2024 KICKS OFF! SCOTLAND HERE WE COME...

Scottish Open 2024 Preview!

Our first event of 2024 is the Scottish Open in Glasgow at the wonderful Newlands Tennis and Squash Club. Last year was the first time we visited the club, and we had a blast meeting up with our RASTA Scottish Racketball cousins and doing battle.

In the Open we have last year's National Championships finalists in opposite boxes as Mike Harris and Matt Bedwell aim to revisit their England/Scotland duel once more. Neither have straightford run ins though, with both having some quality opposition in their groups. A large B Grade entry has a great mix of Scottish and English players in it and with such a variety of players it is hard to call the favourite. It will be a new Champion this time round however as last year's Paul Norton is playing the O40s category. Leading in to that, Norton faces the start of the full Series return of the relentless Ryan Loska, who will be a very tough nut to crack in the first event of the year. Coupled with some Scottish interest too this should be a good challenge to last year's Series runner up!

The Over 50s features a half-n-half of Scottish and English talent too, with Series regular Paul Dodds facing some interesting challenges from the likes of Mike Sutherland, Paul Geri and Kevin Dudley. Tough one to call this one! A solid 60s line up has Robin Chipperfield, Mike Fleming and Collis Sheik as it's top trumps in the two boxes, however with a large Scottish interest here too we could be looking at some upsets along the way. Last year's British Racketball Open Finalist Joe Hely is the one to watch in the O70s draw, but with there being a draw of 5 players its going to be a good test for the stamina of all involved as they battle it out for 4 matches each through the day. 

It is great to have a busy Ladies draw, with 5 Scottish players taking part, junior and adults alike. Top work Matt Bedwell and the Newlands team for getting a good Ladies uptake and we hope this is positive signs for things to come going forward! Finally, the Doubles entry features 5 quality pairings, all looking to make an early impression on the new Doubles Series rankings for 2024. Top dogs have to be Norton/Bedwell, but they will face stiff challenges from the experienced pairings of Dodds/Loska and Manson/Hindmarch. All to play for!

You can find the full draws and schedule below on Sporty HQ. As always we will be trying to keep the photo updates and live streaming coming throughout the day, so please tune in on our UK Racketball Facebook page or Instagram to keep in touch with the action!

SCOTTISH OPEN 2024