Nick Matthew and Laura Massaro have been confirmed as top seeds for this year’s British National Squash Championships to be staged at the National Squash Centre in Manchester next week.
Matthew, who will be attempting to retain the trophy and extend his record number of titles to eight, will face Chris Ryder in his opening match. Matthew is in the same half as last year’s finalist and 2011 champion Daryl Selby, the one player who has beaten the seven-time champion in a Nationals final.
The women’s championship is expected to be equally competitive with World No.1 Laura Massaro seeded in the same half of the draw as defending champion Sarah-Jane Perry who defeated the World No.1 in last year’s final in five games after surrendering a 2-0 lead.
Perry leads a quartet of younger English players eager to upset the established order, including Emma Beddoes, Emily Whitlock and Victoria Lust.
In addition to the men’s and women’s events, the Championships will feature the under-21s as well as the Masters competitions which starts on 9th February featuring 15 age group categories from over-35 to over-75.
For the first time, there will be two glass courts in use allowing all main draw matches to be played on the glass. Manchester’s stunning new all glass court will take centre stage while the original court, built for the Commonwealth Games of 2002, will also be used throughout the week.
Tickets can be booked online at www.isportstore.com or by telephone on 0844 8797 949. For full draws and tournament details, visit the officialNational Championships website.