Seeds move on in Carrickmines while there’s doubles joy for the Irish
By Stephen Higgins | Tuesday 28th July 2026
There were no major upsets on day one of the 2026 DLR Open as the seeded singles players survived their respective contests.
In the W50 event, no.3 seed and former top 40 player Viktoria Hruncakova overcame a stern challenge from Astrid Cirotte before triumphing 6-4 7-5.
The 28-year-old will next face Rose Marie Nijkamp of The Netherlands, who beat Ireland’s Aisling O’Connor 6-0 6-4 on Tuesday afternoon.
Unfortunately for home fans, there was little green joy in the women’s draw on day one as all the singles competitors fell.
Fifth seed Viktoria Morvayova – who’s ranked in the WTA’s top 300 – defeated Rachel Deegan 6-1 6-2, while Laura Carvalho e Silva Kracke lost 3-6 1-6 to Iris Louise Van den Broek.
Elsewhere in the W50, 2025 runner-up Victoria Allen overcame Germany’s Ann Akasha Ceuca 6-1 6-4. Also on day one, seventh seed Britt Du Pree took her match 6-1 6-2 over Ella McDonald.
In the men’s M15 event, eighth seed Pavlos Tsitsipas edged Ireland’s James McLoughlin 6-3 6-4. While it was a step too far for McLoughlin, he was an impressive qualifier at the 2026 DLR Irish Open.
Michael Wright, who comes from great Irish tennis stock, battled hard with Spain’s Jordi Mas de Ugarte before falling in three sets 6-7 7-6 3-6. Meanwhile, Cian Maguire was beaten 6-3 6-3 by Matisse Farzam.
In the remaining men’s singles, seventh seed Markus Molder needed three sets to outlast Pablo Perez Ramos, and there were wins for Roan Jones and Jules Leroux.
The Carrickmines faithful were provided with plenty of cheer in the doubles on day one, where there was plenty of success.
Davis Cup players Michael Agwi, Conor Gannon and Ammar Elamin all won with their respective partners. The all-Irish pairings of Dylan Leeman/Cian McDonnell and Carvalho e Silva Kracke/Kate Gardiner also secured wins.
Day two of the 2026 DLR Open will be a bumper one for spectators and streamers as Agwi, Gannon, 2017 finalist Sinead Lohan, no.1 women’s seed Vendula Valdmannova, and former top 30 performer Urszula Radwanska take to centre court.
Remember that you can follow all the 2026 DLR Open action at the ITF’s W50 and M15 sites.
