World’s best head for season’s first PSA Platinum event in Philly
By ELLIE MAWSON – Squash Mad Correspondent
The world’s top squash players will compete for the first PSA Platinum title of the 2019-20 season between October 5-12 as Philadelphia’s Drexel University hosts the 2019 FS Investments U.S Open Squash Championships.
The U.S. Open is one of eight prestigious Platinum events to take place during the 2019-20 PSA World Tour season, and this year’s tournament sees prize money increase by 10% to a record total of $371,000, which is split equally between male and female athletes for a seventh successive year.
Reigning champions Mohamed ElShorbagy and Raneem El Welily will return to defend their crowns, while men’s World No.1 Ali Farag and women’s World No.5 Nour El Tayeb will also star in Philadelphia – two years after their U.S. Open triumphs saw them become the first married couple in sporting history ever to win the same major sports title on the same day.
Joining ElShorbagy and Farag in the 48-player men’s draw will be World Championship runner-up Tarek Momen, PSA World Tour Finals winner Karim Abdel Gawad, 2018 runner-up Simon Rösner, New Zealand’s Paul Coll, Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar and Peru’s Diego Elias, all of whom are amongst the top eight seeds.
Meanwhile, United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy will hope to challenge El Welily and El Tayeb to win the women’s crown, but will also be up against some of the biggest names in squash, including World Champion Nour El Sherbini, 2016 winner Camille Serme, British Open champion Nouran Gohar, New Zealand’s Joelle King and England’s Sarah-Jane Perry.
The wildcard spots in the women’s event will be taken up by University of Pennsylvania-graduate Reeham Sedky and Harvard-graduate Sabrina Sobhy, the younger sister of Amanda.
Brooklyn’s Andrew Douglas and Connecticut’s Spencer Lovejoy are awarded the wildcard spot in the men’s draw, where World No.47 Todd Harrity is the highest-ranked American.
The U.S. Open gives players their first opportunity to qualify for June’s PSA World Tour Finals. The reigning PSA World Champions and all Platinum event winners automatically qualify for the World Tour Finals. The remaining places are allocated to the highest ranked players on the Road to Egypt Standings, and points for the standings will be on offer at all PSA World Tour events this season.
Glass court action from the U.S. Open will be staged in Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center, while matches on the traditional side courts will be held at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia.
Matches from the glass court will be streamed live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only), the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan) and various broadcast partners.
Tickets start from $30 and are available for purchase through the official tournament website.
2019 FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA (October 5-12).
Men’s Entry List:
1) Ali Farag (EGY)
2) Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
3) Tarek Momen (EGY)
4) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
5) Simon Rösner (GER)
6) Paul Coll (NZL)
7) Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
8) Diego Elias (PER)
9) Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
10) Saurav Ghosal (IND)
11) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
12) Joel Makin (WAL)
13) Omar Mosaad (EGY)
14) Zahed Salem (EGY)
15) Fares Dessouky (EGY)
16) Gregoire Marche (FRA)
17) Declan James (ENG)
18) Daryl Selby (ENG)
19) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
20) Cesar Salazar (MEX)
21) Adrian Waller (ENG)
22) Leo Au (HKG)
23) Tom Richards (ENG)
24) Mazen Hesham (EGY)
25) Raphael Kandra (GER)
26) Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
27) Mostafa Asal (EGY)
28) Greg Lobban (SCO)
29) Youssef Soliman (EGY)
30) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
31) Borja Golan (ESP)
32) Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
33) Lucas Serme (FRA)
34) Campbell Grayson (NZL)
35) Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
36) Cameron Pilley (AUS)
37) George Parker (ENG)
38) Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
39) Arturo Salazar (MEX)
40) Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
41) Alan Clyne (SCO)
42) Karim Ali Fathi (ENG)
43) Todd Harrity (USA)
44) Youssef Ibrahim (EGY)
45) Ramit Tandon (IND)
46) Richie Fallows (ENG)
Wildcard) Andrew Douglas (USA)
Wildcard) Spencer Lovejoy (USA)
Women’s Entry List:
1) Raneem El Welily (EGY)
2) Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
3) Camille Serme (FRA)
4) Nouran Gohar (EGY)
5) Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
6) Joelle King (NZL)
7) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
8) Amanda Sobhy (USA)
9) Tesni Evans (WAL)
10) Annie Au (HKG)
11) Alison Waters (ENG)
12) Victoria Lust (ENG)
13) Joshna Chinappa (IND)
14) Salma Hany (EGY)
15) Hania El Hammamy (EGY)
16) Yathreb Adel (EGY)
17) Joey Chan (HKG)
18) Nele Gilis (BEL)
19) Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA)
20) Zeina Mickawy (EGY)
21) Emily Whitlock (ENG)
22) Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
23) Nadine Shahin (EGY)
24) Mariam Metwally (EGY)
25) Rachael Grinham (AUS)
26) Rowan Elaraby (EGY)
27) Tinne Gilis (BEL)
28) Donna Lobban (AUS)
29) Mayar Hany (EGY)
30) Hollie Naughton (CAN)
31) Julianna Courtice (ENG)
32) Milou van her Heijden (NED)
33) Coline Aumard (FRA)
34) Nada Abbas (EGY)
35) Low Wee Wern (MAS)
36) Danielle Letourneau (CAN)
37) Lisa Aitken (SCO)
38) Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG)
39) Olivia Fiechter (USA)
40) Alexandra Fuller (RSA)
41) Haley Mendez (USA)
42) Lucy Turmel (ENG)
43) Ho Tze-Lok (HKG)
44) Melissa Alves (FRA)
45) Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG)
46) Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
Wildcard) Reeham Sedky (USA)
Wildcard) Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
Report by ELLIE MAWSON (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.
Pictures courtesy of PSA