Paul Coll and Amina Orfi were crowned New Zealand Open champions after the Kiwi overcame Marwan ElShorbagy and the Egyptian beat Satomi Watanabe in front of a sell-out 1,160 fans in Christchurch’s Isaac Theatre Royal – a record-breaking crowd for squash in New Zealand.
In the men’s final, No.2 seed ElShorbagy went into the match with revenge on his mind after losing out to Coll in the final of the last edition of the New Zealand Open, in Tauranga in December 2023.
Top seed Coll quickly set the tone, though, with a morale-sapping start to the match as the 32-year-old – who in 2022 became the first ever Kiwi squash player to reach World No.1 – tore into ElShorbagy, giving himself a perfect platform with an 11-5 win.
ElShorbagy found the perfect response in game two, with the Englishman looking fired up and at his explosive attacking best as he hit back 11-8 to set nerves fluttering inside the Isaac Theatre Royal.
Game three was a brutal affair for both men, with Coll and ElShorbagy putting a number of lengthy rallies into each other’s legs.
Unfortunately for ElShorbagy, such games are Coll’s bread and butter, and the Kiwi’s impeccable fitness was on full display as he moved away from 5-5 to regain his lead with an 11-6 win.
ElShorbagy appeared to be feeling the effects of game three at the beginning of the fourth, as Coll – a local hero in Christchurch after studying and playing his junior squash here – stormed into a 5-1 lead.
The Englishman desperately tried to go on the attack to rattle off quick points, but Coll was equal to everything he threw at him and roared on by 1,160 fans – a record squash attendance in New Zealand – ‘Superman’ powered home with an 11-3 victory.
“It’s been an unreal week,” Coll said. “It’s in my hometown and I had so many family and friends here, some people that have really helped me out over my whole career.
“To play such a big event here, to have 1,200 people turn out today, to have some close friends court side, have family three rows back, was pretty unreal. I’m so filled with emotion.”
In the women’s final, 17-year-old Amina Orfi exorcised her demons with a thorough dismantling of Satomi Watanabe.
Two months ago, Watanabe broke Orfi’s heart in the semi-finals of Squash in the Land in Cleveland with a 77-minute long five-game epic victory that was decided by a tie break in game five.
Today’s match was another affair entirely, with the young Egyptian dominating early proceedings to take the first game 11-5.
Watanabe hit her lengths better in game two, recovering from 0-4 down to take an 8-6 lead. Orfi, though, is one of the Tour’s coolest customers, and the Egyptian was completely unfazed as she calmly went about her business to chalk off Watanabe’s lead and then take a 2-0 lead with an 11-8 win.
Flowing with confidence, Orfi never let her energy or commitment drop, and she took a huge lead at 9-4 in the third game.
Watanabe took the next point to briefly threaten a comeback, but was no match for Orfi’s unnerving accuracy, and the teenager won her third title of the season with an 11-5 victory.
“To be honest, I still can’t believe it,” Orfi admitted afterwards.
“I thought about [the defeat in Squash in the Land] coming into this tournament, even when I was back home. But I just tried to forget it because it was a tough match and it could have gone either way, so I just made sure I didn’t really focus on that today.”
Result: 2025 New Zealand Open Women’s Final
[2] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
Result: 2025 New Zealand Open Men’s Final
[1] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [2] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) 3-1: 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3 (59m)