Unseeded duo Marina Stefanoni and Curtis Malik claimed standout wins on the opening day of the US Open, with the pair defeating Georgia Adderley and Mohamed ElShorbagy in five games, respectively, in Philadelphia.
Home favourite Stefanoni staged a dramatic comeback to round out the day’s action, battling back from 2-0 down to defeat Scottish No.1 Adderley by an 8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 scoreline and secure a second-round meeting with top seed Nour ElSherbini.
The World No.24 will be joined by fellow American hopefuls Olivia Weaver, Amanda Sobhy, Sabrina Sobhy and Timothy Brownell in the second round of the Platinum-level event.
After the match, 22-year-old Stefanoni said: “I feel great. I was down 2-0 pretty quickly, and it was one of those moments where I wasn’t really sure what was happening.
“I told my team beforehand that I would need a lot of vocal support. I haven’t been feeling great the past few days, so I just needed something extra from off the court. They did great, they supported me really loudly, and I had almost all the important people in my life there. I probably couldn’t have done it without them.”
WHAT A COMEBACK 🤩
Home favourite Marina Stefanoni fights back to claim a well deserved spot in RD2 of the Comcast Business @USOpenSquash 💥#USOpenSquash pic.twitter.com/fnE6Rw5OCX
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 20, 2025
Meanwhile, World No.26 Malik scored arguably the biggest win of his career to date after stunning three-time U.S. Open Champion ElShorbagy.
England’s Malik, who last week claimed the first top-ten of his career over Youssef Soliman at the Silicon Valley Open, continued his recent form to defeat No.5 seed ElShorbagy by a 5-11, 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-2 scoreline.
Malik, who has previously referred to ElShorbagy as a childhood idol of his, held off everything the former World No.1 had in his armoury to secure a second-round meeting with Swiss No.1 Dimitri Steinmann.
After the match, Malik said: “I’m massively pleased and proud of myself. I know that Mo hasn’t been in his best form over the last couple of events that he has been in previously. But for me to play him, I grew up watching him, and to even be on the court with him when growing up was a dream come true. So, to beat him is amazing.Â
“The respect I have for Mo is unmatched. He’s been so helpful to me over the last few years with England. So much advice that I wouldn’t have learned or known if it weren’t for him. Just being around him, having conversations with him, I can’t thank him enough for what he has done.”
Elsewhere, Amanda and Sabrina Sobhy set up a sibling showdown after the sisters claimed respective wins over France’s Melissa Alves and Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee.
Tournament Wildcard Sabrina, who missed the majority of the 24/25 season with a serious wrist injury, needed to draw upon her wealth of experience to come through a back-and-forth five-game duel with World No.37 Lee, prevailing by an 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 scoreline.
Tuesday’s second-round match between the Sobhy sisters will be their first PSA Tour meeting since March 2023 and third in total.
Elsewhere, World No.3 Amina Orfi survived an early scare as she battled from behind to defeat Belgium’s Nele Gilis in an enthralling 87-minute five-game duel, while top seeds Nour ElSherbini and Mostafa Asal made seamless progress after defeating Nour Aboulmakarim and Nicolas Mueller, respectively.
Results – Men’s Round One: Comcast Business U.S. Open 2025
[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
Timothy Brownell (USA) bt [WC] Alexander Dartnell (USA) 3-0: 13-11, 11-3, 11-2 (33m)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 (47m)
Curtis Malik (ENG) bt [5] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-2: 5-11, 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-2 (62m)
[8] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Kareem El Torkey (EGY) 3-2: 11-6, 4-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7 (66m)
Juan Vargas (COL) bt [WC] Salim Khan (USA) 3-1: 11-8, 11-13, 11-5, 11-4 (55m)
Abhay Singh (IND) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-2: 11-8, 4-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-5 (62m)
[3] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-0: 11-7, 11-1, 11-6 (43m)
[4] Karim Gawad (EGY) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-1: 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 (54m)
Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-2: 7-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-1 (50m)
Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) bt Iker Pajares (ESP) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-1 (29m)
[6] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (40m)
[7] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-4 (30m)
Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 3-1: 11-6, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8 (50m)
Jonah Bryant (ENG) bt Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 12-10 (25m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 (42m)
Results – Women’s Round One: Comcast Business U.S. Open 2025
[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-8 (24m)
Lucy Beecroft (ENG) bt Mariam Metwally (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (43m)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Hana Ramadan (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 14-12, 12-10 (33m)
[5] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (30m)
[7] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt Kenzy Ayman (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-9 (21m)
Sana Ibrahim (EGY) bt Malak Khafagy (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 (44m)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (29m)
[3] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt Farida Mohamed (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-2 (27m)
[4] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-2: 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4 (87m)
Hana Moataz (EGY) bt Tesni Murphy (WAL) 3-2: 7-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (50m)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt [WC] Lucie Stefanoni (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 (25m)
[6] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Tomato Ho (HKG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (25m)
[8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Melissa Alves (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-1 (30m)
[WC] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt Ka Yi Lee (HKG) 3-2: 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 (44m)
Marina Stefanoni (USA) bt Georgia Adderley (SCO) 3-2: 8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 (65m)
[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) bt Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-3 (24m)
Draw – Men’s Round Two (Top Half): To Be Played October 20th
[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) v Timothy Brownell (USA)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) v Curtis Malik (ENG)
[8] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) v Juan Vargas (COL)
Abhay Singh (IND) v [3] Joel Makin (WAL)
Draw – Men’s Round Two (Bottom Half): To Be Played October 21st
[4] Karim Gawad (EGY) v Fares Dessouky (EGY)
Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) v [6] Youssef Soliman (EGY)
[7] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) v Baptiste Masotti (FRA)
Jonah Bryant (ENG) v [2] Paul Coll (NZL)
Draw – Women’s Round Two (Top Half): To Be Played October 20th
[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v Lucy Beecroft (ENG)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v [5] Satomi Watanabe (JPN)
[7] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) v Sana Ibrahim (EGY)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) v [3] Olivia Weaver (USA)
Draw – Women’s Round Two (Bottom Half): To Be Played October 21st
[4] Amina Orfi (EGY) v Hana Moataz (EGY)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v [6] Tinne Gilis (BEL)
[8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [WC] Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
Marina Stefanoni (USA) v [1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY)