On the first day of the YONEX German Open tournament, the qualifying rounds were held, with four places in the first round being awarded for each discipline. Two of these places went to the German Badminton Association. Miranda Wilson and Malik Bourakkadi/Kenneth Neumann won their matches, while Jonathan Dresp/Simon Krax and the mixed doubles pair Franziska and Patrick Volkmann were eliminated. Immediately afterwards, the first round of the women’s and men’s doubles began in the Westenergie Sports Hall.
Men’s doubles: Malik Bourakkadi and Kenneth Neumann show nerves of steel
Local heroes Malik Bourakkadi and Kenneth Neumann made it an exciting match. With the lead constantly changing hands, they beat Ruben Garcia and Carlos Piris 21-19, 23-21 and fended off two set points in the second set. The new German champions Jonathan Dresp/Simon “Air” Krax fought for three sets, but missed out on a surprise victory against Donovan Willard Wee/Jia Jao Howin Wong from Singapore, losing 21-18, 15-21, 14-21.
In an all-French duel, Julien Maio and William Villeger won 21-15, 21-19 against Baptiste Labarthe/Quentin Ronget. Alex Green/Zach Russ won the all-English match against Robin Harper/Harry Wakefield 21-15, 21-11.
Mixed doubles: Franziska and Patrick Volkmann lose
Badminton brings people together, and it’s not uncommon for love to blossom from the harmony on the court. Franziska and Patrick Volkmann are one of the married couples who found each other on the court. The two became German champions in mixed doubles in 2023. Today, however, they failed to advance to the first round – Brian Wassink and Debora Jille from the Netherlands were too strong in their 21-13, 21-17 victory.
Yann Orteu/Caroline Racloz won the Swiss internal duel against Nicolas and Julie Franconville. The remaining places in the main round went to Andy Buijk/Meerte Loos (Netherlands) and Oliver Butler/Abbygael Harris (England).
Women’s singles: Miranda Wilson prevails
In the end, Miranda Wilson prevailed over Agnes Korosi (Hungary) with a clear 21-13, 16-21 and 21-11. This means that the German Badminton Association is represented in the main draw despite Yvonne Li’s injury-related withdrawal. The three remaining places went to Clara Azurmendi (Spain), Aakarshi Kashyap (India) and Tereza Švábíková (Czechia).
Women’s doubles: Three spots for Europe, one for the Emirates
Three European nations secured qualifying spots. Kirsten De Wit/Meerte Loos (Netherlands) and Kaloyana Nalbantova/Hristomira Popovska from European team champions Bulgaria both won in two sets. Switzerland’s Aline Müller and Kelly van Buiten from the Netherlands secured a narrow 14-21, 21-17, 21-18 victory over the Austrian duo Serena Au Yeong/Anna Hagspiel. The United Arab Emirates also had reason to celebrate – Mysha Omer Khan/Taabia Khan knocked Raiia Almalalha/Sofiia Lavrova (Ukraine) out of the tournament with a 19-21, 21-10, 21-16 victory.
Herreneinzel: Twice Denmark, Japan, and Poland
Two matches had to be won today to secure a place in the men’s singles main draw. At the Westenergie Sports Hall, Japan’s Minoru Koga, Poland’s Mikolaj Szymanowski, and Denmark’s Jakob Houe and Ditlev Jaeger Holm came out on top.