Elijah Thomas looking for Temuka title
- Dave Worsley
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
New Zealand men's squash No 2 Elijah Thomas is on a mission to win tournaments at home and take his fledgling professional career to new heights.
The 22-year-old from Auckland is about to play in the Trust Aoraki Midlands PSA Challenger tournament in Temuka 25-29 June on the international glass court.
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The tournament which also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Temuka Squash Club will be an opportunity for Thomas to make amends for his past three events in the South Island, two last year and one last weekend where he was a beaten finalist, each time to Dutchman Rowan Damming
Damming is the top seed in Temuka and Thomas second with a current ranking of 100, something he doesn't get too focused on.
"I try not to get too fixated on rankings. Top 100 will be a nice milestone to hit, but I see it more as a step closer to the end goal. Its good to see progression and I aim to continue to improve my level and keep climbing the rankings," he said.
Thomas has been in five finals at the PSA Challenger levels of the standing of Temuka and come away with two titles.
Already this year he has played in seven different nations from Australia, Great Britain, the Netherlands and beyond and says Temuka is definitely a new venue, but he's looking forward to the tournament on a real international glass court.
"It's a little different as a location, but it looks great and there's some big activities going on around the event."
Thomas is currently coached by Englishman Rob Owen who is in charge of numerous top players including fellow kiwi Paul Coll.
Thomas has a bye first round and will have his opening match on Thursday 26 June at 2.15pm
Meanwhile the women's draw in Temuka is headed by New Zealand's Ella Lash who has a world ranking of 127 and will face competition from second seed Kincso Szász from Hungary.
Seeded third is Kiwi-Brit Jasmine Thirst followed by Hawkes Bay's Jena Gregory, a recent finalist at the Auckland Open.
A number of local players have been given positions in the draws to compete with the professionals while there are also graded tournaments at local clubs as well
