One week after winning her maiden WISPA ‘Meersquash Open’ title in the Netherlands last week, South Africa’s 19-year-old Tenille Swartz is making headlines again.
Swartz qualified for the first round of the Main Draw of the Women’s World Open Squash Championships in Belfast, Ireland on Tuesday, when she defeated Latasha Khan of the USA.
Swartz took the first game 9-3 against Khan, before dropping the next two games to her more experienced opponent 9-3 9-2.
Then the South African regained her composure to capture the fourth 9-3, and raced through the decider 9-1 to set up a first-round meeting with 11th seeded Laura Lengthorn (England).
Swartz’s achievement prompted the organisers to say this of her achievement: “Playing in only her third senior tournament, she overcame the experienced Latasha Khan in five games to become possibly the first player outside the top 100 to reach the main draw of a World Open.”
Coach Sief van der Heijden lauded Swartz’s achievement: “She was brave, stuck to her game plan, which was to open up the court and play to the four corners, keeping Latasha away from the ‘T’.
“She kept to it well at the start, let it go, so I told her that if she wanted to win, she had to go back to attacking. She got a bit shaky at 8-0 in the fifth, but I’m proud of her, she deserves it …”
Swartz lost her next match 3-0 to Laura Lengthorn yesterday, going down in three quick sets to Laura Lengthorn 9-0, 9-2, 91 in 21 minutes. “I played well, I felt sharp,” said Lengthorn after beating Swartz yesterday.
“She seemed to be a bit nervous at the start, and maybe a bit tired from yesterday. I knew she’d been playing well recently, so I knew I couldn’t afford to take her lightly.”
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