U.S. Players Competing at 2023 Spanish Parabadminton International

By Mike Krajewski

Team USA wrapped up the second day of the 2023 Spanish Parabadminton International on Tuesday with four matches. The team has three players competing: Richard Alcaraz (SL4), Jayci Simon (SH6), and Miles Krajewski (SH6). 

The first match of the day was in SH6 Men’s Doubles, where Krajewski partnered with Vitor Tavares (Brazil) to defeat the pair from Canada in straight sets, 21-7, 21-19. 

Next up was Alcaraz in SL3-SU5 Mixed Doubles, partnering with Caitlin Dransfield from Australia. The pair won their first round group match on day one, but had a tall order on day two facing the seeded pair from Thailand. In a competitive match, the USA/Australia pair fell 21-15, 21-8. 

The SH6 mixed doubles pair of Simon and Krajewski is competing in just their second tournament together, following a silver medal performance in the 2022 Pan Am Championships in November. They lost their first round match on day one to the seeded pair from England, but bounced back with a 21-18, 21-12 win against the pair from India. The win puts them in position to advance out of the group stage and into the quarterfinals with a win against the combined pair from Spain and Peru on Thursday. 

The final match was arguably the match of the day for Team USA. In a second round group match, Krajewski faced World #4 from France, Charles Noakes. Noakes had most recently defeated Krajewski in the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Championships in November, but it was Krajewski that would have the upper hand this time. After trading points for much of the first game, Krajewski pulled away for a 21-16 win. He then continued his momentum into the second game for a decisive 21-8 score. Combined with his day one victory over Scotland, this win propels Krajewski into position to advance into the knockout round as the group winner. 

Day three action will be a lighter day for Team USA with Alcaraz beginning men’s doubles group play and finishing singles group play, and Krajewski completing singles group play. Simon has the day off and will conclude group play in both mixed doubles and women’s singles on Thursday. 

The 2023 Spanish Parabadminton International is the first qualifying tournament in the Race to Paris. The qualifying period runs through March 2024 and includes 14 international tournaments, five continental championships and the 2024 World Championships.

To see match results, click here.

Matches are livestreamed on Badminton Spain’s YouTube.

Photo Credit: BadmintonPhoto (Alan Spink, Craig Burgess)