Slovenia Open Review
14th May 2026 by Robert McLean
It was a challenging week in Slovenia for Scotland’s two representatives at the Slovenia Open, as both players were unable to progress through a highly competitive men’s singles qualifying draw in Maribor.
Top qualifying seed James Robertson faced home favourite Žiga Podgoršek in his opening match. Despite entering as the top seed, Robertson was unable to overcome an inspired performance from the Slovenian, who produced one of his strongest displays of the season to secure a 21-19, 21-16 victory.
Matthew Waring began his campaign in impressive fashion with a dominant straight-games win over Croatian player Ivan Kosor, cruising through 21-7, 21-5 in the opening round.
Waring’s run came to an end in the qualifying round of 32, where he faced former All England Junior champion Jyun-Kai Huang of Chinese Taipei. In a competitive encounter between two promising young talents, Huang proved too strong on the day, claiming victory 21-16, 21-11.
Both Scottish players will now turn their attention to upcoming international events later this month. Waring is set to compete in the Yonex Bonn International in Germany, while Robertson travels to Denmark for the STATE Denmark Challenge.