The country's premier domestic squash event will take place in Manchester for the 14th successive year, staged at the National Squash Centre in Sportcity from 9-14 February.
Success would make Matthew and Duncalf the first pair of champions in the 36-year history of the championships to retain their titles simultaneously.
Unbeaten in the men's event since 2005, Nick Matthew is expected to face England team-mate Peter Barker in the final. The left-hander from London is now the second highest-ranked Englishman in the world list, after leapfrogging two times champion James Willstrop to take over the world No6 ranking.
Willstrop, now the world No7, is the third seed - and will be hoping to be in the opposite half of the draw from Yorkshire rival Matthew. The pair last met in Manchester in the British Open final last September - an acrimonious clash which threatened to upset England team morale in the World Team Championships which followed shortly afterwards.
Thankfully, the two Yorkshiremen appear to have set aside their differences - to concentrate on what matters most, their squash.
Jenny Duncalf's main threat in the women's event also appears to come from London, the home of second seed Alison Waters, the world No6. The pair have shared the titles for the past three years - and met in the final in 2007 and 2009, with Duncalf successful in both.
Waters has already kicked off the New Year in fine style, winning the Greenwich Open in the USA without dropping a game.
The top eight seeds in both events are:
Men: 1 Nick Matthew (Yorkshire); 2 Peter Barker (Essex); 3 James Willstrop (Yorkshire); 4 Adrian Grant (Kent); 5 Alister Walker (Gloucestershire); 6 Daryl Selby (Essex); 7 Jonathan Kemp (Shropshire); 8 Joey Barrington (Somerset)
Women: 1 Jenny Duncalf (Yorkshire); 2 Alison Waters (Middlesex); 3 Madeline Perry (Ireland); 4 Laura Massaro (Lancashire); 5 Tania Bailey (Lincolnshire); 6 Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Middlesex); 7 Lauren Briggs (Essex); 8 Sarah Kippax (Cheshire)
The 2010 Nationals will also include a comprehensive programme of Masters events from Over-35 to Over-70 championships. The main events will be staged entirely at the National Squash Centre – with action from the quarter-finals onwards on the all-glass court in the major arena surrounded by seating for more than 1,000 spectators.
issued by iSPORTmedia