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Orange Ball Kinetic Challenger |
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Orange Ball Kinetic Challenger
Women's Draw
19 - 23 Apr
Florida, USA $30k |
ROUND TWO
20 Apr |
QUARTERS
21 Apr |
SEMIS
22 Apr |
FINAL
23 Apr |
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[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY)
11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (24m)
[9/16] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) |
Farida Mohamed
11-3, 11-7, 11-5 (22m)
Nicole Bunyan |
Farida Mohamed
11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7 (42m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam
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Farida Mohamed
11-7, 11-8, 11-8 (34m)
Satomi Watanabe |
[8] Nicole Bunyan (CAN)
11-8, 11-9, 11-7 (25m)
[9/16] Ineta Mackevica (LAT) |
[6] Jana Shiha (EGY)
10-12, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 12-10 (50m)
[9/16] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) |
11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 11-3 (36m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam |
[4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (31m)
[9/16] Malak Khafagy (EGY) |
[3] Satomi Watanabe (JPN)
11-6, 11-5, 11-3 (21m)
[9/16] Rana Ismail (EGY) |
Satomi Watanabe
11-4, 11-4, 10-12, 9-11, 11-3 (58m)
Hana Moataz |
Satomi Watanabe
w/o
Emily Whitlock |
[7] Hana Moataz (EGY)
11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8 (30m)
Ainaa Amani (MAS) |
[9/16] Jessica Turnbull (AUS)
11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7 (44m)
[5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) |
Jessica Turnbull
11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (31m)
Emily Whitlock |
[9/16] Karina Tyma (POL)
11-9, 11-13, 11-2, 11-3 (46m)
[2] Emily Whitlock (WAL) |
[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bye
[9/16] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Laura Tovar (COL) 11-3, 11-7, 11-5
(23m)
[9/16] Ineta Mackevica (LAT) bt [WC] Anna Shumway (USA) 11-4, 11-6, 11-7
(19m)
[8] Nicole Bunyan (CAN) bye
[6] Jana Shiha (EGY) bye
[9/16] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt Wen Li Lai (MAS) 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (25m)
[9/16] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt [WC] Hannah Craig (IRL) 11-6, 11-6, 11-1
(26m)
[4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bye
[3] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bye
[9/16] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt Katerina Tycova (GER) 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4
(38m)
Ainaa Amani (MAS) bt [9/16] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 11-2, 11-7, 11-6 (18m)
[7] Hana Moataz (EGY) bye
[5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) bye
[9/16] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt Diana Garcia (MEX) 11-8, 11-13, 11-4,
11-3 (38m)
[9/16] Karina Tyma (POL) bt Au Yeong Wai Yhann (SGP) 8-11, 11-9, 11-8,
4-11, 11-1 (46m)
[2] Emily Whitlock (WAL) bye |
Watanabe Takes Biggest Win
Satomi Watanabe, pictured at the New Zealand Open in
November 2022
Japan’s Satomi Watanabe secured her biggest win to date as she downed
top seed Farida Mohamed to win the Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K
Challenger.
Prior to this event, Watanabe’s biggest career title had been a
Challenger 10 level crown. She won the Qscan Sandgate Open in Australia
last year, with her most recent win then coming on home soil at the
Dynam Cup 11 months ago.
She came into the Challenger 30 level event at the Kinetic Indoor
Racquet Club as the No.3 seed, and received an opening round bye in
Florida. The Japanese No.1 then started her week with a confident
21-minute win over Egypt’s Rana Ismail.
Watanabe had to survive a fightback in the quarter finals. She was two
games to the good, having won the opening two games both by 11-4
scorelines. However, Egypt’s Hana Moataz fought back, winning the third
on a tie-break before then also taking the fourth. The Japanese No.1 was
able to regroup well, though, and she won the decider comfortably to
book her semi-final spot.
She then did not play in the last four, as Wales’ Emily Whitlock pulled
out prior to the match, giving Watanabe a free pass through to the
final. She then took on top seed Farida Mohamed in the final, and downed
the World No.17 in straight games to secure her biggest title to date.
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Mohamed and Watanabe In Final
Farida Mohamed, pictured here at the 2023 Squash On
Fire Open, is into the final in Florida
Egypt’s Farida Mohamed and Japan’s Satomi Watanabe will meet in the
final of the Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger on Sunday
afternoon.
The Egyptian came into the tournament as the top seed, and in the
semi-finals, she took on Malaysian No.1 Sivasangari Subramaniam. The
pair were level after two games, before the World No.17 was able to pull
clear.
She won the third game 11-8, before then also taking the fourth game
11-7 to seal the deal, and to move through to the final. It will be her
second appearance in a final in the last couple of months, after losing
out to Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk in the final of the St James Women’s 20K
Classic.
Her opponent this time will be Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe, who was
gifted a walkover through to the final by Welshwoman Emily Whitlock,
after the World No.20 was unable to play in the semi-finals. Watanabe’s
last appearance in a final came on home soil at the Dynam Cup last year,
where she claimed the title.
The final of the Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger, between
Egypt’s Farida Mohamed and Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe, will take
place on Sunday, April 23. You can keep up to date with daily updates
from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook. |
Round 2
Turnbull Secures Sole Upset
Jessica Turnbull, pictured here in New Zealand in
2022, downed the No.5 seed to reach the last eight
There was just the one surprise result on the second day of the Women’s
Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger, as Australia’s Jessica Turnbull made
it through to the quarter finals.
The Australian came into the event unseeded, and she got the better of
Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold on Thursday evening in Florida.
Turnbull currently sits 40 places below Arnold in the world rankings,
but that did not stop her from taking the lead on two occasions, as she
won both the first and third games. The Malaysian fought back to level
the match twice, but Turnbull got the job done in the deciding fifth
game to win.
The Australian will now take on the tournament’s No.2 seed, Emily
Whitlock, after the Welshwoman defeated Polish No.1 Karina Tyma 3-1. She
regrouped after losing the second game in a tie-break 13-11 to win in
four games.
The only other match to go the distance on the second day of the
Challenger 30 level competition was an all-Egyptian clash. No.6 seed
Jana Shiha eventually defeated compatriot Salma Eltayeb after 50
minutes, and a five-game match that saw three tie-breaks.
Shiha went behind after losing both the first and third games by a 12-10
scoreline, but she fought back to level the match on both occasions. The
young Egyptian then fought through to win the fifth on a tie-break, by
the same score, to move through to the quarter finals.
Top seed Farida Mohamed was among the others to win on day two of the
competition, as she defeated England’s Millie Tomlinson in straight
games. Elsewhere, Canada’s Nicole Bunyan, Malaysia’s Sivasangari
Subramaniam, Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe and Egypt’s Hana Moataz all
booked their last eight places. |
Round 1
Action Gets Underway In Florida
Karina Tyma, pictured here in action in Mauritius in
2022, won a five-gamer on the opening day
The Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger got underway on
Wednesday, with all eight of the higher-ranked players making it through
to the second round.
One match went the distance, with Polish No.1 Karina Tyma overcoming the
challenge of Singapore’s Au Yeong Wai Yhann. Tyma lost the opening game
but fought back to win the next two to hold the advantage. The
Singaporean battled to take the match to a decider, but the Polish No.1
was too strong in the end, winning the last 11-1 to advance to the last
16.
She is joined but fellow Europeans Millie Tomlinson and Ineta Mackevica
in the second round. England’s Tomlinson defeated Colombia’s Laura Tovar
in straight games and will now take on tops seed Farida Mohamed on
Thursday. Meanwhile, the Latvian No.1 downed tournament wildcard Anna
Shumway, also in straight games.
Elsewhere, the Egyptian trio of Salma Eltayeb, Malak Khafagy and Rana
Ismail all made it through as well. Ismail downed Germany’s Katerina
Tycova in a four-game contest, while Khafagy and Eltayeb both won in
straight games.
Malaysia’s Ainaa Amani secured victory in just 18 minutes on the opening
day, as her good form continued after securing a place at the PSA World
Championships. Australian Jessica Turnbull was the other woman to make
it through, after she got the better of Mexican Diana Garcia on
Wednesday. |
Preview
Farida Mohamed, pictured here in Washington, D.C. in
February, will be the top seed this week
The biggest tournament on the Challenger Tour this week will be the
Women’s Kinetic Orange Ball 30K Challenger, which gets underway on
Wednesday, April 19.
The Challenger 30 level women’s competition will take place across five
days, being held at the Kinetic Indoor Racquet Club in Boynton Beach,
Florida. Eight of the world’s top 50 will be in action, including four
of the world’s top 25.
Egypt’s Farida Mohamed will be the top seed for the competition, with
Welshwoman Emily Whitlock, Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe and Malaysia’s
Sivasangari Subramaniam also inside the top 25 in the world rankings.
Two more Egyptians, in Jana Shiha and Hana Moataz, along with a second
Malaysian, Rachel Arnold, and Canada’s Nicole Bunyan, will make up the
top eight seeds for the competition.
Egypt’s Malak Khafagy and Malaysian Ainaa Amani will both be in action
in Florida this week, just days after being part of the well players to
secure a spot at the PSA World Championships in Chicago after winning at
the Qualifying Event in Birmingham.
Anna Shumway will be the only American in action. She will be one of two
tournament wildcards, along with Ireland’s Hannah Craig. The Australian
duo of Jessica Turnbull and Sarah Cardwell will also feature, alongside
Polish No.1 Karina Tyma.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or follow
on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
events will also be streamed live on
SQUASHTV.
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