The 2023 ProAir British Junior Championships (BJC) kicked into action across three venues in Sheffield today, with the top seeds dominating proceedings across the age groups.
In the Boys U19 draw, top seed and two-time BJC champion Jonah Bryant (Sussex) advanced to the last sixteen without any alarms, sealing a straight games win over 29/32 seed Ioan Davis (Wales), while No.2 seed Yusuf Sheikh (Essex) and 3/4 seeds Caleb Boy (Kent) and Abd-Allah Eissa (Warks) all progressed through their second-round bouts without dropping a game.
Elsewhere, 9/12 seed Joe Pannell (Hants) was the highest seed to crash out in the second round, narrowly losing a five-game classic against 21/24 seed Ethan Duncan (Herts).
In the Girls U19 first-round action, there were no shocks as all of the higher-seeded players progressed without fail. This included comfortable wins for 9/12 seeds Jasmine Thirst (Norfolk), Rowan Niven (Scotland), Megan Light (Hants) and Isobel Beynon-Cobb (Wales), who all won in three games, respectively.
The Boys U17 event, which was the only action to take place at the Fullwood Sports Club, saw the top four seeds, including England Nationals 2023 runner-up Dylan Roberts (Kent), Archie Turnbull (Wales), Ismail Khalil (Warks) and Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) all move through to the last sixteen in straight games.
17/19 seed Dylan Smithson (Essex) caused the upset of the round in this competition, battling back from two games down to take the honours against 9/12 seed Aiden Fillmore (Cambs) and move through to the last sixteen.
Girls U17 action at the Abbeydale Squash & Fitness Club saw 2022 BJC semi-finalist and No.1 seed Emily Coulcher-Porter (Oxon) safely advance to the quarter-finals in straight games, with No.2 seed Elizabeth Dicker (Hants), as well as 3/4 seeds Millie Breach (Wales) and Louisa Kaven (Scotland) also taking safe passage.
Meanwhile, 9/12 seed Eve Parkins (Northants) scored a surprise victory over 5/8 seed Elle Golsworthy (Devon) to set up a quarter-final clash with Coulcher-Porter. Despite losing a one-sided first game 11-1, Parkins kept her cool to take a 2-1 win and eventually close the match out in five games.
The Boys U15 competition is going to seeding so far, with the top four ranked players all navigating their way through the first two rounds without fail.
However, 5/8 seed Matthew Sutton was upset by 25/27 seed Matthew Hong Ki Leung (Glos) in straight games, while 17/20 seed Jamie Pearman (Scotland) defeated his higher-ranked opposition, Joe Colton (Surrey), in five games of hard-fought action.
The Girls U15 competition saw first-round action commence at the Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club, with just two matches going against seedings, with 17/19 seeds Erin Lauder (Wales) and Emily Hall (Warwicks) scoring upset victories.
Meanwhile, the Boys U13 qualifying and round one kicked into action, with top seed Thomas Myers (Scotland) sailing into the last sixteen alongside No.2 seed Joe Thompson (Yorks). Meanwhile, just one match went against seeding in the Girls U13 first-round, with Sienna Hampshaw (Yorks) sealing an upset in straight games.
For all scores, draws, and other event information, including details on live streaming, please click here.
