 game.

5 April (Day 1)

It was a great start to the World Doubles Championship with wins across the board for Australia.

Zac Alexander and Ryan Cuskelly had a solid start to their campaign in Glasgow as the duo picked up two wins from two. In their opening match, the no.3 seeds took just 11 minutes to dismantle Malta's Niall Engerer and Kijan Sultana in a dominant 11-5 11-5 victory before downing Malaysia's Addeen Idrakie and Sai Hung Ong in an 11-7 11-5 which puts them at the top of their groups' standings.

Alexander and Cuskelly also joined Donna Lobban and Rachael Grinham, respectively, in the mixed doubles. Both pairs enjoyed success on the first day of competition, cruising to victory in their only mixed doubles match of the day.

However, perhaps the biggest upset of the day came when Grinham and Lobban combined in the women's doubles to beat no.3 seeds Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal of India. After winning their opening match earlier in the day against Hong Kong's Tsz-Wing Tong and Ho Tze-Lok, the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallists had good momentum heading into one of their toughest Pool matches.

The Australia duo took the first set 11-7 before going toe-to-toe in the second game until the Indian pair took a 9-7 lead. Lobban and Grinham were able to draw the scores back level before taking the next two points, leading them to the win. Sitting at the top of their pool after two matches, they'll come up against the no.2 seeds - currently in second, on Day 2 (6 April).  

In the other women's pool group, Alex Haydon and Jessica Turnbull had a tough day on court coming up against no.1 seeds and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallists Joelle King and Amanda Landers Murphy and no.4 seeds Rachel Arnold and Sivasangari Subramaniam. They were unable to pocket a win on day 1 but will be back to face South Africa's Alexandra Fuller and Cheyna Wood later today.

Rex Hedrick alongside debutant Rhys Dowling had a long wait until their first match in the evening. It was a tough first game against Welsh pair Elliot Morris and Owain Taylor despite the Australians taking the early 4-2 lead. Featuring some fantastic rallies, the Welsh duo made Hedrick and Dowling work hard for each point they earnt. After taking the first game 11-9, the Aussie pairing were able to make quick work of Morris and Taylor in the second game - taking a 5-0 lead at one stage - to collect their first win.