World No.14 Nada Abbas produced a magnificent comeback from two games down at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness earlier today as she sent World No.5 Amina Orfi out of this year’s PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family in Chicago.
Title contender Orfi had beaten Abbas in both of their previous encounters on the PSA Squash Tour, but an incredible fightback from Abbas saw her complete an 3-11, 11-13, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 victory to reach the last eight of the PSA World Championships for the first time since 2022.
Abbas will now go up against World No.3 Hania El Hammamy in the last eight after El Hammamy stormed past Belgium’s Nele Gilis-Coll in straight games.
“I’m over the moon,” said Abbas afterwards
“She’s a great player and I’ve seen her grow up at the same club as me. She’s very dedicated, she’s a hard worker and she’s already reached World No.5. It’s big for me to come through and win this one.
“After the first game she was totally controlling it. At 7-3 up in the second, I found a way to get into the match. I lost the game, but it made me believe I could push her more and maybe win the match. I’ve made some changes in the last couple of months with [Ahmed Effat]. I’m glad he’s with me today, we’ve tried to add more shots and I’m trying to stay in the rallies more.”
Meanwhile, World No.11 Satomi Watanabe has become the first Japanese player in history to reach the quarter-finals after she dispatched Gilis-Coll’s younger sister, Tinne. Watanabe will play defending champion Nouran Gohar in the next round.
In the men’s event, World No.11 Youssef Soliman scored the only upset of the day after he overcame 2017 World Championship runner-up Marwan ElShorbagy in four games, earning a spot in his maiden World Championship quarter-final.
Soliman had endured a six-match losing run against the Englishman and hadn’t beaten him since 2020. However, he recovered from a game down and wore ElShorbagy out physically to record an 5-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-0 win.
“It was very tough mentally, he beat me six times,” said Soliman.
“In the first game he was up for it, but I stayed calm. The third was very crucial, but I stayed composed and I’m hoping he is ok. I’m definitely very happy with my performance.
“He congratulated me and I asked if he was okay, but he said he was alright. He said a few nice words. I’m hoping to be less physical in the future because I’m relying on it so much. Against Marwan I need to use my physicality, against some players I’m not able to. I’m glad I kept the rallies going, I did my best to make it physical and I think it paid off in the last game.”
Soliman will play reigning champion Diego Elias next, while four-time World Champion Ali Farag is through after his third round opponent – Leonel Cardenas – was withdrawn due to concussion. 2019 World Champion Tarek Momen overcame England’s Jonah Bryant to set up a last eight meeting with Farag.
Results – Men’s Third Round (Top Half): 2024-25 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Leonel Cardenas (MEX) w/o
[5] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Jonah Bryant (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 (46m)
[9] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt [8] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) 3-1: 5-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-0 (55m)
[3] Diego Elias (PER) bt [12] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-0, 11-7 (35m)
Draw – Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half): To Be Played May 13th
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) v Victor Crouin (FRA)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) v [7] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG)
[6] Karim Gawad (EGY) v Aly Abou Leinen (EGY)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v [2] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
Draw – Men’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half): To Be Played May 14th
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [5] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) v [3] Diego Elias (PER)
Results – Women’s Third Round (Top Half): 2024-25 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [13] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) 3-1: 12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 (50m)
[11] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt [6] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-2: 11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8 (46m)
[14] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [5] Amina Orfi (EGY) 3-2: 3-11, 11-13, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (69m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [10] Nele Gilis-Coll (BEL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (34m)
Draw – Women’s Third Round (Bottom Half): To Be Played May 13th
[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) v Salma Hany (EGY)
Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [7] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
[8] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) v Rowan Elaraby (EGY)
Farida Mohamed (EGY) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Draw – Women’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half): To Be Played May 14th
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v Satomi Watanabe (JPN)
Nada Abbas (EGY) v [3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)