Men’s British Under 23 Open Champion Curtis Malik and women’s European Junior Under 19 Champion Katie Malliff have been named as two of the wildcards for the upcoming British Open, which will take place in Birmingham between April 9-16.
Malik, the World No.62, has already achieved six PSA Tour titles in his career to date and is in line to make his first appearance at the ‘Wimbledon of Squash’.
Malik has enjoyed a productive season on the PSA Tour and has reached three PSA finals since August, winning one of them at the Northern Joe Cup. The 23-year-old is the oldest member of the Malik siblings who are currently competing on the PSA Tour, including brothers Perry, Heston and Bailey.
Malik’s sister – Torrie – has been named as one of the women’s wildcards and the World No.83 is in line to appear at the tournament for the first time in her career.
Meanwhile, World No.58 Malliff is in line to make her third appearance at the prestigious British Open.
The 19-year-old from Wendover was a wildcard for the previous two editions of the tournament and took Canadian former top 20 player Danielle Letourneau to five games in the opening round of the 2022 edition.
Malliff has two PSA titles to her name – most recently winning the Swiss Open in October of last year – and is the reigning women’s European Junior Champion after beating Hannah Chukwu in the final in Eindhoven last April.
The other wildcard for the event is Pontefract’s Sam Todd. The 19-year-old has competed at the British Open in 2021 and 2022 but is yet to advance beyond the first round.
Todd, ranked at No.67 in the world, has won five PSA titles, with two of those titles – at the the Concourse Athletic Club Open and St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club Open – coming earlier this season.
The British Open will be held in Birmingham for the first time since 2001. Action from the opening two days will take place at Edgbaston Priory Club, before play moves over to the spectacular setting of The Rep in the heart of Birmingham city centre, where the action will take place on an all-glass show court from round three onwards.
A prize fund of $358,000, split equally between both genders, will be on offer with defending champions Paul Coll and Hania El Hammamy expected to return alongside England No.1s Mohamed ElShorbagy and Sarah-Jane Perry.
Tickets for the British Open are proving popular, with the semi-finals now sold out. Squash fans can secure their tickets here.
More information about the British Open can be found on the official tournament website or via the event’s Twitter channel.
