Australian duo Jessica Van Der Walt and Rhys Dowling have secured their spots in the main draw of the 24/25 PSA World Championships after winning the Oceania Qualifying Event at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Victoria.
World No.61 Van Der Walt defeated top seed Alexandra Haydon in five games to secure her third appearance at the flagship PSA Squash Tour event, while Dowling is set for a debut appearance in Chicago next month after the fourth-game retirement of his opponent, No.5 seed Dylan Molinaro, saw him win the final.
No.2 seed Van Der Walt had to be at her battling best throughout the latter stages of the event to claim victory, holding off No.4 seed Madison Lyon in five games in the semi-finals and coming through 11-6 in the deciding game of her final against World No.62 Haydon.
The Australian, who has won eight titles on the PSA Tour, defeated Haydon by a 9-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 scoreline.
Meanwhile, twelve months on from losing out in the final of the Oceania Qualifying Event, Dowling delivered a strong week of squash to go one step further and win the event. The Australian player defeated Bradley Fullick, No.8 seed Benjamin Ratcliffe and Tate Norris in his opening three rounds.
After losing out in the opening game of the final to Molinaro, Dowling responded impressively, moving through 11-5 and 11-6 games to look well placed for the win. At 6-2 to Dowling in the fourth game, though, the match was brought to an unfortunate premature ending, with Molinaro forced to retire from the encounter.
Both Van Der Walt and Dowling will now be in action at next month’s PSA World Championships presented by The Walter Family. The event will take place between May 9-17 and will be available to watch live on SQUASHTV.
Men’s Final : [2] Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt [5] Dylan Molinaro (AUS) 3-1: 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 6-2 rtd (38m)
Women’s Final : [2] Jessica van der Walt (AUS) bt [1] Alexandra Haydon (AUS) 3-2: 9-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 (49m)
Tickets are on sale now for the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family.
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