This year, the European Racketlon Championships were hosted by the Racketlon Federation Austria. The 2. FIR European Racketlon Championships, so far the biggest event in the history of the four-racket sport of Table Tennis, Badminton, Squash and Tennis took place from August 25 to September 3, 2017, in Wr. Neudorf and Vienna. The titles for European Champion in the categories Juniors, Seniors, Amateurs and Elite in Singles, Doubles and Team classes were played simultaneously for the first time. The overall budget of Euro 200,000 was the highest of all previous Racketlon events. A unique Centre Court Arena with a PSA Squash Glass Court was set up in the City & Country Club Wienerberg, in order to provide the audience with the best possible entertainment. And there was one more premiere: for the first time, doping inspections were conducted for the Elite classes.
“As the hosts, it was important for us to show that Racketlon is a clean sport. That is why we, in coordination with the International Racketlon Federation, asked NADA (the National Anti-Doping Agency) to conduct drug screenings,” said tournament director Christoph Krenn. Now the test results have been delivered: all negative! Among the participants tested were European Champions Rav Rykowski and Christine Seehofer, as well as Natalie Paul, Amke Fischer, Leon Griffiths, Janez Makovec, Kasper Jønsson and Jesper Hougaard. “The results show that playing Racketlon means hard and honest work,” said RFA president Marcel Weigl. The detailed results of the tested players can be requested by the respective national Racketlon associations, as well as by the tested players themselves, via e-mail from the FIR Federation Internationale de Racketlon.
Tennis pro Jürgen Melzer, who had entered the Amateurs competition of the 2. FIR European Racketlon Championships (note: he played right-handed), was full of praise for the EC participants: “I am really impressed by the Racketlon players, who are making incredible achievements here. For Racketlon, you need a high level of fitness – aside from the skills in the four disciplines.“
