The opening rounds of the Technifibre British Junior Open threw up some tantaslising match-ups when the draw was made at the weekend.
Essex has seven junior players entered in the Sheffield event, which will take place between January 2-6, with Ellie Hewes and Oliver Green being dealt particularly stiff early challenges. Ellie, from Colchester, the current England ranked number five Under-13 player, has been drawn against the number one seed, Egyptian Nouran Youssef, who last year finished third overall. The match offers Ellie the chance of a headline-grabbing upset plus a tremendous opportunity to gain experience against the world’s best.
Billericay’s Ollie, who plays at Club Kingswood, is ranked 17-32 and has been paired with Scotland’s Craig Thompson in round one. Victory there will give him a crack at his own Egyptian number seed, Yehia Elnaswany, a mouth-watering prospect and another tremendous opportunity.
Ollie’s sister, Alice Green, goes in the girls’ Under-15s against Lily Zelov from the US while Elise Lazarus, the 3/4 seed, opens with a bye then takes on Spain’s Sophia Mateos in round two.
Harry Kitchens has drawn Czech opposition in the Under-15’s in the shape of 17-32 seed Ondrej Vorlicek. If he wins that, there’s the prospect of a 3/4 seed Egyptian in round two. In the Under-17’s, Aaron Allpress plays 5/8 seed Velavan Senthilkumar from India while Owain Taylor, representing Wales, will open against Switzerland’s Luca Wilhelmi in the Under-19’s.