The Race to Tokyo restarts in Basel, Switzerland, for the 2021 Swiss Open taking place 2-7 March. We take a closer look at the doubles draws.
In the men’s doubles, two English pairs will be keen to shine in Switzerland. Fourth seeds Marcus Ellis/ Chris Langridge and eighth seeds Ben Lane/ Sean Vendy did not travel with England for the European Mixed Team Championships, so will be itching to get on court again.
Lane/ Vendy have been in strong form of late, reaching the semifinal of the BWF World Tour Finals on their first attempt. Only being nine places behind their countrymen in the Race to Tokyo ranking, every point counts next week.
Europe’s top men’s doubles pair of Kim Astrup/ Anders Rasmussen have recently struggled to get wins on their record. However, when it mattered most, Kim Astrup/ Anders Rasmussen were able to seal the winning match for Denmark at the European Mixed Team Championships in convincing style. The sixth seeds in Switzerland will be aiming for a deep run to announce their return on the world stage.
For the full men’s doubles draw, click here.
The Stoevas are back
Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva have not yet stepped onto court since their SaarLorLux Open win in early November last year. The reigning European champions have an all-European path to the latter stages of the competition, with the top two seeds, Jongkolphan Kititharakul/ Rawinda Prajongjai and Chow Mei Kuan/ Lee Meng Yean, who both performed strongly in Thailand, the main hurdles between them and the title.
For the full women’s doubles draw, click here.
Exciting European mixed doubles
In one of the tightest contests for Olympic qualification, the mixed doubles category will bring a lot of excitement until the Tokyo Games. With four pairs currently sitting in qualification spots, the pair on the edge is Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss/ Isabel Herttrich at 16. Three pairs are just outside this mark and are aiming to close the gap.
Rodion Alimov/ Alina Davletova are at 22, and will face the eighth seeds, Robin Tabeling/ Selena Piek, a pair they defeated in the group stages of the European Mixed Team Championships last week. A repeat win and a good run will greatly aid their qualification campaign.
Interestingly, the winner of the above clash will likely face Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen/ Alexandra Bøje in the second round, who are at 25 in the Race to Tokyo rankings. Both will be key matches towards this.
Ireland’s Sam and Chloe Magee, if successful against England’s Callum Hemming/ Victoria Williams, have the potential prospect of facing seventh seeds Mark Lamsfuss/ Isabel Herttrich and an opportunity to close the get valuable ranking points.
For the full mixed doubles draw, click here.
How to follow
Badminton Europe will be on-site reporting on the action every step of the way.
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