Qualifying for the 2026 Quilter Cheviot British Open gets underway today with eight spots up for grabs in the Diamond-level event main draw, which will follow qualifying at Birmingham’s Rep Theatre between May 26th and June 7th.
The three days of qualifying will take place at Solihull Arden Club, with 64 players having to win three matches to advance to the main draw of one of squash’s most prestigious events. Four players from both draws will qualify for the subsequent Quilter Cheviot British Open main draw.
All of the action will be available to watch live on SQUASHTV from 11:30 today (GMT+1).
In the men’s draw, there will be plenty of home interest, with eight English players looking to draw off the home crowds to secure their spots in the main draw. Top seed Adrian Waller leads the home hopes, with the 36-year-old joined by the likes of No.8 seed Sam Osborne-Wylde and No.9 seed Perry Malik in the men’s draw.
Elsewhere, the likes of No.2 seed Velavan Senthilkumar, No.3 seed Balazs Farkas and No.4 seed Henry Leung will all fancy their chances of coming through their respective segments of the draw.
Japan’s No.5 seed Ryunosuke arrives on the back of a career-best run at the Copper-level Irish Open, while unseeded Egyptian teenager Adam Hawal will be hoping to return to the Diamond-level stage after stunning former World No.1 Paul Coll in one of squash’s greatest-ever upsets at the Egyptian Open earlier this season.
Meanwhile, the women’s draw, Egypt’s Haya Ali arrives as the top seed, with compatriots Jana Swaify and Habiba Hani, as well as France’s rising star Lauren Baltayan, named as the No.2, No.3 and No.4 seeds, respectively.
World No.48 Baltayan looks well placed for a strong run in Birmingham this week after making a name for herself at the recent European Team Championships, where she notably defeated Nele Gilis, and at the PSA World Championships earlier this month, where she overcame Lucy Turmel. The 19-year-old sits in the same segment of the draw as No.9 seed and former World No.3 Joelle King.
Plenty of danger lies further back in the seedings, with the likes of No.15 seed Ruqayya Salem arriving in fine form following her debut at the PSA World Championships, where she managed to clinch a game off World No.1 Hania El Hammamy in the opening round.
Home interest comes in the form of No.16 seed Millie Tomlinson, Emily Coulcher-Porter, Olivia Besant, Olivia Owens, Mariam Eissa, Asia Harris and wildcard Kiera Marshall.
The order of play for the opening round of action at British Open qualifying is below.
Order Of Play – Day One
