Ukrainian squash players at the PSA Czech Open 2022 tournament

From November 3 to 7, the Viktoria Brno Squash Club is hosting the largest PSA tournament ever held in the Czech Republic - Czech Open 2022. The competition is also part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Czech squash. The total tournament fund is $30,000 for the men's draw and $3,000 for the women's draw.

"We cannot describe how impressed we are not only to have achieved a significant increase in prize money compared to the first Czech Open, but most importantly to welcome 8 players from the top 40 in the world led by top seeds Nicolas Muller, Rafael Kandra, Omar Mosaad and Karim el Hammami" - representatives of the Squash Federation of the Czech Republic share their impressions.

Ukrainian squash players also participated in the prestigious tournament of squash stars. Members of the women's national team - Anastasia Kostyukova and Milena Velychko - have already managed to show the level of Ukrainian squash in the first round. The matches among the women's category started yesterday in the afternoon. The women's draw is led by Tessa Ter Sluis, the 62nd ranked player in the world.

In the Ukrainian confrontation with the Czech opponents, only Anastasia Kostyukova managed to win in the first round. Siyana, the Ukrainian fourth seed, defeated Karolína Šrámková in three games, starting with a score in the first game 3-11.

Anastasia Kostyukova: "I am glad that I won, that I was able to pull myself together and quickly analyze what was wrong, what was right, what to do after an unsuccessful first game, and finished the match in my favor with a score of 3:1."

16-year-old Milena Velichko, unfortunately, lost in the first round to Tamara Holzbauerová, the fifth seed of the tournament. But it was a really fierce match lasting 46 minutes, with a score of 3:2, the victory was for the opponent.

Milena Velichko: "This is my first PSA tournament of this level of organization. It was very interesting to play with experienced players and enjoy the game."

The quarter-finals will take place on Saturday 5 November and the games will be streamed on the Squash Viktoria YouTube channel.

Women's First Round Results: PSA Czech Open 2022

[4] Anastasia Kostyukova (Ukraine) bt Karolina Sramkova (Czech Republic) 3-1: 3-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (33 min)

[5] Tamara Holzbauerova (Czech Republic) bt Milena Velichko (Ukraine) 3-2: 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9 (46 min)

Women's quarterfinal draws: Saturday, November 5 (2:10 p.m. Kyiv time)

[6] Juliette Permentier (NED) bt [4] Anastasia Kostyukova (Ukraine)