Six English doubles pairings are going for glory in Paris this week as the Stade Pierre de Coubertin hosts the 2021 YONEX French Open.
Following a tough week at last week’s Denmark Open, which saw only Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith progress past the first round, the Super 750 event represents an immediate chance for a squad containing a mixture of youth and experience to bounce back.
Ellis and Smith are seeded fourth in this week’s draw and take on German duo Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Lohau in a repeat of the 2019 first-round tie between the pairings.
Lamsfuss and Lohau triumphed in straight sets on that occasion, the most recent French Open following 2020’s cancellation, but Ellis and Smith have won five of the eight meetings between the pairs in all, including May’s Swiss Open clash.
The Olympic quarter-finalists are in the same section of the draw as Callum Hemming and Jess Pugh, who open up against Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran.
Hemming and Pugh are also in action in the respective men’s and women’s doubles competitions, teaming up with Steven Stallwood and Jess Hopton.
Hemming and Stallwood begin against Dutch duo Ruben Jille and Ties van der Lecq and sit in the same section of the draw as top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, meanwhile, go up against Denmark’s Jeppe Bay and Lasse Mølhede in their first-round tie.
A tricky test lies in wait for Pugh and Hopton in the women’s doubles, with eighth seeds Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan first up, while Smith and Birch are seeded sixth.
The English pair take on Margot Lambert and Anne Tran and will hope to go deep into the tournament in the French capital.
The YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships return to Utilita Arena Birmingham with the best players from around the world from 16th – 20th March 2022.
Don’t miss out, get your tickets today.
