Malaysia's world number one Nicol David, bidding to become only the third player ever to become world champion four times, will face local Dutch player Orla Noom in the draw for the Forexx Women’s World Open Squash 2009 which was made today (Sunday) at the Frans Otten Stadion in Amsterdam.
The premier event on the Women’s International Squash Players' Association (WISPA) World Tour gets underway today in the Dutch capital with three days of qualifying, before the first round of the main draw starts on Wednesday (23 September), leading to the final on Sunday (27th).
David is expected to meet England's fifth seed Jenny Duncalf in the quarter-finals, followed by a predicted semi-final clash with another English opponent Alison Waters, the No4 seed.
But seventh seed Madeline Perry is also drawn in Waters' quarter - and, if successful in the section, could meet top seed David in the semis. It was Irish number one Perry who produced the match of her life to beat the Malaysian superstar in the British Open quarter-finals in Manchester earlier this month.
Natalie Grinham, the former Australian who is now a Dutch national, will be leading home interest in the sport's most prestigious event. The world number three from Almere will face Lauren Briggs, the world No21 from England, in the opening round - and is projected to meet her older sister Rachael Grinham in the semi-finals in the bottom half of the draw.
"Now that the draw is done, I can start preparing for my first match," said the Dutch number one after the draw. "The tournament finally got underway today and I am excited to start playing on Wednesday. I am really looking forward to it!" added Grinham junior.
Australian Rachael Grinham, ranked four in the world, arrives in Amsterdam fresh from lifting the British Open trophy for the fourth time. The Cairo-based 32-year-old first faces England's Dominique Lloyd-Walter in a repeat of their opening round clash in Manchester.
The Dutch number two also faces a repeat of her British Open first round match. Vanessa Atkinson, the World Open champion in 2004, is the 11th seed, and has been drawn to meet England's Tania Bailey in the opening round - and will be hoping for a repeat of her Manchester victory, this time in front of a home crowd.
1st round draw:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v Orla Noom (NED)
[9] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) v Camille Serme (FRA)
[5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v Delia Arnold (MAS)
[14] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) v Engy Kheirallah (EGY)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) v Qualifier
[16] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) v Qualifier
[7] Madeline Perry (IRL) v Qualifier
[13] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) v Qualifier
[15] Samantha Teran (MEX) v Suzie Pierrepont (ENG)
[6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v Qualifier
[11] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) v Tania Bailey (ENG)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG)
[12] Annie Au (HKG) v Qualifier
[8] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Qualifier
[10] Kasey Brown (AUS) v Qualifier
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) v Lauren Briggs (ENG)
More information about the championship can be found on the official tournament website www.womensworldopen.com