Record prize money for male and female PSA stars in Shanghai
By SEAN REUTHE
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini has been seeded to face World Champion Raneem El Welily in the final of the 2018 J.P. Morgan China Squash Open after the main draws for the PSA World Tour Gold event held in Shanghai were released today (July 26).
The Egyptian duo contested six finals on the PSA World Tour last season – including December’s World Championship title decider – and the pair will lock horns once again if they can make it through a top-class draw, which will battle it out at at a spectacular all-glass court staged atop the stunning Peninsula Shanghai hotel – which overlooks the iconic Bund – between September 5-9.
The top 10 women in the world will be in attendance in Shanghai, and El Sherbini (right) is on the same side of the draw as New Zealand’s World No.4 Joelle King.
El Sherbini defeated the Kiwi in the semi-finals last year and the pair are set to meet at the same stage of this year’s tournament.
Meanwhile, El Welily is seeded to face compatriot Nour El Tayeb in the semi-finals, but the World No.2 could also have a difficult quarter-final fixture, with either 2016 champion Laura Massaro, eight-time World Champion Nicol David or India’s Dipika Pallikal Karthik likely to lie in wait.
Germany’s World No.5 Simon Rösner tops the men’s draw and is seeded to meet World No.6 Miguel Angel Rodriguez, the reigning British Open champion, in the title decider.
New Zealand’s Paul Coll is set to face Rösner in the last four, while Colombian superstar Rodriguez could come up against former World No.1 Gregory Gaultier in the semi-finals.
Both the men’s and women’s draws will be contested by 24 players, while a record prize purse of $241,000 – over a 20% increase on the 2017 edition’s prize money – will be split equally between the male and female players.
First round, second round and quarter-final matches will be split between the SECA Academy Jinqiao Center and The Peninsula Shanghai, while all semi-final and final matches will be held at The Peninsula Shanghai.
Tickets will be available for purchase from the official website of the China Squash Open: www.chinasquashopen.cn in August.
2018 J.P. Morgan China Squash Open
Men’s First Round draw:
[1] Simon Rösner (GER) (bye)
Peter Creed (WAL) v [9/16] Mazen Hesham (EGY)
[9/16] Joel Makin (WAL) v Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
[7] Omar Mosaad (EGY) (bye)
[8] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) (bye)
Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND) v [9/16] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
[9/16] Alan Clyne (SCO) v Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) (bye)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) (bye)
Mohamed Reda (EGY) v [9/16] Adrian Waller (ENG)
[9/16] Tom Richards (ENG) v [WC] Wang Junjie (CHN)
[6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) (bye)
[5] Saurav Ghosal (IND) (bye)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) [9/16] Greg Lobban (SCO)
[9/16] Raphael Kandra (GER) v Ben Coleman (ENG)
[2] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) (bye)
Women’s 2018 J.P. Morgan Squash China Open First Round draw:
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) (bye)
Mariam Metwally (EGY) v [9/16] Tesni Evans (WAL)
[9/16] Salma Hany (EGY) v Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
[6] Nouran Gohar (EGY) (bye)
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) (bye)
Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [9/16] Alison Waters (ENG)
[9/16] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Donna Lobban (AUS)
[4] Joelle King (NZL) (bye)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) (bye)
Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v [9/16] Victoria Lust (ENG)
[9/16] Olivia Blatchford (USA) v Joey Chan (HKG)
[8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) (bye)
[7] Laura Massaro (ENG) (bye)
Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND) v [9/16] Nicol David (MAS)
[9/16] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v [WC] Li Dongjin (CHN)
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) (bye)
Article by SEAN REUTHE (PSA PR and Media Manager. Edited by ALAN THATCHER
Pictures courtesy of PSA