Liam PITCHFORD and Paul DRINKHALL will return to the English National Championships this weekend after missing last year’s event. The Mark BATES Ltd National Championships is at the University of Nottingham from Friday March 24 until Sunday March 26.
Last year PITCHFORD was playing in the WTT Contender Doha and DRINKHALL was injured. Both have won the men’s singles six times and if one of them wins their seventh title it would put them in second place on the all-time list behind Desmond Douglas who won 11 times.
Last year’s winner Tom JARVIS is the third seed and Sam WALKER is fourth.
In the Women’s Singles Maria TSAPTSINOS won last year but she has now retired from playing to concentrate on her career in TV production.
Tin-Tin HO is the overwhelming favourite to win her fifth singles title – no one else in the entry list has ever won the title.
The other top four seeds are Denise PAYET Emily BOLTON and Mollie PATTERSON. It is a young list – Bolton is the oldest of the top eight seeds at the age of 25.
In the para competitions Paralympic and Commonwealth Games medallist Ross WILSON leads the Class 6-10 entries along with Paralympic medallist Aaron MCKIBBIN and doubles world champion Billy SHILTON.
Fliss PICKARD another para doubles world champion has qualified for the Women’s Singles.
In the Class 2-5 singles Commonwealth Games gold and Paralympic bronze medallist Jack HUNTER-SPIVEY and Toko 2020 bronze medallist Megan SHACKLETON are the top seeds.
As well as the singles there are doubles and under-21 singles events plus two showcase para doubles matches.
PITCHFORD and DRINKHALL are top seeds in the men’s doubles HO and BOLTON are the No 1 pair in the women’s doubles and PITCHFORD and HO head the mixed doubles seedings.
