Makin and Gilis top seedings for inaugural German Squash Open

European duo Joel Makin and Nele Gilis have been confirmed as the top seeds for the inaugural German Open 2024.

The event will take place from the 3-7 April 2024 at The Sportwerk Centre in Hamburg, the first PSA World Tour event ever to be held in Germany.

The Sportwerk Centre has 15 squash courts, including a four wall glass court. The centre court can seat up to 300 spectators and is Germany’s biggest Squash Centre.

Wales’s Joel Makin tops the men’s draw as he looks to score his first title of the season. The World No.9 has been plagued with injuries so far this season, only managing to feature in five events. His only event of 2024 so far  came at the Florida Open where he lost out in to eventual runner-up Mazen Hesham in the quarter finals.

England’s Marwan Elshorbagy is the No.2 seed for the event. The 30-year-old has reached two finals this season, at the New Zealand Open and the Pittsburgh Open but has fallen at the final hurdle both times. Elshorbagy will be determined to secure a title this season and reassert himself in the top eight of the world rankings after slipping four places since October.

Home favourite Raphael Kandra will have the full support of the Hamburg crowd as he looks to make the home advantage count as the No.7 seed. Kandra will play either Yannick Wilhelmi or Tom Walsh in his opening match on 4 April.

World No.4 Nele Gilis leads the way in the women’s event as she looks to claim a fifth World Tour title and third of the season. The Belgian No.1 has had a tricky start to 2024, losing out early in both Platinum events. Gilis’ spirits are very rarely dampened as she always seems read to go for the next event. Gilis will be desperate to hold onto her position as World No.4 and with players behind her claiming wins, she’ll be looking for a strong performance at Sportwerk. She will start her event against Yiwen Chan or Torrie Malik on day two. 

Nele’s sister and World No.8 Tinne is the second seed for the event. Tinne broke into the top 10 for the first time at the start of the season after claiming impressive wins with strong performances. Since then, the Belgian No.2 has reached four finals but is still yet to claim a title this season after losing to sister Nele twice as well as Amina Orfi and Olivia Weaver. Tinne will be looking to put that right in Germany and starts her campaign against one of Marta Dominguez or wildcard Maya Weishar.

The wildcards in the men’s event are German No.3 and World No.151 Valentine Rapp and Czech’s Marek Panacek, whilst Katerina Tycova and Maya Weishar will look to cause upsets to delight the home crowd in the women’s event.

Men’s Draw:

[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bye

Abhay Singh (IND) v [9/16] Timothy Brownell (USA)

[9/16] Faraz Khan (USA) v [WC] Marek Panacek (CZE)

[6] Greg Lobban (SCO) bye

[5] Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) bye

Yassin Elshafei (EGY) v [9/16] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND)

[9/16] George Parker (ENG) v Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR)

[4] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bye

[3] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bye

Spencer Lovejoy (USA) v [9/16] Lucas Serme (FRA)

[9/16] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) v Tom Walsh (ENG)

[7] Raphael Kandra (GER) bye

[8] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bye

[WC] Valentin Rapp (GER) v [9/16] Rui Soares (POR)

[9/16] Bernat Jaume (ESP)v Ben Smith (ENG)

[2] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) bye

Women’s Draw: 

[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bye

Yiwen Chan (MAS) v [9/16] Torrie Malik (ENG)

[9/16] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) v Yasshmita Jadish Kumar (MAS)

[8] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bye

[5] Salma Hany (EGY) bye

Rana Ismail (EGY) v [9/16] Saskia Beinhard (GER)

[9/16] Haya Ali (EGY) v [WC] Katerina Tycova (GER)

[4] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bye

[3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bye

Nadia Pfister (SUI) v [9/16] Ainaa Amani (MAS)

[9/16] Ineta Hopton (LAT) v Nardine Garas (EGY)

[6] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bye

[7] Tesni Murphy (WAL) bye

Asia Harris (ENG) v [9/16] Cindy Merlo (SUI)

[9/16] Marta Dominguez (ESP) v [WC] Maya Weishar (GER)

[2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bye