Dutch Open back in Rotterdam
27th September 2010The Dutch Open Squash championships will take place again this year in Rotterdam. The tournament will be staged from 16-21 November 2010 at Victoria Squash, one of the most successful squash clubs in the Netherlands.
The third biggest squash tournament in Europe in 2010, the Dutch Open will feature a Professional Squash Association (PSA) 3 Star event and a Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA) Silver 20 competition, which will attract some of the world’s best male and female players to Rotterdam, also known as the ‘City of Sports’ in Holland. The Dutch Open Squash 2010 offers a total prize fund of US$55,000 as well as valuable world ranking points for competitors from all over the world.
This year’s Dutch Open will see the return of the best female players to the championship after a one year absence due to the staging of the Forexx Women’s World Open Squash 2009 in the Netherlands. Malaysia’s World Champion Nicol David is the reigning title holder in the women’s event having won the tournament in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Dutch stars Natalie Grinham (2003 and 2004) and Vanessa Atkinson (2002) have also won the highly sought-after title at least once each before.
The last three men’s editions of the Dutch Open were won by David Palmer (2007), Nick Matthew (2008) and Daryl Selby (2009). Five time Dutch champion Laurens Jan Anjema won the most prestigious squash championship on Dutch soil back in 2004.
Last year was the first time that the high profile event was played in Rotterdam, as a result of an extensive partnership that was struck between promoter NextSquash and its tournament partners Squash Bond Nederland and Rotterdam Topsport to further enhance the profile of squash in the harbour city. In the same deal it was agreed that Rotterdam would also host the World Open Squash 2011, the individual world championship for both men and women, which will be staged next year in the renowned Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam.