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(Photo: Badmintonphoto)
Lanier, from Europe to the world
Date: 10/4/2022 1:37 PM
Published by : Sara Gonzalez Martinez (BEC)
Alex Lanier wins his first World Tour title at the age of 17 in the Canada Open 2022.

If there was a European player that really stood out in the Canada Open 2022 last week, that is Alex Lanier. With his last tournament having been the YONEX Belgian International, the French player had one week to prepare for the big stage of the World Tour Event.

The reigning European Junior champion jumped straight into the Round of 16 due to a walkover from Guatemalan star Kevin Cordon. With swift wins against USA’s Adrian King-Sun Mar and Top 50 Brazilian player Ygor Coelho in the quarterfinals, he met another of France’s top talents, Arnaud Merkle.

It took Lanier three games to get his first international win against the fellow French player, 26-24, 16-21, 21-19. The only European player to advance to the finals in Calgary this year faced Takuma Obayashi, Japan, who Lanier last faced in the Belgian International 2021 — an encounter that would see the Japanese player winning in straight games.

The hour-long final and the first Super 100 final for the 17-year-old resulted not only in an impressive gold medal on the grand international stage and his fourth senior title, but also in the first World Tour title for Lanier — becoming the youngest French player to achieve such a feat.

Lanier is now in the Top 100 of the world, currently ranked as number 82. How will this year’s BEC Young Player of the Year and BEC Fan Player surprise us on court in the remaining three months of the year?

Marin getting back into the rhythm
Carolina Marin fell at the last hurdle of her competition in the Canada Open. The top seeded in the tournament worked her way to the semifinals where she faced Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo Yun. Despite closing the first game with an advantageous win, 21-9, Sung equalised the score by winning the second game. 

Reaching a close 18-18 in the final game, Sung eventually took the win to advance to the final. Marin and Lanier weren’t the only Europeans in the semifinals. Israel’s Misha Zilberman was also in the fight for the spot in the final, but lost to Obayashi, who would then go on to face Lanier.

The next stop for our European players before the Super 750 tournament Denmark Open is the Dutch Open which will be taking place next week, 12 until 16 October. You will get to see all matches on www.badmintoneurope.tv.
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