A record number of entrants will be hitting the courts for the Southland Open squash tournament in Invercargill this Friday and Saturday.

The open, which also doubles as the South Island individual championships, features nearly 130 entries including more than 50 Southlanders.

It will be staged across two venues at ILT Stadium Southland and Squash City. 

Squash Southland districts manager Bruce Thirkell said despite having to run the event earlier than last year and clashing with events which were scheduled after the date was set, the record field was a pleasing outcome.

“We’ve managed to beat last year’s record field, which has meant adding an extra division. We will have players from as far north as Auckland taking part and we are really appreciative of the support we have had from Central Otago, in particular.”

Squash Southland runs the annual showpiece with assistance from the Squash City committee.

“We wouldn’t be able to hold a tournament of this magnitude without the support of both our venues,” Tsays hirkell. 

Nearly 200 matches across 16 divisions will be staged on Friday and Saturday, with $1000 in prize money for both the men’s and women’s open winners.

Canterbury’s Joe Williams and Waikato player Emily Millar are the top seeds in their respective draws, with Williams and fellow Cantabrian Emma Cormack, seeded second, both looking to defend their 2021 South Island titles.

Queenstown’s Alana Changfoot, who won her opening set against eventual winner Anna O’Connor before losing 3-1 in the final of last year’s open, is returning and is the tournament’s fourth seed.

Thirkell says local Southland hopes could rest with men’s second seed Regan McNaught, from Makarewa, and Riverton’s Katie Fairweather, who is seeded sixth.