Van Leeuwen and Hemming star in strong Dutch Open showing

27 October, 2024

Estelle Van Leeuwen and Callum Hemming triumphed in the final of the mixed doubles at the Dutch Open on a busy Sunday for English shuttlers.

Van Leeuwen had earlier been in women’s doubles final action alongside Chloe Birch, and bounced back from the disappointment of missing her first chance of a title by taking her second.

She and Hemming came from a game down to beat home pair Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek 17-21 21-15 22-20 to take the title.

It was their second successive come-from-behind victory, having fought back against Germany’s Malik Bourakkadi and Leona Michalski in the semi-finals.

They missed the chance to take on Ethan Van Leeuwen and Birch in the quarter-finals, with the other English pair beaten in the round of 16.

Birch linked up with both Van Leeuwen siblings, and almost claimed women’s doubles success with Estelle as the pair made it all the way to the final.

They fought back from a set down to beat Canadian pair Jackie Dent and Crystal Lai in the quarter-finals before a convincing 21-6 21-10 win over Julia Meyer and Michalski in the last four.

But they could not find a way through in the final, beaten in straight sets, 21-15 21-18 by Bulgaria’s Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva, who had also beaten Abbygael Harris and Lizzie Tolman at the quarter-final stage.

Like Birch, Hemming also played alongside both Van Leeuwen siblings, reaching the semi-final of the men’s doubles with Ethan. Their run was ended by Mael Cattoen and Lucas Renoir, 21-16 10-21 21-18 as the French pair edged a tight final set.

That came after Cattoen and Renoir beat Zach Russ and Jeppe Soeby in the quarter-finals, while Rory Easton and Alex Green also lost in the last eight.

Last but not least, Leona Lee won her opening match against Samanta Golubickaite 20-22 21-16 21-13 before going out in the last 16 to Spain’s Clara Azurmendi.