Amina Orfi is closing in on becoming the youngest woman to reach world No.1 after she captured successive London Squash Classic titles and Paul Coll bagged a hat-trick of victories.
Orfi has already racked up a raft of records in her fledgling PSA career and now has chance of dethroning Hania El Hammamy at the looming Qatar Classic.
Orfi defeated Georgina Kennedy 11-6, 11-8, 11-2 in 48 minutes, denying the home favourite a first Gold-level title on a packed court.
The 19-year-old second seed controlled the opening exchanges with early volleys and a high tempo, taking the ball before Kennedy could establish her attacking game. Orfi moved two games clear before closing out the match in the third.
The victory gave Orfi her second successive London title and the 14th PSA title of her career. She also became the first player to defend the women’s title since the tournament was introduced.
“I played really well today and to win this title again means a lot to me,” Orfi said. “It’s my first time defending the title and hopefully there’s more to come.”
Kennedy had reached the final after producing the biggest result of her career, beating world No.1 Hania El Hammamy in Saturday’s semi-final.
Coll then completed the double for the defending champions, beating France’s Victor Crouin 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 in 44 minutes.
The world No.2 was in control throughout, using accurate length and changes of pace to prevent Crouin from establishing an attacking rhythm.
The victory was Coll’s third consecutive London Classic title and the 34th PSA title of his career. He completed the tournament without dropping a game.
“I’m stoked, I was really happy with my length hitting and ball striking,” Coll said. “I think it’s the best I’ve ever struck it consistently.”
Coll also credited his support team and wife Nele Gilis, who had suffered a quarter-final defeat earlier in the tournament.
The two champions now turn their attention to the Qatar Classic, where Orfi will be involved in a battle for the world No.1 ranking with El Hammamy.
Kennedy ends world No.1’s run
Kennedy, growing under coach Rod Martin, produced the tournament’s biggest women’s upset when she defeated El Hammamy 11-6, 14-12, 7-11, 11-8 in the semi-finals.
It was Kennedy’s first victory over a top-three player after 26 previous attempts and made her the first English player to reach the London Classic final.
“To get a win over the World No.1 is a career highlight,” Kennedy said.
The London-based player had already overcome Japan’s fourth seed Satomi Watanabe in the quarter-finals, winning 12-10, 11-4 after losing their three previous PSA meetings.
Singh provides breakthrough
India’s 18-year-old Anahat Singh was one of the tournament’s other standout performers.
The world junior champion defeated eighth seed Nele Gilis 13-11, 4-11, 11-8 in the second round to reach her first PSA Gold-level quarter-final.
Singh said playing at Alexandra Palace had been a long-standing ambition.
“It’s always been my dream to play in a venue like this, so it’s very exciting,” she said.
Her run ended against third seed Sivasangari Subramaniam, who won 11-4, 11-4 in 17 minutes.
Ng causes men’s upset
Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng produced the first major men’s upset of the tournament when he recovered from losing the opening game to beat fourth seed Aly Abou Eleinen 7-11, 11-4, 11-9.
“I think I bounced back really well,” Ng said. “Aly was firing it in so quickly and it took me some time to get used to it.”
Ng subsequently defeated Youssef Soliman in the quarter-finals before losing to Coll in the last four.
Coll survives, then dominates
Coll’s title defence included a straightforward second-round victory over England’s Sam Todd and a quarter-final win over former world No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy, who retired with a glute problem while trailing 8-2 in the second game.
Coll said he was pleased with the way he handled the physical demands of the contest.
“I was very happy with how smooth I stayed throughout the game,” he said.
The champion then defeated Ng 11-7, 11-1, 11-3 in the semi-finals before completing an unbeaten week against Crouin.
Sobhy pushed El Hammamy
Amanda Sobhy came close to eliminating El Hammamy in the quarter-finals, forcing the world No.1 to recover from a difficult opening game.
El Hammamy eventually won 13-11, 7-11, 11-6, but admitted the match had tested her.
“It was definitely very tough for me,” El Hammamy said. “I might have looked calm, but it wasn’t how I felt inside.”
Strong starts for Todd and Hutton
England’s Sam Todd and Jasmine Hutton both won their opening matches at Coolhurst.
Todd recovered from losing the first game to beat Moustafa El Sirty 2-11, 11-7, 11-4, while Hutton defeated Hana Ramadan 11-5, 11-6.
Todd said he had needed to regroup after a poor start.
“I had to regroup and get some hard rallies into him,” he said. “Once I got him moving, I was more confident with my length as the match went on.”
Best of the rest
The opening rounds also produced wins for Pakistan’s Noor Zaman, India’s Ramit Tandon, Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez and Egypt’s Kareem El Torkey.
El Torkey later produced another notable result by beating sixth seed Mohamed Abouelghar 11-9, 11-9 before losing to Marwan ElShorbagy in the quarter-finals.
Marwan also impressed in reaching the last four, where he lost to Crouin in three games. Crouin then carried that form into his first London Classic final, defeating England’s No.1-ranked Marwan ElShorbagy 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 in the semi-finals.
Starting with a bang
It’s September and we’re all set for a lengthy season!
🤯 BRUTAL squash between @VCrouin & Marwan ElShorbagy!
What. A. Rally 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kSeyAy7plW
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) September 5, 2026