Malik and Eissa favourites for 2024 ProAir British Junior Squash Championships Crowns

England’s Bailey Malik and Mariam Eissa have been named as favourites for the Boys and Girls U19 titles respectively at the 2024 ProAir British Junior Championships in Sheffield from 31 October - 3 November.

Squash greats including Peter Nicol, Cassie Jackman, James Willstrop and Gina Kennedy are among past winners of the event - and in its 50th year, Britain’s finest young talent will once again bid to join its illustrious roll of honour.

BU19 top seed Malik (Sussex) is part of the famous squash-playing Malik family which also includes younger brother Heston, who is seeded 5/8 in the BU19s but on the other half of the draw.

Bailey is scheduled for a potential final showdown with [2] Alex Broadbridge (Hants) - the current European no.1 and winner of the recent Dutch and Welsh Junior Open titles. Bailey will first have to navigate past [3/4] Dylan Roberts (Kent) in the last four whilst Roberts is on course for a semi-final meeting with [3/4] Ioan Sharpe of Wales.

In the GU19 draw, the highly promising Mariam Eissa (Warks) is top seed at the age of just 15. She finished runner-up in last year’s GU19 final against Amelie Haworth and won the GU15 title in 2022. If the event goes to seeding, the three-time English Junior champion will meet last year’s GU15 champion, Emily Coulcher-Porter (Bucks) in the semis. Meanwhile, Wales' [2] Ellie Breach - recent winner of the Welsh and French Junior Open titles - is on course for a last four clash with Scotland’s [3/4] Robyn McAlpine, the 2022 Nordic Junior Open U17 champion.

Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) will be looking to add the BU17 trophy to his British U15 and U11 titles, earned in 2022 and 2018 respectively. He’ll first have to overcome 3/4 seed Damian Duckett (Middx) in the semis and second seed Ismail Khalil (Warks) - a former English U11 winner - in the final.

GU17 top seed Harriet Broadbridge (Hants) has already enjoyed a fine year, reaching the final of the Welsh, French and European Junior Opens. The 2022 British U13 champion is seeded to meet Kent's [2] Renata Colabella, who hails from the same Bexley club as Commonwealth Games gold medallist Gina Kennedy.

The BU15 final is expected to be a match-up between top seed Ali Khalil (Warks) and [2] Matthew Hong Ki Leung (Glos) while GU15 top seed Ameerah Ismail (Warks) - England Squash's 2023 Rising Star of the Year, will be looking to add the GU15 crown to her U13 title of two years ago. Standing in her way is second seed Fearne Copley (Yorks), the former English U11 champion.

Twins Oscar and Finley Brown (Leics) go into the BU13 event as first and second seeds respectively. Finley won 11-9 in the fifth game when the brothers played each other at the British Junior Open in Birmingham in January and a re-match is scheduled for the final in Sheffield. Last year’s BU11 runner-up [5/6] Logan Willstrop (Yorks) and [9/16] Noah Selby (Essex) are two notable surnames elsewhere in the draw.

GU13 top seed Nadiya Ismail (Warks) will fancy collecting a second British Junior title after etching her name onto the U11 trophy in 2022 but will have Pontefract starlet [2] Sienna Hampshaw (Yorks) snapping at her heels.

James Swinden (Yorks) is seeded to meet [2] Harry Knox from Ireland in the BU11 final. Ada Brown (Norfolk) was runner-up at the English Junior Championships in February but heads to Sheffield as GU11 top seed with Wales' [2] Elsie Griffiths at the opposite end of the draw.

Due to growing demand, the U9 category has been split into boys' and girls' competitions this year, organised into group stages leading to knockout rounds. There are four groups of three and one of four in the boys' competition, with top seed Max Hall (Yorks) in Group A and Keaton Fiander-Derry (Surrey) in Group B. Manar Ismail (Sussex) and Evie Hennings (Surrey) are the top two GU9 seeds and are placed in Group A and B respectively, with five players in each.

The championships start on Thursday 31 October across three Sheffield venues – Abbeydale Squash & Fitness Club, Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club and Fulwood Sports Club.

To view the 2024 draws, visit the official website at britishjuniorchampionships.com. Watch live streaming from the all-glasscourt at Abbeydale from Friday 1 November on the official website and England Squash’s You Tube, and follow the action on England Squash’s Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X.