We are now 2 months away from the Paris Squash 2023, and this week will be kind of a kickstart for the event: one of the 2 women's wildcards will be awarded to the winner of a qualifying tournament, in which 8 young French players are taking part from Thursday to Saturday at Stade Français.
THE BACKGROUND.
There are 48 spots in a Platinum event draw, both for men and women. 46 are allocated according to the world ranking, while the 2 others are wildcards. The name of the players (one male, one female) who will be added directly into the main draws will be unveiled soon, and in the meantime the two other spots are awarded through a wildcard play-off. The men's will be played in mid-August, and the women's is taking place from Thursday to Saturday at Stade Français The winner will join the top 3 French players, Mélissa Alves, Énora Villard and Marie Stéphan in the main draw.
HOW IT WORKS.
The 8 players are spread into 2 groups of 4, according to their world ranking. At the end of the group stage, the two girls who have topped their pool will meet in the final (3pm local time on Saturday) and the winner will get a wildcard for the Paris Squash Alpine. 3/4 play-off will also be played, in order to establish the order of the "reserve wildcards".
WHAT'S AT STAKE.
None of these girls has ever featured in a Platinum event, and for the wildcard play-off winner the 1st round of the Paris Squash 2023 may take place on the glass court at the Esplanade of the Palais de Tokyo! Regardless of the outcome, the ranking points will allow her to make a big jump in the world rankings.
POOL A
[1] Élise Romba (25 years old, world ranking 101), [3/4] Ninon Lemarchand (20 y.o, WR 156), [5/8] Kara Lincou (19 y.o, WR 217), [5/8] Rose Lucas-Marcuzzo (17 y.o, WR 327)
Being the most experienced player in the field, Élise Romba is also the favorite of the pool as well as the whole wildcard play-off. Even if she's won all of their recent clashes, the Annecy player won't take her teammate Ninon Lemarchand and Reunion Island's Kara Lincou – who's been studying in the US for a few months – lightly though. The clash between Lemarchand and Lincou will be an interesting one, the latter having had the upper hand recently, while U19 French National Championship runner-up Rose Lucas-Marcuzzo will have nothing to lose in this pool.
Thursday's schedule:
11am: [1] Élise Romba 🆚 [5/8] Rose Lucas-Marcuzzo
follow on: [3/4] Ninon Lemarchand 🆚 [5/8] Kara Lincou
5pm: [1] Élise Romba 🆚 [5/8] Kara Lincou
follow on: [3/4] Ninon Lemarchand 🆚 [5/8] Rose Lucas-Marcuzzo
POOL B
[2] Léa Barbeau (22 y.o, WR 111), [3/4] Ella Galova (19 y.o, WR 141), [5/8] Lilou Brévard-Belliot (17 y.o, WR 205), [5/8] Inès Guyot (16 y.o, WR 288)
