29 March 2023
There was plenty of English interest to follow at the ORLEN Polish Open in Tarnow this week with two pairings reaching the semi-final stages.
Among the star performers were Steven Stallwood and Hope Warner in the mixed doubles competition.
Unseeded in Tarnow, Stallwood and Warner started with victory over French qualifiers Eloi Adam and Sharone Bauer, before shocking Brazilian third seeds Davi Silva and Sania Lima 21-18 21-17 to reach the last eight.
The duo then picked up a third consecutive straight games victory with a 21-9 21-16 triumph over Chen Xin-Yuan and Hsu Yin-Hui, before a tight semi-final loss to fifth seeds Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch.
The Danish pairing had beaten Alex Green and Estelle van Leeuwen back in the second round of the draw, prevailing 21-12 21-14.
Green and van Leeuwen had come through an all-English battle in round one, defeating Estelle’s brother Ethan van Leeuwen and Lizzie Tolman – who had come through qualifying – 21-13 16-21 21-18.
Brandon Yap and Annie Lado were also in action, falling to Serbian second seeds Mihajlo Tomic and Andjela Vitman in their opening encounter.
Lado was also in women’s doubles action in Poland, reaching the last four alongside partner Abbygael Harris.
After defeating Tea Margueritte and Flavie Vallet in round one, Lado and Harris shocked eighth seeds Natasja P. Anthonisen and Clara Graversen 21-13 21-19 to progress to the last eight.
A quarter-final victory against home pairing Dominika Kwasnik and Kornelia Marczak saw them reach Sunday’s semi-final, where they tasted defeat to second seeds Catherine Choi and Josephine Wu of Canada.
Estelle van Leeuwen and Warner were also in action, falling in round one to top seeds Jin Yu Jia and Wong Jia Ying Crystal, while Tolman and Scottish partner Rachel Andrew reached the second round.
Tolman and Andrew upset third seeds Srivedya Gurazada and Ishika Jaiswal in their first match, before a loss to Lima and Juliana Viana Vieira.
In the men’s doubles draw Rory Easton and Zach Russ were seeded sixth and opened up with a win versus Kenji Lovang and Leo Rossi, before being defeated by Andreas Sondergaard and Jesper Toft.
Green and Yap also reached round two in Tarnow, falling to eighth seeds Julien Maio and William Villeger after an opening round win versus Canada’s B. R. Sankeerth and Joshua Hurlburt-Yu.
Samuel Jones was playing alongside Stallwood, and the pairing were beaten 21-18 21-16 by Ethan van Leeuwen and French partner Adam in their opening match.
Van Leeuwen and Adam then fell to second seeds Christopher and Matthew Grimley.
