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13/05/2019
Manchester Open2019
Manchester Open 2019
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Manchester Open 2019
9 - 13 May
Manchester, England, $76k |
ROUND TWO
10 MAY |
QUARTERS
11 MAY |
SEMIS
12 MAY |
FINAL
13 MAY |
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[1] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (35m)
Coline Aumard (FRA) |
Nour El Tayeb
11-7, 15-17, 11-4, 11-6 (52m)
Laura Massaro |
Nour El Tayeb
7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (72m)
Tesni Evans |
Tesni Evans
11-8, 11-2, 11-4 (33m)
Joelle King |
[5] Laura Massaro (ENG)
11-8, 11-4, 11-8 (38m)
Millie Tomlinson (ENG) |
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL)
11-7, 11-9, 11-3 (30m)
Milou van der Heijden (NED) |
Tesni Evans
7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 1-11, 13-11 (68m)
Sarah-Jane Perry |
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6 (42m)
Nicol David (MAS) |
[4] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (37m)
Emily Whitlock (ENG) |
Nouran Gohar
11-9, 11-2, 11-8 (26m)
Amanda Sobhy |
Amanda Sobhy
17-15, 11-5, 11-8 (39m)
Joelle King |
[8] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
4-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-9 (33m)
Julianne Courtice (ENG) |
[7] Alison Waters (ENG)
11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 (49m)
Salma Hany (EGY) |
Alison Waters
12-10, 11-9, 11-6 (31m)
Joelle King |
Nele Gilis (BEL)
11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-1 (42m)
[2] Joelle King (NZL) |
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[1] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bye
Coline Aumard (FRA) bt Mayar Hany (EGY) 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (34m)
Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 11-3, 11-8, 9-11,
6-11, 11-4 (51m)
[5] Laura Massaro (ENG) bye
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL) bye
Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt [WC] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) 11-7, 11-5,
11-2 (27m)
Nicol David (MAS) bt Haley Mendez (USA) 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (23m)
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bye
[4] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bye
Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) 11-7, 11-8, 11-4
(26m)
Julianne Courtice (ENG) bt Samantha Cornett (CAN) 12-10, 11-8, 9-11,
11-9 (44m)
[8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bye
[7] Alison Waters (ENG) bye
Salma Hany (EGY) bt Hollie Naughton (CAN) 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 11-4
(48m)
Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Lisa Aitken (SCO) 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 (38m)
[2] Joelle King (NZL) bye |
New
Zealand’s King Takes Inaugural Manchester
Open
Title
 New
Zealand’s World No.5 Joelle King reigned victorious at the National
Squash Centre after she claimed a 3-0 victory over Wales’ World No.9
Tesni Evans in the final of the inaugural Manchester Open PSA World Tour
Silver event.
The Manchester Open – a women’s only tournament – is supported by
Manchester City Council and follows the successful staging of the
award-winning AJ Bell PSA World Championships in the city in December
2017, where equal prize money was on offer across both the men’s and
women’s events for the first time in the tournament’s history.
King had only dropped a game all week leading up to the final and
continued her impressive display in the North of England as she took a
tight first game before powering to the finish line by an 11-8, 11-2,
11-4 scoreline in 33 minutes.
Welshwoman Evans had prevailed in two mammoth five-game battles in the
days leading up to the final, but was unable to continue that momentum
as she struggled to put a halt to a confident King, who eased to
victory.
The Manchester Open is the New Zealander’s second title this season
following her victory at the Hong Kong Open in November.
 “I’m
over the moon,” said 30-year-old King following her win. “Someone had to
lose tonight, but she can hold her head up high after what she has
achieved this week. She has a few years on me yet, so I’m sure that she
will be back stronger.
“She has showed all week that she never gives up. She came from 2-0 down
against the World No.3, so I came out in the third like it was the first
and never slowed down and I came out on the right side tonight.
“It’s special to win any event, coming off Hong Kong it has been a long
time in between, but it makes it even more special when it is the first
women’s only event here. I have to say a huge thank you to Manchester
for holding this event in partnership with PSA and all the volunteers
and spectators who have supported us this week.”
 Evans
added afterwards: “After the week I’ve had, she’s definitely someone I
didn’t want to play.
“I’m obviously disappointed that I couldn’t put up a big enough fight,
but she was just too good. She was on everything early and when you’ve
had some tough matches under your belt it was tough.
“I just tried to give everything and on reflection, after a
disappointing day, I can reflect on it and take a lot of good things
from the week I have had.”
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Evans Stages Huge Comeback to Set up Manchester
Open Final Clash with King
 Wales’
World No.9 Tesni Evans produced a monumental comeback to take out
Egypt’s World No.3 Nour El Tayeb and reach the biggest PSA final of her
career at the 2019 Manchester Open.
The Welshwoman was staring down the barrel of defeat at 2-0 down as top
seed El Tayeb took control of the opening two games to put one foot in
the final at the National Squash Centre.
However, Evans showcased her brave resilience as she fought back in a
gladiatorial battle to win 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 in 72 minutes
and reach the final of the inaugural women’s only PSA World Tour Silver
tournament, where she will now face New Zealand’s World No.5 Joelle King
tomorrow.
“I actually felt like even in the first two games that I was actually
playing quite well,” said the 26-year-old Welshwoman.
“I just couldn’t string a few points together, I’m really happy with
myself today because I never let that get to me and I just kept digging
and digging, just to see how far it would get me and I can’t believe it
in the end.
“I think the more matches I play, the better I get. I just don’t
normally get the opportunity to play more than a couple of matches. My
squash was probably the best I’ve played at the end of the match and I’m
really proud of myself.
“It’s probably my biggest win because she is No.3 in the world, reached
the final of the World Champs and so it’s probably one of my biggest
wins.
 Meanwhile,
World No.5 King overcame United States’ No.1 Amanda Sobhy in
straight-games to reach her second final of the season, following her
victory at the Hong Kong Open in November.
Both players enjoyed strong wins in the last round, with Sobhy
continuing her strong run of form to down Egypt’s World No.7 Nouran
Gohar, while King saw off England’s former World No.3 Alison Waters in
straight-games.
An emphatic first game from both players saw them consistently trade
blows with both pulling out some of their best squash for the occasion,
however, it was King who was able to take the advantage as took the
first game, 17-15.
From then on, the momentum stayed with the World No.5 as she didn’t put
a foot wrong and adapted to the conditions of the warm court well to
advance against World No.8 Sobhy.
“It’s no secret that Amanda has been coming back strong this year,” said
30-year-old King.
“It’s credit to her that she’s in the semi-finals of a Silver tournament
not so long after coming back from injury. Overall this week, I’ve been
feeling mentally quite good. Even in my other matches if I had lapses, I
was able to close out in the business end and I guess that is one of my
strengths when I’m playing well.
“I was down in the first and I was able to claw my way back and take a
crucial first game and I’m pretty happy with my mental performance.
“I think at the start of this year, after winning Hong Kong I put a bit
of pressure on myself to do well and it didn’t work out so well for me.
I’ve tried to come into every tournament and treat it like it’s my last
one and it seems to be working, so hopefully it will carry on.”
The final take place on Monday May 13 at 19:00 local time (UTC+1) and
the action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport
Player (Europe only) and to multiple broadcasters around the world.
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Retiring
Massaro Bows Out of Penultimate
Event
at Manchester Open
 England’s
former World No.1 Laura Massaro exited her penultimate event, the
Manchester Open, at the quarter finals stage following her announcement
this week that she will retire at the end of the season.
The Englishwoman, in her last appearance in Manchester, provided a tough
battle for Egypt’s World No.3 Nour El Tayeb at the National Squash
Centre, but it was not enough to stop the top seed from claiming an
11-7, 15-17, 11-4, 11-6 victory.
El Tayeb’s win means that there will be four different continents
represented in the semi-final stage of the PSA World Tour Silver
tournament, which is the first event to be held in Manchester since the
award-winning 2017 PSA World Championships, as New Zealand’s Joelle
King, Wales’ Tesni Evans and United States’ Amanda Sobhy all secured
wins.
“I was happy to play Laura,” said 26-year-old El Tayeb following her
victory. “I wanted to give her something to remember me by. It’s the
last two tournaments for her and I have always looked up to her. I’d
love to work with her one day, she is the most professional on tour, I
wish I could have half of her career.”
Massaro added afterwards, “I played well yesterday and today, being able
to fight back against the World No.3 was my only goal really. When I
announced my retirement, I didn’t want to have an events procession. I
wanted to fight hard, play well and put a few blows into the top five
girls in the world and I’ll be looking to do the same thing at the
British Open.”
World No.3 El Tayeb will now face Wales’ World No.9 Tesni Evans for a
place in the final after she conquered England’s No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry
in an epic five-game battle in Manchester.
The 26-year-old Welshwoman was forced to come from one-game down as the
two players took part in a high-quality battle much to the delight of
the packed-out crowd inside the National Squash Centre. However, it
proved to be Evans’ day as she closed out a tight 7-11, 11-9, 11-9,
1-11, 13-11 win.
 “You
can see SJ is back now and playing at her best,” said 26-year-old Evans.
“I’m just really happy that I got over the line. I was struggling at the
end of the fourth and mentally just down, but I wasn’t going down
without a fight, the problem is she doesn’t do that either, so it was
just a battle to the end.”
The other semi-final will see New Zealand’s World No.5 Joelle King and
United States’ No.1 Amanda Sobhy go head-to-head after they claimed
respective 3-0 wins over England’s former World No.3 Alison Waters and
Egypt’s World No.7 Nouran Gohar.
 Number
two seed King was in dominant form to power past Englishwoman Waters by
an 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 scoreline
“I was 2-0 up so I didn’t want to give Alison a sniff or allow her back
into the match,” said 30-year-old King following her impressive win.
“I’m happy to be off in three. She was down and out in the fifth
yesterday and she managed to come back and win. I’m really pleased to
stay strong at the end of each game. It was really close and that can be
the decider in the match, so I’m pleased to be off in three.
“It’s nice to see so many people out here supporting us.”
 Meanwhile,
World No.8 Sobhy defeated Egypt’s Gohar in a comfortable performance
from the American to claim an 11-9, 11-2, 11-8 victory in just 26
minutes.
“We haven’t played in a while and she just had a good result [in El
Gouna],” said 25-year-old Sobhy afterwards. “I kind of knew what to
expect from her, she is a relentless player, so you just have to absorb
it and chip at it.
“It was a good day, I had to catch her off guard a little bit, but she
just keeps coming back and I just had to hang in there in that third
game and capitalise on any mistakes. I’m really glad to be off in three.
“It’s nice not to play the top three, which I have done for most of the
season. The level is so deep at the moment that anyone can beat anyone
on any given day and fortunately I showed up today.”
The semi-finals take place on Sunday May 12 at 16:30 local time (UTC+1)
and the action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world),
Eurosport Player (Europe only) and to multiple broadcasters around the
world.
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Massaro
Kickstarts Manchester Open
Campaign
with Win
 England’s
former World No.1 Laura Massaro got her 2019 Manchester Open campaign
off to a winning start after she overcame compatriot Millie Tomlinson in
round two at the National Squash Centre.
The 2013 World Champion announced earlier this week that she will retire
at the end of the season and she ensured that she put on a strong
showing in front of her home crowd as she powered past World No.22
Tomlinson by an 11-8, 11-4, 11-8 margin at the PSA World Tour Silver
event.
“I had to adapt as I was on there,” said Massaro following her win. “I
went with it, sticking with the bits that were working, and trying to
work out the bits that weren’t. I felt pretty focussed on there more
than anything, despite it being such a tough week.
“It has been an emotional week, and I was really nervous today, just
because I have got so many amazing people and I didn’t want to let them
down on what could have been my last performance.”
She will now face top seed and Egypt’s World No.3 Nour El Tayeb in
tomorrow’s quarter finals after she conquered France’s World No.35
Coline Aumard in straight-games to advance.
 PSA
World Championship runner-up El Tayeb was forced to utilise her
experience as she battled back from going behind in the third to send
out the Frenchwoman by an 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 scoreline.
“I thought we were going to a fourth,” said the 25-year-old Egyptian.
“She has improved so much from the last time we played and I could see
that because I’ve been following her results recently. She can attack
anything that was short and would attack it very well. It was a very
hard game and I’m pleased with how I played.
“I’m in the state of mind where the seeding is just a number. I’m just
happy to be in the quarter-final of another tournament and hopefully,
whoever I play I can play well.”
They will be joined in the quarter finals by English No.1 Sarah-Jane
Perry after she toppled eight-time World Champion Nicol David, who like
Massaro will also retire at the end of the season, in four-games.
The tall Englishwoman started strongly, before losing her concentration
in the third as David mounted a comeback. The Malaysian continued that
momentum into the fourth, but Perry was able to reign her back in to
close out in four games.
“When I saw the draw, Nicol had announced she was going to retire and
there was that bit of dread in your mind that will the occasion get into
my head a bit,” said 28-year-old Perry. “But on the other side I was
actually really happy because she is such a fantastic player and I
wanted that thrill of competing against Nicol one last time.
“It’s fantastic to have such a big women’s event in England. We haven’t
had many of them and so I would like to thank the support of Manchester
City Council and the PSA and everyone else who has made it possible.”
Perry will take on Wales’ World No.9 Tesni Evans in the next round after
she put in an immaculate display against Dutch No.1 Milou van der
Heijden to advance in Manchester.
The Welshwoman, who won her first British Nationals title at the
National Squash Centre, proved that she was a contender for the PSA
World Tour Silver title after she sent van der Heijden out by an 11-7,
11-9, 11-3 margin.
“Any time I play Milou and come out with a 3-0 win then I’m really
happy,” said 26-year-old Evans. “She is playing some really good squash
at the moment and it definitely won’t be long until she is moving up
more than she already is.
“I think the court suits me and I just love playing here. It’s so close
to home and I’ve had good wins here and good memories, so I hope that
will have a part this week.
“The women’s tour is amazing at the moment and for us to have standalone
events and show what we can do is really important.”
Elsewhere, number two seed Joelle King ensured a safe passage through to
the last eight as she overcame a resilient Nele Gilis of Belgium.
The World No.5 started strongly to take the first two games, before
Gilis made life difficult for the New Zealander by taking the third. In
the end, King’s experience proved to be too much for the Belgian to
handle, as her class shone through to take an 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-1
victory.
“I felt like in the first I had my game plan pretty spot on,” said
30-year-old King. “She has had some good results of late and has been
pushing the top players so her resilience doesn’t go away. She has
improved as a squash player a lot and I know it was going to be tough
today and it was.
“It’s like any court, when you are playing well then you enjoy it and
when you’re not then it’s not the best day. I felt like I got some good
game time today and I found areas on the court that worked well and
hopefully it can continue tomorrow.”
Next up for King is England’s former World No.3 Alison Waters after she
fought off a comeback from Egypt’s World No.14 Salma Hany.
Waters claimed the brighter start as she opened up a two-game lead,
before Hany boldly battled back to claim the next two and push the match
to a tense fifth.
It looked as though the tie was going to go in the way of the Egyptian
as she raced into a 9-5 lead, however, Waters soon fought back and
eventually was able to see out the victory and book herself a place in
the last eight.
“I just thought if I’m going to lose this then I need to go out trying
something,” said the Englishwoman. “My shots came off and I just tried
to be relaxed and I think that was my whole thing for the game.
“Sometimes you just need to not put so much pressure on yourself and let
it flow and I did that and luckily I came out the winner.
“We were here each year for the Nationals and so I have some good
memories. It feels a bit like a second home and I’m pleased to be back
here in Manchester.”
The other quarter final tie will see Egypt’s World No.7 Nouran Gohar
face United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy after they secured respective wins
over England’s Emily Whitlock and Julianne Courtice.
Gohar was forced to fightback from one-game down against Whitlock as the
Englishwoman started strongly to nullify the attacking intent of the
hard-hitting Egyptian. However, the World No.7 was able to maintain her
composure to come back and secure a quarter final berth.
“Her length was immaculate today,” said 21-year-old Gohar. “Usually I’m
the one who plays it in the backside and hit the ball in the right
positions, but she did that today and I had to try and find another
solution.
“The last two months have been good and I’m trying to play well on court
and the results will come for sure.”
Meanwhile, Sobhy took out home favourite and Manchester-based Courtice
in a tough battle to move into the next round.
“Last time we played it was on home soil for me, we played in Chicago,”
said the 25-year-old from Boston. “I had the home crowd which helps a
lot and the home court advantage, it was the reverse this time and she
has been playing really well. She has improved a ton since we last
played in February, so hats off to her for really making me push this
round and I’m really happy to be through.
“I played Nouran a couple of years ago when I came back on tour after
being injured. She had a really good week in El Gouna and I had a pretty
decent week as well. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and it should be
good.”
The quarter finals take place on Saturday May 11 at 17:00 local time
(UTC+1) and the action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of
world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of
the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan).
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England’s Courtice Leads Home Hopes on Day One of
Manchester Open
The opening day of action at the inaugural 2019 Manchester Open saw home
hopes prevail as Manchester-based Julianne Courtice led the English
charge at the National Squash Centre.
 Courtice
was one of three Englishwomen who all advanced to the last 16 of the PSA
World Tour Silver tournament, after she produced a strong performance to
take out Canada’s higher ranked Samantha Cornett in four-games.
The Manchester Open – a women’s only tournament - is supported by
Manchester City Council and follows the successful staging of the
award-winning AJ Bell PSA World Championships in the city in December
2017, where equal prize money was on offer across both the men’s and
women’s events for the first time in the tournament’s history.
World No.36 Courtice started well to take the first two games before
keeping her composure to survive a Cornett comeback and close out a
12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 victory. Courtice will now face USA No.1 Amanda
Sobhy in the second-round tomorrow.
“It was a massive win,” said 27-year-old Courtice following her victory.
“Sam earlier this year won 3-1, so I knew I was up against it and it’s
always difficult with a late draw change.
“It’s so good to play in front of a home crowd, there are some people
here to support me, so it’s great. It’s hard to keep the consistency and
that’s why these top guys are so hard to beat and with Sam, you really
have to push her to get that mistake from her.”
 She
will be joined in round two by compatriots Emily Whitlock and Millie
Tomlinson after they enjoyed respective wins over New Zealand’s Amanda
Landers-Murphy and Canada’s Danielle Letourneau.
Whitlock will take on Egypt’s World No.7 Nouran Gohar in the last 16,
while Tomlinson faces an all-English showdown with former World No.1
Laura Massaro for a place in the quarter finals.
“I think I was really pumped up for the first two games. I came out
really fast,” said England’s Tomlinson after her five-game battle with
Letourneau.
 “I
let her back in, but I’m glad that I managed to refocus for the last
game. I have a huge advantage as this is my home court. I lived here for
a couple of years, so I played on this court a lot and obviously, the
home crowd help as well.”
Wildcard Rachael Chadwick was unable to complete a clean sweep for the
English players in round one as she fell to Dutch No.1 Milou van der
Heijden.
World No.32 van der Heijden put in a confident performance to ease past
Chadwick and set up a round two clash with Wales’ World No.8 Tesni
Evans.
“I’m very happy with how it worked out and how everything went to plan,”
said van der Heijden afterwards. “I’ve only played here twice before,
but never on the glass, so it was a good experience to get on the glass
and this one is different to others that I have played on. It takes a
bit of getting used to, but it is a nice court and I enjoyed it.”
Meanwhile eight-time World Champion Nicol David, who will be playing for
the last time in Manchester following her decision to retire at the end
of the season, booked her place in the second-round courtesy of a
dominant win over United States’ Haley Mendez.
The Malaysian icon will now face England’s No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry for a
place in the quarter finals tomorrow.
“It’s great to play Haley in Manchester on the glass court,” said
35-year-old David following her win. “We go way back, so coming here and
playing her is a treat and I’m so pleased to see how she is playing.
“SJ is a really tough competitor, we have had so many good matches and
just because of my ranking you do get those tough draws on the day you
just want to play and give it your best.”
There was also joy for Egypt’s World No.14 Salma Hany after she survived
a comeback from Canada’s Hollie Naughton to secure a second-round berth.
Naughton took the opening game, before Hany struck back to take the next
two. However, Canadian Naughton refused to go away quietly though as she
drew level to push the game to a deciding fifth, but it was the
higher-ranked Hany who was eventually able to close out by an 9-11,
11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 11-4 scoreline in 48 minutes.
“Hollie has been playing really well and has been pushing all the top
players,” said the 22-year-old Egyptian. “Today, she really made me work
hard. It was a bit scrappy in the middle, after the fourth I just made
sure I stuck to my plan and focused on every point. The good start in
the fifth helped me a lot and I’m really glad I got the win.”
Belgium’s World No.24 Nele Gilis and France’s World No.35 Coline Aumard,
meanwhile, set up second round fixtures against World No.5 Joelle King
and Egypt’s World No.3 Nour El Tayeb, respectively.
Gilis overcame Scotland’s Lisa Aitken in straight-games, while France’s
Aumard put in a dominant display to power past Egypt’s World No.31 Mayar
Hany.
“I knew what to expect and I tried to take the pace off as much as I
could because she likes to hit it hard,” said Belgium’s Gilis following
her win over Aitken. “It’s hard to stay focused against such a good
player like Lisa and I’m happy that I stuck to my game plan.”
The second round takes place on Friday May 10 at 12:00 local time
(UTC+1) and the action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of
world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of
the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan).
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England’s Perry Hails Manchester Open
as ‘Big Step Forward’ for Women’s Squash
 English
No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry has said next week’s inaugural Manchester Open is
a big step forward for women’s squash.
The PSA World Tour Silver tournament – a women’s-only event - takes
place between May 9-13 and will see a world-class draw compete for a
$76,000 prize fund at Manchester’s National Squash Centre.
The Manchester Open is supported by Manchester City Council and follows
the successful staging of the award-winning AJ Bell PSA World
Championships in the city in December 2017. Equal prize money was on
offer across both the men’s and women’s events for the first time in the
tournament’s history, and Perry believes the Manchester Open will
provide another big milestone for the women’s tour.
“Women’s squash has really come on in the last few years and the
standard has improved massively,” said 28-year-old Perry.
“Equal prize money at Platinum level events has been really important
and I think this is a real big step forward that there are tournaments
for the players to choose from and you can see from the level of the
draw that a few players have chosen this one.
“Hopefully it will be a really good event and will showcase women’s
squash and how strong it is as its own product.
“It’s really great to have a new event on the calendar and even more
special that it’s in England. We’ve not had many big events over the
last few years apart from the British Open or when we had the World
Championships. It’s testament to Manchester City Council for their
support and PSA for making it happen and I’m really looking forward to
it.”
World No.6 Perry, along with the other top eight seeds, receives a bye
into the second round where she will take on either eight-time World
Champion Nicol David or Canada’s Samantha Cornett and the Englishwoman
is expecting a tough challenge.
“It’s a really strong draw. Although I’m number three seed, there are a
few players not behind me playing in the event. I think I’m seeded to
play Nicol David in the last 16 and she’s still a huge force to be
reckoned with.
“I am sure she will want to go out with a bang and will looking to make
an impact on this event, so she will definitely be looking to get
through her first match. However, whoever I play it will be a tough
challenge which is why it’s important to take it one step at a time. I’m
sure there will be some fantastic matches and hopefully I will be able
to be a part of a few of them at least.”
Birmingham-born Perry enjoyed a strong start to the season claiming the
Oracle NetSuite Open title in September, before suffering an injury
setback and having surgery on her elbow in December. However, the
Englishwoman now believes that she is getting back to her best and is
looking forward to rising to the challenge in Manchester.
“After my elbow operation in December, I came back for the World Champs
in February and although I was able to play, it wasn’t feeling like my
squash was comfortable and it wasn’t the squash I love playing.
“Each week after that it has gotten better and better. I’ve had a couple
of minor setbacks along the way, but my elbow is feeling pretty good now
and I feel like I’m starting to come back into the form I was before,
which is challenging anyone when I’m on my best form.”
Live coverage of the entire tournament will be shown on SQUASHTV (rest
of world), the PSA World Tour Facebook page (excluding Europe & Japan)
and Eurosport Player (Europe only), while the semi-finals and final will
also be shown live on mainstream broadcasters around the world such as
BT Sport, Fox Sports Australia, Astro and more.
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