Women's World Champs 2019-20


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REPORTS & RESULTS

Previews

Round 1

Round 2

 Round 3

Quarters

Semis

Final

 

LATEST

Women's World Championships Reports

DRAWS

Women's World Championships 2019/20
Women's Draw
Oct 24 -01 Nov
Cairo
, Egypt $430k

SECOND ROUND
25-26
OCT
THIRD ROUND
 
27-28 OCT
QUARTERS
29-30 OCT
SEMIS
31 O
CT
FINAL
01 NOV
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
11-8, 12-10, 11-5 (32m)
[18] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA)
Raneem El Welily
11-1, 11-3, 11-4 (24m)
Alison Waters
Raneem El Welily
7-0 ret. (3m)
Nour El Tayeb
Raneem El Welily
2-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (38m)
Nouran Gohar
Raneem El Welily
11-4, 9-11,
11-5, 11-6 (41m)
Nour El Sherbini


 
[11] Alison Waters (ENG)
11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (33m)
[29] Julianne Courtice (ENG)
[13] Salma Hany (EGY)
11-5, 11-6, 11-9 (29m)
Alexandra Fuller (RSA)
Salma Hany
13-11, 11-5, 11-4 (30m)
Nour El Tayeb
[5] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
13-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 (47m)
[25] Rowan Elaraby (EGY)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
11-6, 11-5, 11-3 (21m)
[24] Rachael Grinham (AUS)
 Sarah-Jane Perry
11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (38m)
Tesni Evans
Sarah-Jane Perry
9-11, 11-8,
 13-11, 12-10 (57m)
Nouran Gohar
[9] Tesni Evans (WAL)
11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (28m)
[31] Coline Aumard (FRA)
[26] Tinne Gilis (BEL)
11-7, 11-7, 11-3 (26m)
[L] Aifa Azman (MAS)
Tinne Gilis
11-8, 11-3, 11-6 (24m)
Nouran Gohar
[4] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
11-1, 11-5, 11-5 (28m)
[17] Nele Gilis (BEL)

[3] Camille Serme (FRA)
11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (29m)
[21] Millie Tomlinson (ENG)

Camille Serme
11-6, 11-2, 11-6 (28m)
 Yathreb Adel
Camille Serme
11-7, 11-9,
13-11 (38m)
Hania El Hammamy



Hania El Hammamy
11-6, 11-2, 11-5 (33m)
Nour El Sherbini
[15] Yathreb Adel (EGY) v
7-11, 11-13, 13-11, 13-11, 11-9 (67m)
[32] Nada Abbas (EGY)
[14] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)
11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (36m)
[27] Donna Lobban (AUS)
Hania El Hammamy
11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9 (53m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
11-4, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9 (40m)
[30] Milou van der Heijden (NED)
[6] Joelle King (NZL)
11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 (41m)
[19] Zeina Mickawy (EGY)
Joelle King
8-11, 11-6, 11-8,
16-14 (49m)
Annie Au
Joelle King
7-11, 6-11,
11-8, 11-5, 11-9 (69m)
Nour El Sherbini
[10] Annie Au (HKG)
8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (48m)
[22] Nadine Shahin (EGY)
[12] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
11-5, 11-4 retired (12m)
Ho Tze-Lok (HKG)
Joshna Chinappa
11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (21m)
Nour El Sherbini
[28] Hollie Naughton (CAN)
13-11, 11-7, 11-4 (26m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)

rOUND ONE 8 Nov

[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [WC] Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 (23m)
[18] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) bt Menna Hamed (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 (31m)
[29] Julianne Courtice (ENG) bt Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (25m)
[11] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [L] Marina Stefanoni (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 17-15, 11-7 (36m)
[13] Salma Hany (EGY) bt Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 (26m)
Alexandra Fuller (RSA) bt [20] Emily Whitlock (ENG) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 16-14 (37m)
[25] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-0 (27m)
[5] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Melissa Alves (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (22m)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [L] Jemyca Aribado (PHI) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (25m)
[24] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 (25m)
[31] Coline Aumard (FRA) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-1: 11-9, 12-10, 5-11, 11-6 (42m)
[9] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt Nicole Bunyan (CAN) 3-0: 11-1, 11-3, 11-2 (19m)
[L] Aifa Azman (MAS) bt [16] Joey Chan (HKG) 3-2: 14-12, 7-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 (48m)
[26] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Enora Villard (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (28m)
[17] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [L] Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND) 3-1: 8-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 (40m)
[4] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Low Wee Wern (MAS) 3-1: 11-13, 11-5, 11-1, 11-0 (37m)
[3] Camille Serme (FRA) bt Salma Youssef (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-2 (22m)
[21] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Lee Ka Yi (HKG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 (52m)
[32] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [L] Milnay Louw (RSA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (21m)
[15] Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt Lisa Aitken (SCO) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (21m)
[14] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 (27m)
[27] Donna Lobban (AUS) bt Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-9 (21m)
[30] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt Menna Nasser (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (37m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 3-2: 9-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6 (51m)
[6] Joelle King (NZL) bt Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-3 (27m)
[19] Zeina Mickawy (EGY) bt Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-1: 13-11, 5-11, 11-3, 12-10 (32m)
[22] Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt [L] Cindy Merlo (SUI) 3-0: 12-10, 11-3, 11-7 (20m)
[10] Annie Au (HKG) bt Olivia Fiechter (USA) 3-1: 11-9, 4-11, 11-3, 11-7 (36m)
[12] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Haley Mendez (USA) 3-2: 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (49m)
Ho Tze-Lok (HKG) bt [23] Mariam Metwally (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 12-10 (41m)
[28] Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Farida Mohamed (EGY) 3-2: 13-11, 10-12, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7 (60m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt Rachael Chadwick (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (25m)
 

CIB Egyptian Open 2019
Men's Draw
Oct 24 -01 Nov
Cairo, Egypt, $185k

SECOND ROUND
25-26
OCT
THIRD ROUND
 
27-28 OCT
QUARTERS
29-30 OCT
SEMIS
31 O
CT
FINAL
01 NOV
[1] Ali Farag (EGY)
11-2, 11-8, 11-7 (39m)
Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-0:
Ali Farag
11-4, 11-8, 11-7 (42m)
Mazen Hesham

8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (54m)
Daryl Selby

 


Ali Farag

11-7, 11-6,
11-6 (36m)
Paul Coll
Ali Farag
11-6, 11-8,
11-8 (61m)
Karim Abdel Gawad
Mazen Hesham (EGY)
8-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 (40m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
Daryl Selby (ENG)
11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 (57m)
Max Lee (HKG)
Daryl Selby
11-5, 6-11, 11-4,
7-11, 11-2 (73m)
Chris Simpson
Chris Simpson (ENG)
12-10, 7-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-5 (73m)
[6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
[5] Paul Coll (NZL)
11-6, 11-2, 11-3 (38m)
Lucas Serme (FRA)
Paul Coll
13-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-2 (69m)
Gregoire Marche
Paul Coll
11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 (82m)
Fares Dessouky
Gregoire Marche (FRA)
11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 4-11, 11-1 (87m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
Saurav Ghosal (IND)
11-9, 11-5, 11-4 (43m)
Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
Saurav Ghosal
11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (42m)
Fares Dessouky
Fares Dessouky (EGY)
11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9 (61m)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
11-9, 11-6, 11-8 (36m)
Greg Lobban (SCO)
Karim Abdel Gawad
11-6, 4-11, 11-7,
11-9 (48m)
Leo Au
Karim Abdel Gawad
4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 (68m)
Marwan ElShorbagy
Karim Abdel Gawad
11-8, 11-7,
11-4 (51m)
Joel Makin
 
Leo Au (HKG)
12-10, 5-11, 13-11, 15-13 (69m)
Adrian Waller (ENG)
Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
11-8, 11-8, 12-10 (43m)
Nathan Lake (ENG)
Marwan ElShorbagy
11-5, 11-2, 7-11,
7-11, 11-5 (55m)
Mostafa Asal
Mostafa Asal (EGY)
7-11, 14-16, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (77m)
[7] Diego Elias (PER)
Baptiste Masotti (FRA)
11-7, 11-8, 11-6 (48m)
[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
Baptiste Masotti
7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6 (73m)
Eain Yow Ng
Baptiste Masotti
11-3, 12-14, 11-8, 11-2 (57m)
Joel Makin
Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 11-6 (60m)
Raphael Kandra (GER)
Victor Crouin (FRA)
11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (36m)
Zahed Salem (EGY)
Victor Crouin
11-8, 11-8, 12-10 (56m)
Joel Makin
Joel Makin (WAL)
11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9 (68m)
[2] Tarek Momen (EGY)

rOUND ONE 8 Nov

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bye
[9/16] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bye
Nicolas Müller (SUI) bt Vikram Malhotra (IND) 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (26m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 13-11, 15-13, 11-8 (45m)
Max Lee (HKG) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 (69m)
[9/16] Daryl Selby (ENG) bye
Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Edmon Lopez (ESP) 11-3, 4-0 ret. (10m)
[6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bye
[5] Paul Coll (NZL) bye
Lucas Serme (FRA) bt Shehab Essam (EGY) 11-3, 11-3, 11-1 (26m)
[9/16] Gregoire Marche (FRA) bye
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Mohamed Elsherbini (EGY) 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (48m)
[9/16] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bye
Yip Tsz Fung (HKG) bt Mazen Gamal (EGY) 11-7, 11-3, 11-8 (29m)
[9/16] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bye
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) bye
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bye
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 14-13 ret. (30m)
Leo Au (HKG) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 11-5, 11-7, 11-2 (35m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 11-2, 8-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7 (65m)
Nathan Lake (ENG) bt George Parker (ENG) 13-11, 12-10, 8-11, 5-11, 11-7 (82m)
[9/16] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) bye
Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5 (99m)
[7] Diego Elias (PER) bye
[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bye
Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (44m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt [WC] Moustafa El Sirty (EGY) 13-11, 11-7, 12-10 (38m)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [WC] Yehia Elnawasany (EGY) 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4 (46m)
Victor Crouin (FRA) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 10-12, 11-4, 5-11, 11-1, 11-4 (42m)
[9/16] Zahed Salem (EGY) bye
[9/16] Joel Makin (WAL) bye
[2] Tarek Momen (EGY) bye
 

REPORTS

Finals

Egypt’s El Sherbini Claims Fourth World Championship Crown

Egypt’s Nour El Sherbini celebrated her 24th birthday in style as she captured her fourth World Championship trophy after overcoming compatriot and World No.1 Raneem El Welily in front of Cairo’s spectacular Great Pyramid of Giza to win the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship.

El Sherbini is only the fourth - and youngest - female player to win four World Championship trophies, while she is the first person to win a World Championship trophy in front of the Pyramids since Australia’s David Palmer in 2006. Her latest triumph, which comes after an 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6 win, is made all the more incredible given the fact she is appearing at her first tournament of the season after suffering with a knee injury.

That knee injury has seen El Sherbini fall to World No.4 in this month’s PSA Women’s World Rankings, but she has been in ruthless form throughout the past week in Cairo and didn’t drop a game until the final, where she was meeting El Welily in a third World Championship title decider.

El Welily beat El Sherbini at the 2016 Al Ahram Open as she became the first woman to win a professional squash title in front of the Pyramids, but she looked overawed by the occasion as a number of errors in the opening game handed the lead to her opponent.

She struck back in the second, but from there it was all about El Sherbini as she attacked all areas of the court to complete the win in 41 minutes to capture the biggest title in women’s squash. El Sherbini takes home $61,000 in prize money and also qualifies for the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals, which will take place in June.

“The last couple of months for me have been really hard,” said El Sherbini after the 20th PSA Tour title of her career.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do... but I took the risk and took the decision that I wanted to play this tournament badly, and I wanted to come and try and see how it goes. I was getting better every match and I’m very grateful and happy to be standing here right now.

"I missed playing with all the top players and especially Raneem. She is closest to my heart and it’s very hard to play her mentally and emotionally, but we try to leave the emotions and focus on squash once we get inside the court. I think because today is my birthday, I was making sure not to be sad. I was very relaxed and it took a lot of pressure off thinking about the messages, so it helped me a lot.

“We are very happy to have this tournament back and playing in front of the Pyramids was always a dream of mine. I would really like to thank I-Events, Amr Mansi and his team, and especially CIB for hosting and helping the women’s game get bigger and for giving the women the chance to have a prize money bigger than the men’s.

"It is a big risk and hopefully we deserved that and played matches that were worthy of that. All of the players are very grateful.”

The women’s World Championship final followed on from the men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open, PSA Platinum event, where World No.4 Karim Abdel Gawad got the better of World No.1 Ali Farag in a repeat of the men’s 2016 Al Ahram Open final.

Gawad became the first man in a decade to win a trophy in front of the Pyramids when he beat Farag in straight games three years ago, and he matched that 3-0 scoreline to continue his 100 per cent record at the iconic landmark.

Gawad was firing on all cylinders during the 61-minute match and, while Farag stayed in the rallies well, he was unable to fight off a masterclass from Gawad, who captures his 22nd PSA Tour title. He joins El Sherbini in qualifying for the World Tour Finals, while he wins $25,000 in prize money.

“Playing Ali is always very tough for me, he is the World No.1,” said Gawad.

“He’s always been my competitor since we were seven years old until now. I know how hard it is, we played in the final [in front of the Pyramids] in 2016 and now we’re playing again in the final here. He’s dealing with a lot of hard moments and he is just a champion to be on court with and he fights until the end with this amazing spirit, best of luck to him and his family.

“I talked a lot with my coaches, Omar Abdel Aziz, Mahmoud Abdel Kader and Ahmed Faragallah. We talked a lot and put together different plans, with the World No.1 it’s very difficult, so you have to have different plans and more than a plan to just win. Winning in three today means a lot to me in such an amazing venue for me and for everyone.”

The next stop on the PSA World Tour will be Doha, Qatar for the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship, which takes place at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex.
 

Semi Finals

El Welily and El Sherbini to Face Off in World Championship Final

Three years on from becoming the first female squash players in history to contest a final in front of Cairo’s spectacular Great Pyramid of Giza, World No.1 Raneem El Welily and World No.4 Nour El Sherbini will once again go head-to-head at one of the most iconic locations in global sport after the Egyptian duo booked their places in the final of the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship earlier today.

El Welily and El Sherbini have been the pre-eminent players on the women’s tour over the intervening three years and have already met in two World Championship finals since their 2016 Al Ahram Open final clash. El Sherbini won the first of those in El Gouna when they met in the final of the 2016 edition, while El Welily avenged that defeat in Manchester in 2017.

El Welily beat El Sherbini in five games in that Al Ahram final, and the 30-year-old continued her 100 per cent record in front of the last remaining wonder of the ancient world as she came back from a game down to beat the in-form Nouran Gohar.

An error-strewn first game from El Welily handed Gohar the lead, but an onslaught of attacking squash from the world’s leading female player saw her come back to book her fourth World Championship final berth.

“I was sharp, I was prepared, I knew what I was doing but it just wasn’t working the way I wanted," said El Welily.

"She was on fire obviously, but I’m very pleased to back it up in the second game and to manage to find a way somehow and not look back. She hits it hard and now she lobs as well. She’s varying the pace and mixing it up, so it’s not about the hard hitting anymore, it’s about adjusting to whatever she is firing at you.

“Her variety of shots has gotten so much better than last season, even though last season she was playing well. She’s playing well this season and I’m just pleased to be through. Thanks to the preparation of my coaches, I was able to prepare well today. It’s a big crowd today and quite a few friends and family members [in the audience] as well.”

Meanwhile, El Sherbini will celebrate her 24th birthday with a sixth World Championship final appearance as she aims to become the fourth woman to win four World Championship titles.

El Sherbini - who is the third woman to reach a fifth successive World Championship after the legendary Nicol David and Susan Devoy - is appearing at her first PSA Tour event of the season after shrugging off a knee injury, and she maintained her perfect tournament so far as she defeated World Junior Champion Hania El Hammamy to make it five 3-0 wins in a row.

El Hammamy caused one of the biggest shocks of the tournament as she came back
from two games down in the quarter-finals against World No.5 Camille Serme to reach the semi-finals for the first time, meaning a single nation made up all of the semi-final spots for the first time in World Championship history.

But she was outplayed against El Sherbini, going down by an 11-6, 11-2, 11-5 scoreline to ensure El Sherbini and El Welily will do battle for the first time this season.

“Hania is an amazing player, she is only 19 and is playing in the semi-final of the World Championship,” said El Sherbini after her 300th PSA Tour match.

“She got a huge win yesterday and I’m sure that it is still in her mind. I wanted to start from the first point in the match and just to keep going as much as I could. I’m really grateful that I’m standing here right now and I’m playing this tournament. I’m in the final, so I’m really grateful and hopefully not losing a game will give me a good advantage tomorrow.”

The men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open is taking place alongside the women’s event this week and that final will also be a repeat of the Al Ahram Open title decider, with World No.1 Ali Farag and World No.4 Karim Abdel Gawad set to line up in the final.

Farag lost out on that day as Gawad became the first Egyptian since the legendary Ahmed Barada to win a trophy in front of the Pyramids, but the 27-year-old will have the opportunity to avenge that defeat after a composed display saw him defeat New Zealand’s Paul Coll in straight games.

Their last match over a best-of-five format saw Farag prevail after 77 minutes of intense action during May’s British Open, but today was a more straightforward fixture for the reigning World Champion as he controlled proceedings to win 11-7, 11-6, 11-6.

“We had a game plan together, myself, Karim Darwish and Nour [El Tayeb] and my brother as well," Farag said.

"I know a lot of players have already mentioned it numerous times, but I want to thank CIB and the entire institution for supporting us all the way through. It’s something we are really grateful for and thanks to Amr Mansi and I-Events for bringing this back. You see so many pictures of this venue and you can never get bored of it.”

Local man Gawad will look to repeat his 2016 success after he vanquished Welshman Joel Makin to reach his first PSA Tour final of the season.

Makin, appearing in his first PSA Platinum semi-final, was two games up against the Egyptian in their last meeting at January’s Tournament of Champions before injury struck and he was forced to retire from the match.

The World No.12 started strongly in the opening two games once again to make things tough for former World Champion Gawad. However, the quality of the Egyptian shone through in the end as he kept Makin at bay, before storming to victory in the third to complete an 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 win.

“You can’t not enjoy playing squash in this venue,” said Gawad afterwards.

“Since day one, I have come here and just wanted to give myself another chance to come on court and play. Of course there is some pressure playing in your home country. Last time we played he had to retire through injury and I was 2-0 down, so I knew today was going to be a tough match for me. I just wanted to play good squash, focus on my length and play some good winners.”

The finals begin on Friday November 1 at 19:00 (GMT+2) with the women’s World Championship final following the men’s Egyptian Open title decider. Play will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.
 

Quarter Finals

El Hammamy Stuns Serme to Reach Semis

Egyptian World Junior Champion Hania El Hammamy claimed the biggest win of her career to date as she completed a stunning comeback from two games down to upset World No.4 Camille Serme at the foot of the iconic Great Pyramid of Giza - meaning she will appear in the semi-finals of the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship for the first time in her career.

19-year-old El Hammamy - who was crowned World Junior Champion in August - was appearing in her maiden senior World Championship quarter-final and initially found it difficult against the intensity of her opponent, with Serme stepping up the court and attacking at the front of the court to go two games ahead.

But the French player lost her attacking game in the third and El Hammamy came out firing on all cylinders, giving it everything in her arsenal, taking that game and the fourth to draw level. A shellshocked Serme went 5-1 down in the decider, but fought back from the brink to level at 9-9.

A stroke then put El Hammamy match ball up, and she followed that up with a perfect forehand drive in the next rally to book her spot in the last four of the most prestigious tournament on the women’s tour.

“I’m over the moon, I can’t believe that I was 2-0 down, I thought I’d lost but I wanted to keep fighting and enjoy it," El Hammamy said afterwards.

“I’m playing in the quarters, which is an achievement for me, and I wanted to keep fighting, even if I lost. I think when I never gave up, that was the key, and I played the best squash I had in the last three games.

“I wanted to win so bad, I was so excited in the beginning, I didn’t really focus on my game plan or what my coaches told me. When I was 2-0 down, I thought I need to keep focusing on what they said and I’m glad it worked. I have my grandma here with me, and every time she is here I make her upset. She was here with me at Black Ball when I beat Nour El Tayeb, so I think she is my lucky person.”

Defending champion El Sherbini will be El Hammamy’s semi-final opponent after she moved to within one win of a sixth World Championship title decider courtesy of an 11-7, 11-9, 13-11 victory over New Zealand’s Joelle King, meaning all four semi-final spots will be taken up by Egyptian players.

El Sherbini is appearing at her first tournament of the season after a knee injury forced her to pull out of both the Oracle NetSuite Open and U.S. Open, but the three-time World Champion has dominated her opponent’s so far in Cairo, claiming four successive victories without dropping a game.

“I’m back into the semis in my first tournament back," said El Sherbini, who celebrates her 24th birthday on the day of the final.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on myself, I just want to enjoy my squash and the atmosphere and the crowd gives me the support and I’m going to take it as an advantage. It’s really good that we have a tournament here in Egypt, so that young juniors can come and watch, and hopefully they can learn and we can see them in the future.”

Meanwhile, Welshman Joel Makin has reached his first PSA Platinum semi-final after overcoming French giant-killer Baptiste Masotti 11-3, 12-14, 11-8, 11-2 in the men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open, which is taking place alongside the women’s tournament at the Pyramids.

Masotti was appearing in the quarter-finals of a Platinum event for the first time after successive upsets against former top five players Borja Golan and Miguel Rodriguez, while he also upset Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng to earn his place on the glass court in front of the Pyramids.

He looked overawed by the occasion in the opening stages, taking just three points as he went a game down, but he struck back to take the second on the tie-break, and put the World No.12 under serious pressure in the third with some impressive shot-making.

However, Makin’s experience saw him over the line in the third, and that seemed to drain his opponent’s confidence, with a comfortable fourth game victory seeing Makin advance to the last four.

“He was attacking freely and going in short and the ball was quite dead,” said Makin.

“Credit to him in the middle, the first two games he was clinical in the middle. The third game was crucial, I had to get the length across the backhand, and once I did that it took the middle away and I had a few more chances."

World No.4 Karim Abdel Gawad will play Makin in the semis after beating World No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy 4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 to continue his 100 per cent record in front of the Pyramids.

He became the first man in a decade to win a trophy in front of the iconic landmark when he beat current World No.1 Ali Farag to win the 2016 Al Ahram Open, and he will look to make it back-to-back finals when he takes on Makin next.

“I had to take care of every shot and in the first game I couldn’t even get past him in the middle, so I had to focus on that and put him in the back corners and attack from the middle a little bit more," said 28-year-old Gawad.

I’m really happy to get through to the semi-finals at my favourite tournament ever. I love playing in my home country and in front of the audience here. You get a lot of support here, and I feel like I’m just practicing, driving to the venue and then going back home, so I feel like it’s just practice and not a tournament.”

The semi-finals take place on Thursday October 31, with play getting under way at 18:30 (GMT+2). Action will be broadcast on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (Indian subcontinent).

Tickets for the event are available here.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.
 

Quarter FInals Top Half

El Welily Advances to Semis After El Tayeb Retires

World No.1 Raneem El Welily will appear in the semi-finals of the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship in front of Cairo’s historic Great Pyramid of Giza after her quarter-final fixture with World No.3 Nour El Tayeb was cut short after just three minutes.

El Welily and El Tayeb have met in all three PSA World Tour events they have played this season, with El Tayeb winning two of them, including their last meeting earlier this month in the U.S. Open semi-finals.

But she shook hands with her opponent after conceding seven points in a row in the opening game, meaning El Welily moves through to last four for the seventh successive time. El Welily is the only female squash player to win a tournament in front of the Pyramids and she is now one win away from appearing in the final in front of the last remaining wonder of the ancient world.

Meanwhile, World No.5 Nouran Gohar will feature in the third World Championship semi of her career after overturning a one-game deficit against England’s Sarah-Jane Perry to win 9-11, 11-8, 13-11, 12-10 in 57 minutes.

U.S. Open champion Gohar has been one of the form players on the women’s tour over the past six months, winning the British Open and reaching the final of the El Gouna International. She came close to going 2-1 behind, but fought back from two game balls down to take the lead, before closing out the decider on the tie-break.

“I don’t show a lot of emotion on court, so to do that shows a lot,” said 22-year-old Gohar.

“I reached a semi-final here [in Egypt] twice I think, one of them was in El Gouna, so Egypt is my lucky place and I play my best squash here because the crowd give me great energy, even when at the beginning I wasn’t at 100 per cent. They had to give me that push to play and I didn’t want to disappoint them.

“I’m going to enjoy my rest day as a normal athlete because the last time I had an exam. I’m going to try and recover really well because each point was really tough. She didn’t give up at all, I was up in the third and the fourth but it was like she was leading. I’m really looking forward to my semi-final match now in a couple of days.”

Men’s World No.1 Ali Farag appeared on court after wife El Tayeb’s match, and he had to recover from a game down to get the better of English veteran Daryl Selby, who was appearing in his first PSA Platinum quarter-final since 2017.

Farag had won all four of his matches against the 36-year-old, including a 3-0 victory over the World No.17 in the opening round of the 2018-19 PSA World Championship. Selby played some consistent squash in the opener to take a game against the Egyptian for the first time.

Selby had a further opportunity in the third game when, after Farag levelled in the second, he led 9-6 after some trickery and deception enabled him to rattle off a succession of points. Farag came back at him though and held firm in the fourth to close out the win by an 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 scoreline.

"Thanks to Nour [El Tayeb] and Karim [Darwish], they kept pushing me,” said Farag.

“I’m just very happy to be through that one for sure. I hope it’s another great match against Paul and that we can give the crowd a good one.”

New Zealand’s Paul Coll lies in wait in the last four after the World No.5 overcame Egypt’s Fares Dessouky in a physical, five-game battle. Coll was on the front foot after the first game, but Dessouky showed signs of his sublime racket skills to draw level. The match had been relatively free-flowing up to that point, but it soon became a scrappy affair as each player took a game apiece to set up a decider.

Some big calls from the referees played their part in adding to the drama of the match as a conduct stroke was awarded against Dessouky for blocking at 7-7 in the fifth, and Coll was able to maintain a cool head to close out an 11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 victory in a mammoth 82 minutes.

The Kiwi will now aim to reach a maiden Platinum final but has beaten Farag in just one of their previous 10 matches, losing nine matches in a row. It will be their second fixture in a Platinum semi-final, with Farag winning 3-2 in the last four of the British Open back in May after 77 minutes of brutal squash.

“I’m really enjoying this new period of my game," Coll said.

"I started with a new coach, mental and tactical, so I’m really enjoying the start of the season, I’ve had a few good wins and a couple of good results. This is my first time playing in front of the Pyramids and it is another incredible experience in my squash career to be playing in this amazing location tonight.”

Quarter-finals continue on Wednesday October 30 from 18:30 onwards at the Pyramids. Matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.

Tickets for the event are available here.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.
 

Round 3 Lower Half

El Hammamy Reaches Quarter-Finals
For First Time


World Junior Champion Hania El Hammamy has claimed her first ever quarter-final berth at the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship after overcoming Malaysia’s World No.48 Sivasangari Subramaniam earlier today in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

19-year-old El Hammamy claimed the most prestigious title in junior squash in Kuala Lumpur in August of this year, and she has made waves on the PSA Tour, rising to No.11 in the world after semi-final finishes at the China Open and Open de France. Subramaniam, 20, has impressed at this tournament, upsetting No.8 seed Amanda Sobhy and the higher ranked Milou van der Heijden to book her last 16 berth.

The World No.42 fought back from a game down to level, but El Hammamy had the edge as she took the next two games to complete an 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9 victory which will see her play France’s Camille Serme for a place in the semi-finals of the biggest event on the women’s tour.

“I’m so pleased that I got through this match,” said El Hammamy.

“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the match. We have played so many times throughout our junior careers and I’m sure we’re going to have a lot more matches on the PSA Tour.

“I know that Siva likes to hold and make the opponent run all over the court, so I wanted to keep my shots tight and push her into the back corners. I ran out of my plan a little bit in the middle of the match, but I’m glad I managed to win."

Serme got the better of Egypt’s Yathreb Adel to earn her quarter-final spot. The French World No.4 was at her clinical best in the first two games to comfortably build up a two-game lead. Adel came back at Serme in the third, but the Frenchwoman comfortably dealt with it to secure a place in the quarter-finals of this event for the seventh successive season.

“I think I was more more precise today than the first match,” said 30-year-old Serme afterwards.

“I found good targets and better rhythm as well, so I’m happy with my performance tonight. I’m looking forward to facing Hania. I played her in France in Nantes not so long ago and it was a really good match, so I’m ready for a battle.”

Egypt’s Nour El Sherbini also booked her spot in the last eight after dismantling India’s Joshna Chinappa in a comfortable 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 victory. The defending champion completed the win in just 21 minutes, and will line up against New Zealand’s Joelle King in the next round.

“I think I felt sharper tonight. I’m getting better every match and I’m more confident," El Sherbini said.

"I’m really happy to be in the quarters and I’m looking forward to the next round. Joelle is very tough and one of the best players on tour. It’s always a tough match against her, but I’m really looking forward to it and I can’t wait to get back on court.”

She will take on New Zealand’s Joelle King for a place in the semis, with King overcoming World No.10 Annie Au. The last time the two players met was also in Egypt and it was the Hong Kong player who walked away with the victory. However, King turned things around to reign victorious this time around, showing her mental resilience to claim an 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 16-14 victory.

Elsewhere, France’s Baptiste Masotti reached the quarter-finals of a PSA Platinum event for the first time as he overcame Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng at the Shooting Club 6th of October in round three of the men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open.

World No.59 Masotti has been one of the success stories of the tournament so far, beating two former top five players in Borja Golan and Miguel Rodriguez to get to the last 16, and he backed that up with a come from behind victory against World No.32 Eain Yow to seal his place on the glass court in front of the Pyramids.

“I'm just so glad to win today, my dream was to play in front of the Pyramids, and in two days I will play there," Masotti said.

"I can't wait to go there and play in front of them. At match ball I told myself not to make any mistakes, to just put the ball on the wall, and I think the match ball was the best part of the match. I'm so happy to win this one, it's unbelievable to be in the quarters. I have a day off, so I will prepare myself for the next match in front of the Pyramids."

He will play Welshman Joel Makin, who got the better of Masotti’s compatriot, Victor Crouin.

The World No.12 got off to a fast start, putting a lot of work into the legs of the young Frenchman by extending the rallies with Crouin, who was struggling with the pace set by the Makin. The Frenchman came back strongly and showed some nice touches and held two game balls in the third, but Makin held firm to earn his place in the last eight of a Platinum event for only the second time in his career.

Meanwhile, World No.4 Karim Abdel Gawad made his return to the Pyramids three years after becoming the first man since the legendary Ahmed Barada in 1998 to win a trophy in front of the Pyramids.

He beat Hong Kong’s Leo Au in four games to ensure he will play World No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy, who beat World Junior Champion Mostafa Asal in five games. World No.25 Asal had fought back from two games down to upset No.7 seed Diego Elias in the previous round and threatened to do the same against ElShorbagy.

But the older Egyptian held his nerve during a scrappy decider to earn his spot in the next round.

Action from both tournaments continues with the quarter-finals on Tuesday October 29th. Play begins at the Pyramids from 18:30 (GMT+2). Fixtures from the Pyramids will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.

Fixtures from the Pyramids will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.

Tickets for the event are available here.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.
 

Round 3 Top Half

El Welily and El Tayeb to Face Off in Mouthwatering Quarter-Final

World No.1 Raneem El Welily and World No.3 Nour El Tayeb will face off in a blockbuster quarter-final contest at the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship after the pair claimed respective wins over England’s Alison Waters and Egypt’s Salma Hany in round three in front of Cairo’s famous Great Pyramid of Giza.

El Welily - who is the only female to win a professional squash tournament in front of the Pyramids - and El Tayeb met at the semi-final stage of last season’s World Championship in Chicago, with El Tayeb taking the honours after 64 minutes of intense squash.

The pair have met three times already this season, with El Tayeb winning two of them, including her semi-final triumph two weeks ago at the FS Investments U.S. Open. They will now meet against the backdrop of the iconic Egyptian landmark courtesy, with both players claiming comfortable 3-0 wins in their third round fixtures.

“I’m pleased with the way I played, I couldn’t have asked for a better performance today,” said El Welily afterwards.

“Alison is such a strong player, she is one of those players that I have seen since day one and she, along with Laura [Massaro], Jenny [Duncalf] and many other English girls took the game to a new level. I’m always pleased to be with Alison on court, I was just trying to stay in every rally as much as possible and not let anything go loose.

“Nour [El Tayeb] is at the top of her game right now and playing very good squash. She has had very good results so far this season, and I know it’s not going to be an easy match, but I’m definitely up for the challenge.”

El Tayeb said: "I was just getting used to the court and the conditions, so I’m very glad to stick in the first game. The first game is very important and builds a lot of confidence so it was important to take that one.

“It’s all the pressure combined in one event – it’s the World Championship, Pyramids – everything. I’m playing well so I want to keep the momentum going as well and I’m very glad to be in the quarter-finals. I hope I can come back the next round and play well.”

England’s Sarah-Jane Perry continued her fine record at the Pyramids as she got the better of fellow Brit Tesni Evans, dominating the Welsh World No.9 to win by an 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 scoreline.

Five of their previous 10 matches had gone the distance to five games, with Evans winning their last match in five during the semi-finals of May’s Manchester Open. But it was a one-sided affair this time around as Perry established her game plan on the match right from the off, and she will play the in-form World No.4 Nouran Gohar in the next round.

“She has beaten me three out of the last four times,” said Birmingham-born Perry afterwards.

“The last time we played was in Manchester and we both had match ball, but she won. Today, I just wanted to play how I wanted to play and stamp my authority on the game and hopefully that was good enough, so I’m really pleased with that."

In the men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open, England’s Daryl Selby reached his first PSA Platinum quarter-final in two years as he came through a 73-minute, five-game battle with compatriot Chris Simpson, winning 11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-2 at the Shooting Club 6th of October.

Neither player played well at the same time, with momentum shifting between each Englishman on a game-by-game basis. Twice, Selby found himself a game ahead but Simpson, playing less than 24 hours after upsetting No.6 seed Mohamed Abouelghar, clawed his way back into the encounter both times. In the fifth it was all Selby and he closed out the win to set up a last eight match with Egypt’s World No.1 Ali Farag.

“Abou has been out for a little bit, but they said it was such a high quality match, and I know what Chris is capable of quality-wise, it’s very high and the last few times we’ve played with we’ve always had a 3-2," 36-year-old Selby said.

“I think we’ve shared the spoils a little bit, so I knew it was going to be tough but he finished a bit later than me yesterday, so tactically I just wanted to start really fast, really strong and show him that he was going to be in for a hard game, and if he had any stiffness or anything from yesterday, I wanted to try and expose that early on."

Farag defeated compatriot Mazen Hesham in straight games, while New Zealand’s Paul Coll and World No.14 Fares Dessouky were the other men’s winners.

Round three action at both the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and CIB Egyptian Squash Open continues on Monday October 28. Play at the men’s tournament begins at 12:00 (GMT+2) at the Shooting Club 6th of October, while the women’s matches at the Pyramids get under way at 17:30.

Fixtures from the Pyramids will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.

Tickets for the event are available here.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Round 2 Lower Half

El Sherbini Books Round Three Berth at World Champs as Squash Returns to Pyramids

Defending champion Nour El Sherbini recovered from a slow start against Canada’s Hollie Naughton to book her third round spot at the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship as the highest-profile tournament in the sport returned to the iconic Great Pyramid of Giza for the first time since the men’s World Championship in 2006.

El Sherbini reached the final of the last tournament to be held at the Pyramids - the Al Ahram Open in 2016 - and she made it back-to-back wins since returning from a knee injury, following up an opening day win over Rachael Chadwick with a 13-11, 11-7, 11-4 win in 26 minutes.

"It was very important for me to win the first game, that’s what made the difference for the whole match,” said 23-year-old El Sherbini.

“I think I was a bit nervous in the first game, it’s the first match on the glass court and it’s in front of the Pyramids, so it’s not that easy. I’m still trying to get in my mind that I’m back on tour playing, it’s the first time playing her so I didn’t really know what to expect.

“I’ve been dreaming of playing at this venue since I was seven years old and when I first had the injury I thought I wouldn’t have surgery before this tournament, so I did a lot to come and play here. I’m looking forward to this week.”

El Sherbini will play India’s Joshna Chinappa in the last 16, with Chinappa progressing at the expense of Hong Kong’s Ho Tze-Lok, who retired with a foot injury after just 12 minutes.

There were also wins for France’s World No.4 Camille Serme and New Zealand’s Joelle King at the Pyramids as they beat Millie Tomlinson and Zeina Mickawy, respectively. Serme will line up against World No.16 Yathreb Adel in the next round, while King will clash with Hong Kong’s Annie Au.

Four matches also took place at the Shooting Club 6th of October, with Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam continuing her superb run as she followed up her opening round upset of No.8 seed Amanda Sobhy with victory over World No.29 Milou van der Heijden to reach the third round of the World Championships for the first time.

28-year-old van der Heijden got engaged in front of the Pyramids earlier on in the day, and she tested Subramaniam, drawing level after going a game down. But the World No.48 narrowly edged the final two games to earn her spot on the glass court in front of the Pyramids, where World Junior Champion Hania El Hammamy will lie in wait.

“I feel confident after beating Amanda [Sobhy] in the first round, obviously Milou is a good player and she has been playing well, so I had to take every game and every point one at a time," van der Heijden said.

"I tried not to think about getting that far and playing in front of the Pyramids, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m playing Hania and she is my junior rival as well, we have played a few times at junior level and now at PSA. Hopefully we can both play good squash and the better player wins, but I’m really excited.”

In the men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open, five of the top eight seeds crashed out. Welshman Joel Makin claimed a huge upset he ousted Egypt’s No.2 seed Tarek Momen to get his first win over the World No.3 at the third attempt.

The Welshman has tested Momen in their previous two encounters, taking a game each time, but he executed his game plan to perfection to nullify Momen’s attacking intent, winning 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9 to ensure he will play Frenchman Victor Crouin in the last 16. Crouin overcame World No.15 Zahed Salem to reach round three of a major PSA event for the first time.

“That was massive for me,” said 24-year-old Makin afterwards.

“I have had two tight losses to him recently. He played well and he is tricky, he moves the ball quickly around the court, he’s got into some really consistent form over the last few years and he hasn’t really lost to anyone lower down for a while."

Meanwhile, England’s Chris Simpson completed the biggest win of his career as he stunned World No.8 Mohamed Abouelghar in a five-game thriller. Abouelghar was making his first appearance of the season after recovering from a shoulder injury, but Simpson played some of the best squash of his career to win 12-10, 7-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-5 in 73 minutes, setting up a meeting with compatriot Daryl Selby.

“It’s the most unexpected win of my career,” said the Englishman afterwards.

“I’ve had an awful summer. Injuries, literally almost no squash and that’s sometimes just the way it goes. I was relaxed, I went on and knew he had been injured as well and after having such a good end to the season maybe he put a bit of pressure on himself, but I just wanted to do myself justice and to be honest I didn’t have any considerations about winning."

Meanwhile, Frenchman Baptiste Masotti also claimed his best career win as he played some immaculate squash to defeat World No.9 Miguel Rodriguez, 24 hours after he upset former World No.5 Borja Golan. He will now play off against Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng for a place in the quarter-finals, with Ng beating Germany’s Raphael Kandra.

Elsewhere, Egypt’s World No.25 Mostafa Asal came back from two games down to upset World No.7 Diego Elias in a fractious 77-minute match. No.4 seed Simon Rösner was the other seed to bow out after he fell to Egypt’s Fares Dessouky.

The third round of both the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and CIB Egyptian Squash Open gets under way on Sunday October 27. Play starts at the Pyramids at 17:30, with two matches also taking place at the Shooting Club 6th of October from 12:00 onwards.

Fixtures from the Pyramids will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.

Tickets for the event are available here.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.
 

Round 2 Top Half

El Welily, El Tayeb and Gohar all Secure Wins on Day Two

World No.1 Raneem El Welily, World No.3 Nour El Tayeb and World No.5 Nouran Gohar all claimed wins on day two of the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship to secure a place on the iconic glass court held in front of Cairo’s famous Great Pyramid of Giza - the only remaining wonder of the ancient world.

This season’s women’s World Championship is the first to be held in front of the stunning landmark since the men's World Championship in 2006 and El Welily is the only woman ever to win a trophy in front of the Pyramids courtesy of her Al Ahram Open victory three years ago.

She will appear there again in round three after getting the better of United States No.2 Olivia Blatchford Clyne at the Shooting Club 6th of October, winning 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 in 32 minutes.

“All in all, I was very prepared for Olivia today given how well she is playing this season,” said El Welily after her 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 triumph.

“She must be very disappointed to go out in the second round of this tournament. I honestly think with her level of squash this season she could have gone further. I wish her all the best in her next tournament.

“It’s definitely very good for us [playing at the Pyramids] but I’m not really thinking about it that much. I’m thinking about the glass court, that’s all it is for me. We’ve been looking at the Pyramids all week long, so by now it’s okay for me."

The 30-year-old will play the experienced Englishwoman Alison Waters for a place in the last eight after she defeated compatriot Julianne Courtice, while 2018-19 World Championship runner-up El Tayeb defeated fellow Egyptian Rowan Elaraby in four games.

It was a meeting of two former World Junior Champions just two weeks after El Tayeb comfortably dispatched Elaraby at the U.S. Open but the latter proved much more of a test this time around, fighting back from three match balls down to force a fourth game this time around.

But El Tayeb held firm to win 13-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8, and she will take on Egypt’s Salma Hany in round three.

"I fell into the trap of being match ball up and thinking that the match was over, but I was very glad that I was able to come back in the fourth and win," El Tayeb said.

“It's the one tournament you want to do well at, especially in front of the Pyramids and with it being the World Championship. I'm sure there is going to be a lot of pressure on both of us, but hopefully we can enjoy it and play well.”

Gohar, who comes into the back of this match after winning her third PSA Platinum title at the U.S. Open - beating El Tayeb in the process - was in dominant form against Belgium’s Nele Gilis as she powered to an 11-1, 11-5, 11-5 victory in just 28 minutes.

She will take on Nele’s younger sister, World No.26 Tinne, in the next round, with Tinne overcoming Malaysia’s Aifa Azman 3-0.

"It was a little bit tricky to play this tournament straight after the U.S. Open, but I am just trying to take each game and forget about the U.S. Open and I’m really looking forward to my next match," said Gohar.

“It feels extra special to be playing on the glass court. The last time we had a tournament there, I didn’t get to play on the glass because I lost first round, so to make it to the glass court in front of the Pyramids is huge and I can’t wait to be there on Sunday.”

There were also wins for the likes of England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Tesni Evans of Wales. Perry dispatched 2007 champion Rachael Grinham - the 42-year-old playing an unprecedented 300th career PSA tournament - while Evans defeated France’s Coline Aumard and they will go head-to-head in round three.

The men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open got under way today, with Frenchman Victor Crouin picking up the biggest win of his career to date as he twice came back from a game behind to upset World No.22 Cesar Salazar.

Crouin - ranked No.61 in the world - was making his first appearance at a Platinum tournament, but wasn’t overawed by the occasion as he twice came back from a game down to win 10-12, 11-4, 5-11, 11-1, 11-4 in a battling performance.

Salazar’s level of performance varied dramatically as he looked to be struggling with a hamstring issue at times which stunted his normally impeccable retrieval abilities.
Crouin took advantage as he forced his opponent into some long, testing rallies down the forehand side to force some errors, and he never looked back after going 2-1 down as Salazar dropped off considerably.

“Although he was injured, it’s my best win ever, he is 22nd [in the world], and I’m so happy to get to the next round, even in the circumstances," Crouin said.

“I had a good start to the season, I won the Marietta Open, then was runner-up against [Greg] Lobban in Cleveland, I was happy with that match, I just lacked consistency I felt.”

Round two action at the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship continues tomorrow from 12:45 (GMT+2) onwards, while the second round of the CIB Egyptian Squash Open begins at 12:00.

Matches at the Great Pyramid of Giza begin at 17:30 and will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only).

Tickets for the event are available here.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook
.

Round 1

Malaysia’s Subramaniam Causes Sobhy Shock on Opening Day

Malaysia’s World No.48 Sivasangari Subramaniam caused the biggest upset on day one of the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship as she shocked United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy at Cairo’s Shooting Club 6th of October to claim her first ever win over a top 10 player.

The 20-year-old from Sungai Petani Kedah put in some noteworthy performances at the U.S. Open earlier this month – beating England’s Alison Waters and testing World No.7 Sarah-Jane Perry – but she outlined her credentials as one to watch in the future with an 9-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6 triumph over Sobhy in 51 minutes.

Sobhy, whose father hails from Egypt, struggled from the beginning of the match and didn’t seem her usual self on court, but the World No.8 fought on to go 2-1 up and 6-1 up in the fourth. But her energy levels dropped and she finally succumbed to fatigue as Subramaniam put her through her paces to come back and win the tie-break, before finally getting the better of Sobhy in the decider to reach round two for the first time.

"It definitely means a lot to me getting the big win in my PSA career," said Subramaniam afterwards.

"I’m really happy today and I gave it all I could. I was 6-1 down in the fourth and then I just tried to push myself because I was doing too many errors. I tried to hang in there and I ended up getting the win.

"I'm training under my coach, David Palmer, and he's really working on my movement and squash tactics. I think it's working, I'm happy with how I'm playing right now, so hopefully I can maintain and do better in the next round."

That means Subramaniam is one win away from appearing on the iconic glass court in front of the stunning Great Pyramid of Giza - the only remaining ancient wonder of the world - which will be used from Saturday October 26 onwards. To get there, she must take on Dutchwoman Milou van der Heijden, who came from a game behind to beat Egypt’s Menna Nasser.

Elsewhere, defending champion Nour El Sherbini made her first appearance of the season after shaking off a knee injury to beat England’s Rachael Chadwick in straight games.

The World No.2 has missed out on appearing at the Oracle NetSuite Open and FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships in recent weeks due to the problem, but it took her just 25 minutes to overcome today’s opponent as she began her attempts to win the prestigious trophy for a fourth time after winning in 2015 and 2016, in addition to the 2018-19 event.

“I really missed the tour and the matches,” said El Sherbini, who will take on Canada’s Hollie Naughton in front of the Pyramids in round two.

“I was really excited about today’s match and I just wanted to get on court and see how it goes, but it went really well. I was playing good and I’m really happy to be back.

“In the first game [my knee] was in my head a little bit, but I was running ok and it felt good. I didn’t have any problems and hopefully it is going to be like this the whole week.

“I’m really looking forward to playing in front of the Pyramids and this court is very special. You can play and see the Pyramids, so it is very special and I’m really looking forward to playing my next round there.”

World No.1 Raneem El Welily also began her attempts to win a second World Championship title after easing to an 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 victory over wildcard Sana Ibrahim.

El Welily became the first female squash player in history to win a trophy in front of the Pyramids when she won the Al Ahram Open in 2016, and will need to beat United States No.2 Olivia Blatchford Clyne in the next round if she is to compete in front of the landmark again this year.

“I'm looking forward to that [appearing in front of the Pyramids] but I'm just here now thinking about what I just did and what I should be doing to get to tomorrow's match and hopefully I get through," said Egypt’s El Welily afterwards.

“Sometimes there are nerves, sometimes I'm more motivated. It's an emotional feeling [playing a World Championship on home soil] but I'm trying to keep positive and energised. These are exciting times for squash in Egypt, so I'm happy to be home.”

England No.1 Perry was another of the players to book her place in the last 32 as she overcame Jemyca Aribado, who became the first Filipino squash player in history to appear at the PSA Women’s World Championship.

Speaking after her 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 victory, Perry said that coming up against new players from across the globe is part of the charm of the World Championships.

“It’s amazing to see different countries coming into the sport and giving squash a go,” she said.

“It’s always interesting to play different players, it makes it a bit different and that’s something that’s special about the World Championships. There’s always that extra group of players that you’re not necessarily that familiar with. Although I’d seen her name on the Challenger Tour, I hadn’t actually seen her play before, which isn’t common."

Perry - who beat the likes of legendary Malaysian Nicol David and France’s World No.4 Camille Serme during a breakthrough tournament last time she appeared in front of the Pyramids - will play 2007 World Champion Rachael Grinham in the last 32.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Alexandra Fuller reached round two of this event for the first time after upsetting the higher-ranked Emily Whitlock, while Malaysia’s Aifa Azman and Hong Kong’s Ho Tze-Lom also caused upsets against Joey Chan and Mariam Metwally, respectively.

Round two begins on Friday October 25 at 12:45 (GMT+2), while the CIB Egyptian Squash Open - a men’s PSA Platinum tournament - gets under way tomorrow at the same venue, with play beginning at 12:00.

Tickets for the event are available here.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook
 

PREVIEWS

Tickets on sale for CIB PSA Women's World Championship and CIB Egyptian Open

Tickets are on sale now for the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, with the best squash players in the world set to play in front of the iconic Great Pyramids of Giza between October 24-November 1.

This season’s Women’s World Championships marks the 40th anniversary of the tournament, which took place in Sheffield, England back in 1979, where Heather McKay took the title.

Three-time and reigning World Champion Nour El Sherbini is set to make her return from injury after missing the Oracle NetSuite Open and U.S. Open. World No.1 Raneem El Welily and Australia’s Rachael Grinham will be the other previous winners in the 64-strong field in Egypt at the end of the month.

Alongside the women’s event, there will also be a men’s Platinum event, the Egyptian Squash Open, which will also be hosted on the same glass court with the backdrop of the Pyramids.

World No.1 Ali Farag will headline the entry list for the men’s event, with compatriots Tarek Momen, Karim Abdel Gawad, Mohamed Abouelghar and Marwan ElShorbagy also amongst those who will be challenging for the second PSA Platinum title of the season.

Tickets for the event are available here.

For more information on the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship and the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook
 

HISTORY

 2018  2017  2016  2014  2013  2012

2011

History Of The Womens World Championships

The inaugural Men’s World Championship began in 1976 in London – with the whole tournament being played at the old Wembley Stadium, home of the English football team.

Whilst the Women’s Tour also first began that year in 1976, when the iconic Heather McKay lifted the first of her two titles, beating Marion Jackman on home soil in Brisbane, Australia.

Fellow Australians Rhonda Thorne and Sarah Cardwell followed in McKay’s footsteps before the legendary Susan Devoy became the first non-Australian player to get her hands on the coveted trophy in 1985, at which point the tournament was a biennial event.

Since then, the Men’s and Women’s tournaments have been staged in all four corners of the globe, with the competition being held in countries such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong and Germany to name a few.

Martine Le Moignan was the first Englishwoman to capture the title, before Devoy took the next two titles in 1990 and 1992, with the tournament switching to an annual format from that point onwards.
Australia dominated the women’s event over the next decade, with Michelle Martin’s triumph in 1993 bringing about a period that saw the title shared between her (three wins), Sarah Fitz-Gerald (5) and Carol Owens (1) in nine of the 10 tournaments held between 1993-2002.

England’s Cassie Campion was the only player to put a dent in the Australian dominance of the 90s, with her 1999 triumph over Martin seeing her become the first female English World Champion in 10 years.

Over the next few years, the legendary Malaysian Nicol David made her mark on the tournament, claiming her maiden World Championship title in Hong Kong in 2005 courtesy of a win over Australian Rachael Grinham, before retaining her title the following year with a win over Grinham’s younger sister, Natalie.

The Grinham sisters met in the final in 2007, with Rachael being the victor, but David responded with an incredible five wins on the bounce in an unprecedented spell of dominance.

That run eventually came to an end in the 2013 edition, which saw England’s Laura Massaro claim her first World title in Penang, beating then 18-year-old Nour El Sherbini in the showpiece finale.

But El Sherbini soon got her hands on the sport’s biggest prize when she battled back from two games down to become the youngest ever Women’s World Champion at the age of 20 – eclipsing the record set by Devoy 31 years earlier.

Tickets are priced from just $30 and are available for purchase on Ticketmaster.

For more information on the 2018/19 PSA World Championships, follow the tournament on Twitter, Facebook or the Event's website.

 

 

TICKET INFORMATION

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INFO


For more information on the 2018/19 PSA World Championships, follow the tournament on Twitter, Facebook or the Event's website.