A strong English contingent are in Germany this week to take part in the HYLO Open in Saarbrücken as a busy spell of tournaments continues.
The Super 500 tournament has changed its name from the SaarLorLux Open this year and England have seeded pairs in each of the doubles disciplines.
In the mixed doubles, Smith and Marcus Ellis go in as third seeds as they look to replicate their 2018 exploits and lift the trophy – one of two for Ellis in a memorable week three years ago, as he also triumphed alongside Chris Langridge in the men’s doubles.
German duo Jones Ralfy Jansen and Linda Efler are lying in wait for Smith and Ellis in the first round on this occasion.
Jessica Pugh and Callum Hemming take on Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, with fourth seeds Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying potentially next up should the English pair come through the first round.
Chloe Birch and Smith, runners-up in 2019, are seeded third in the women’s doubles and take on Japanese pair Chisato Hoshi and Aoi Matsuda in the first round.
Birch and Smith are in the top half of the draw, keeping them apart from Jessica Hopton and Pugh, who face Thai fifth seeds Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in their opener.
Elsewhere, Jenny Moore teams up with Australian Gronya Summerville and the pair face a first-round clash with Alyssa Tirtosentono and Imke Van Der Aar.
The men’s doubles, meanwhile, contains three English pairings of which sixth seeds Ben Lane and Sean Vendy are the highest ranked.
The Tokyo Olympians begin against Indian pair Attri Manu and Reddy B. Sumeeth, while Hemming and Steven Stallwood take on fellow unseeded duo Mathias Boe and Michael Sarfelt from Denmark.
The fourth quarter of the draw sees a battle of the Brits as Matthew Clare and Ethan Van Leeuwen go up against Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall.
The men’s singles draw pits the unseeded Toby Penty, who reached the semi-finals of this tournament in 2019, against fifth seed Rasmus Gemke.
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.
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