Total purse of $500,000 split between men and women in Chicago next month
By SEAN REUTHE
The 2018 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family and EquiTrust Life Insurance Company will become the most lucrative PSA World Series tournament ever next month when $500k of prize money will be split equally across both the men’s and women’s draws between February 22-28.
Held at the University Club of Chicago’s iconic and intimate Cathedral Hall, the Windy City Open became the second World Series tournament to offer parity in prize money between male and female players back in 2015 and will offer a $200k increase in prize money compared to last year.
World Champions Mohamed ElShorbagy and Raneem El Welily feature in a world-class draw that will contain 64 players, representing upwards of 15 different countries, while World No.1s Gregory Gaultier and Nour El Sherbini will also be in action.
El Welily claimed an unprecedented third successive Windy City Open crown last March with victory over El Sherbini in the final, while France’s Gaultier collected his second title at the tournament after overcoming World Championship runner-up Marwan ElShorbagy.
Also competing at the tournament will be 37-year-old Englishman Nick Matthew, who will make his last ever appearance at the tournament. The Yorkshireman made history in 2015 when he took the title to become the oldest ever winner of a PSA World Series tournament.
The tournament wildcards will be made up of men’s World No.68 Chris Hanson and women’s World No.208 Sabrina Sobhy.
New-York born Hanson is in line to make his fourth appearance at the tournament, while Harvard Junior Sobhy – the younger sister of former World No.6 Amanda – makes her first PSA World Tour appearance since 2016.
“Becoming the most lucrative World Series tournament ever is a huge honour and is indicative of the Windy City Open’s status as one of squash’s premier events,” said Tournament Promoter John Flanigan.
“We would like to thank our title sponsors – the Walter Family and the EquiTrust Life Insurance Company – for their support and look forward to welcoming the world’s greatest players back to the University Club of Chicago once again.”
In addition to the record prize money, players will also be competing for points on the PSA World Series Standings as they aim to secure a top eight berth, which would guarantee them a spot at June’s PSA World Series Finals.
Qualifying for the tournament takes place between February 20-21, while the main draw will be staged between February 22-28.
Action from the glass court matches will be streamed live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only), with matches from the semi-finals and finals also being shown live on mainstream broadcasters around the world, such as BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
Tickets start from $25. For all the latest news on the Windy City Open, go to www.windycityopen.com
2018 Men’s Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family and EquiTrust Life Insurance Company:
Men’s Entry List:
1) Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
2) Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
3) Ali Farag (EGY)
4) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
5) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
6) Nick Matthew (EGY)
7) Tarek Momen (EGY)
8) Simon Rösner (GER)
9) Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
10) Diego Elias (PER)
11) Paul Coll (NZL)
12) James Willstrop (ENG)
13) Ramy Ashour (EGY)
14) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
15) Saurav Ghosal (IND)
16) Daryl Selby (ENG)
17) Borja Golan (ESP)
18) Cameron Pilley (ENG)
19) Omar Mosaad (EGY)
20) Cesar Salazar (EGY)
21) Leo Au (HKG)
22) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
23) Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
Wild card: Chris Hanson (USA)
Women’s Entry List:
1) Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
2) Raneem El Welily (EGY)
3) Camille Serme (FRA)
4) Laura Massaro (ENG)
5) Nouran Gohar (EGY)
6) Nicol David (MAS)
7) Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
8) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
9) Joelle King (NZL)
10) Alison Waters (ENG)
11) Annie Au (HKG)
12) Amanda Sobhy (USA)
13) Tesni Evans (WAL)
14) Olivia Blatchford (USA)
15) Joshna Chinappa (IND)
16) Emily Whitlock (ENG)
17) Victoria Lust (ENG)
18) Donna Urquhart (AUS)
19) Salma Hany (EGY)
20) Joey Chan (HKG)
21) Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)
22) Fiona Moverley (ENG)
23) Mariam Metwally (EGY)
Wild card: Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
Pictures courtesy of PSA