Stars descend on Kooyong for a shot at Chicago
Published Wed 09 Apr 2025
Two places at the 2025 World Championships are up for grabs when the Oceania qualifying tournament gets underway at Melbourne’s Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club tomorrow.
The winners of the men’s and women’s event will take their spot in the draw of the 2024/25 PSA World Championships in Chicago.
Joseph White and Alex Haydon were victorious in the event last year to qualify for their first-ever World Championships, and the pair fill the top seed slots in the men’s and women’s draws respectively this week.
Jess van der Walt also played in last year’s World Championships courtesy of her ranking but this year will need to fight her way through the women’s draw if she is to earn a place in Chicago.
The other two main contenders in the women’s draw are fellow members of the Australian World Teams side from 2024, Sarah Cardwell and Madison Lyon.
New Zealand’s Ella Lash, winner of the 2024 Australian Junior Open Under 19 crown, sits just outside the top four seeds, while the draw also includes 2007 World Champion Rachael Grinham.
In the men’s draw, White is joined at the top of the seedings by the man he beat to qualify for the 2024 World Championships, Rhys Dowling. A pair of Kiwis fill the next two seeds in the shape of Anthony Lepper and Oilie Dunbar.
Squash Australia High Performance Director Lachlan Johnston said the World Championships provided a rare opportunity for the best players in Australia and the region to go head to head.
“It’s going to be an exciting week,” said Johnston. “It’s one of the few occasions throughout the year when our leading Australians are all competing in the same event.
“There’s some really strong opposition from New Zealand, particularly in the men’s draw, however we’re hopeful that by the end of Sunday we’ll have two Australians booking their tickets to Chicago.”
The first round of the Oceania Qualifying Event gets underway at 2:30pm on Thursday 10 April at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. The Club will also welcome players to a Gala Dinner on Friday where Sarah Fitz-Gerald will be the guest speaker.
Entry is free and the action will also be streamed on SquashTV YouTube.
