Simpson & De Rycke Are Favourites In Malmo

England's Chris Simpson and Belgium's Charlie de Rycke have been nominated as top seeds in the 16th European Junior U19 Championships, which will take place at the Bellevuestadion in Malmo, Sweden, from 19-22 March.

Simpson's first opponent is Ireland's Rory Byrne. The 17-year-old from Brighton in Sussex, a semi-finalist last year, is predicted to meet 3/4 seed James Wright in an all-English semi-final.

Germany's Simon Rosner is second seed in the men's event. His anticipated semi-final opponent is 3/4 seed Mathieu Castagnet, the 18-year-old Frenchman from Le Mans who came to prominence last year with an unexpected appearance in the final in Belgium.

Charlie de Rycke is looking to retain the women's title she won for the first time last year on home soil. The 17-year-old from Ghent is seeded to face France's 3/4 seed Celia Allamargot in the semi-finals before a predicted meeting with England's No2 seed Jenna Gates in the final. The other 3/4 seed, in the bottom half of the draw, is Camille Serme, who is also from France.

The 22nd European Junior U19 Team Championships follow the individual event, from 24-27 March, featuring hosts Sweden, defending champions England, and Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and Wales. The seeding for the team event will be announced during the final stages of the individual event

Men's 3rd round line-up predicted by the seedings:
[1] Chris Simpson (ENG) v [9/16] Thibault Prandi (FRA)
[7/8] Rik Smet (BEL) v [9/16] Tom Hoevenaars (NED)
[5/6] Jens Schoor (GER) v Graham Melvin (SCO)
[3/4] James Wright (ENG) v [9/16] Ondrej Ertl (CZE)
[3/4] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [9/16] Thibault Gouti (FRA)
[5/6] Tom Richards (ENG) v [9/16] Sebastian Victor (SWE)
[7/8] Gustav Detter (SWE) v [9/16] Shaun le Roux (ENG)
[2] Simon Rosner (GER) v [9/16] Nicolas Muller (SUI)

Women's 3rd round line-up predicted by the seedings:
[1] Charlie de Rycke (BEL) v [9/16] Lisa Kho (NED)
[7/8] Chantal Moros-Pitarch (ESP) v [9/16] Deon Saffery (ENG)
[5/6] Rachel Willmott (ENG) v [9/16] Charlotte Delsinne (FRA)
[3/4] Celia Allamargot (FRA) v [9/16] Joanna Morgan (SCO)
[3/4] Camille Serme (FRA) v [9/16] Pamela Hathway (GER)
[5/6] Fiona Moverley (ENG) v [9/16] Tereza Dufkova (CZE)
[7/8] Sandra Krueger (GER) v [9/16] Lotte Eriksen (NOR)
[2] Jenna Gates (ENG) v [9/16] Soraya Renai (FRA)