Ben Lane and Sean Vendy win YONEX Swiss Open!

24 March 2023

Ben Lane and Sean Vendy claimed a landmark win at the YONEX Swiss Open, their first-ever tournament triumph at Super 300 level.

The men’s doubles duo put in a statement performance with just a few months to go until the Olympic Games, picking up crucial Paris 2024 qualification points in the process.

Lane and Vendy wrapped up the title with a dramatic 24-22 28-26 win over top seeds Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana. The match took on a heightened significance for the Indonesian pair given the implications for Olympic qualification – had they won the game, they would have gone into the top eight of Olympic rankings and secured a spot in Paris.

This was the first time Lane and Vendy had ever reached the final of a Super 300 event; their previous BWF World Tour tournament win came at the 2021 Orleans Masters.

The European and Commonwealth silver medallists found top form in Basel and laid waste to the Olympic champions at the quarter-final stage, beating Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei in straight games.

Lane and Vendy secured their spot in the final by roaring back from a game down to beat Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 20-22 21-8 21-15.

The other English representation in Switzerland came in the mixed doubles draw as Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith fell to a 21-12 21-10 defeat to Indonesia’s Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.