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Final

[1] Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3-0 [4] Nada Abbas  11-7, 11-9, 12-10 (32m)

Fayrouz Aboelkheir claimed the biggest title of her career so far, clinching the Carol Weymuller Open 2025 crown with a 3-0 win over fellow Egyptian Nada Abbas at The Heights Casino in Brooklyn, New York.

18-year-old Aboelkheir was a beaten finalist in this event 12 months ago, losing to Farida Mohamed, but she avenged that defeat by beating Mohamed 3-0 in the semi-finals this year, setting up this final showdown with fourth seed Abbas.

Abbas had got past the experienced Sarah-Jane Perry in the final four and was playing in her first World event final, with a packed crowd in the house to watch.

Aboelkheir, meanwhile, was the No.1 seed but if she was feeling any additional pressure because of it, she didn’t show it early on, winning the first three points of the match and controlling much of game one, taking it 11-7 when Abbas found the tin on a forehand kill.

Five minutes into game two it looked as though the 18-year-old might be heading for another comfortable game at 9-4 up, but Abbas – who herself had lost a 9-4 lead in game two of her semi-final win – reeled off the next five points to level the score, letting out a huge roar of emotion as she did so.

But she was ultimately unable to complete the turnaround, with Aboelkheir smashing a backhand winner off the serve return, before closing out the game on a stroke, a rally that ended with Abbas tumbling to the ground while trying to clear.

It then appeared as though the match may be all-but over at 5-0 to Aboelkheir in the third, but Abbas rallied get back to 10-8 before saving the two match balls, with the teenager perhaps understandably nervous with the winning line so close.

But with tension filling the venue, Aboelkheir found the perfect moment to hit a back-wall nick on a lob, drawing a wry smile from Abbas and handing the teenager another match ball.

And this time, she would not denied – albeit after a yes-let – hitting a backhand volley drop that the fourth seed was unable to return.

Victory secures Aboelkheir her fourth PSA Tour title and her first in a Bronze-level event, as well as adding her name to an illustrious list of players to have won this tournament over the years, including Nour ElSherbini, Nicol David and Michelle Martin.

“I’m just over the moon right now,” she said after collecting her trophy. “To win my biggest title so far and in my favourite club, the club where last year, I broke into the top 20 and also made my first final on the World Tour. It’s very special here for me and I’m very happy.

“Nada is definitely one of the best players on Tour so I’m very happy to get through today and win the title.

“I got very nervous after being 10-8 up [in the third]. I just visualised the big moment and didn’t take it easy on myself, that’s why I maybe zoomed out for two points, but then I just took it point-by-point and I think that’s what made it so much easier on my mind and on myself.”

Semis

[1] Fayrouz Aboelkheir3-0 [3] Farida Mohamed  11-5, 11-7, 8-2 ret. (21m)
[4] Nada Abbas3-1 [7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)  11-3, 10-12, 11-3, 11-6 (39m)

Egyptian duo Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Nada Abbas will contest the Carol Weymuller Open 2025 final, after beating Farida Mohamed and Sarah-Jane Perry respectively on semi-finals day at The Heights Casino in Brooklyn.

Aboelkheir was beaten by Mohamed in the final of this event 12 months ago, and had never recorded a Tour win over the 23-year-old, who had her sister Habiba in her coaching corner for today’s showdown.

Both players possess aggressive styles of play so there was always likely to be plenty of attacking intent, and so it proved in a lightning-fast game one, which saw both players going on the offensive early in the rallies, with very few exchanges lasting more than a few shots.

It was Aboelkheir who was playing the cleaner squash, though, and after taking a one-game lead after only five minutes, she quickly stormed into a 5-0 lead in the second. Mohamed clawed her way back to within three points at 10-7 but had left herself too much to do, falling 2-0 behind after 15 minutes of play. The defending champion had come from behind to win in five in each of the previous two rounds but there would be no repeat here, with errors continuing to plague her game in the third.

Aboelkheir, meanwhile, was playing some impressive squash and looked to be heading for victory at 8-2 up, only for Mohamed to shake hands and retire, ending the match in somewhat anti-climatic circumstances.

“The last two times [I played Mohamed] I was a bit immature, so this time I tried to be a bit more professional,” Aboelkheir admitted after her win.

“Coming into the game, I had no pressure on me. I am the No.1 seed but the head-to-head wins were all to her, so I’m really happy to be in another final here.

“It’s very hard to play at a very high pace all the time and Farida is definitely a very powerful player, one of the best on Tour, and it’s not easy. I tried to just play my game and always be on my toes.”

The No.1 seed’s reward for her win will be a showdown with fellow Egyptian and No.4 seed Nada Abbas, who beat England’s Sarah-Jane Perry 3-1 to reach her first World event final.

Perry had beaten No.2 seed Salma Hany 24 hours earlier and was targeting a first Bronze final since 2022, but made the worst possible start here, winning only three points in a one-sided opening game. She then found herself 8-4 down in the second, at which point she rolled her ankle in the front-left corner, losing the point to fall 9-4 behind and heading off court for a three-minute injury break.

But that break appeared to completely shift the momentum of the match, as Perry reeled off five points on the bounce upon her return, before saving a game ball at 10-9 down and taking the tiebreak 12-10, pumping her fist to the crowd as the players headed for their corners.

Abbas, though, regained her focus and took control of game three, winning eight points out of nine to move from 3-2 to 11-3, and was soon on the brink of victory, bringing up four match balls at 10-6 in the fourth. She only needed one, as Perry found the tin on a forehand drop, handing the 24-year-old a place in the biggest final of her career to date.

“I’ve been seeded in so many Bronze tournaments and I have never passed the quarter-finals, so this one is special,” Abbas said.

“This tournament has been very iconic. Many World No.1s have won this tournament before so to be playing at this level and playing the final is a big thing.

“At 9-4 [in the second], I started overthinking a little bit and she came back very strong and very smart, and I think I relaxed a little bit. After that second, I just tried to totally forget about it as if it hadn’t happened.”

Quarters

[3] Farida Mohamed 3-2 [5] Rachel Arnold (MAS)  5-11, 12-10, 15-17, 11-6, 11-8 (55m)
[1] Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3-0 [6] Melissa Alves (FRA)  11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (29m)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 3-1 [2] Salma Hany 5-11, 16-14, 11-7, 11-3 (45m)
[4] Nada Abbas  3-0 [8] Hollie Naughton (CAN)  11-3, 11-3, 11-9 (29m)

Round Two

[4] Nada Abbas 3-0 Nour Aboulmakarim  14-12, 11-6, 11-7 (36m)
[1] Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3-1 [9/16] Hana Moataz 11-3, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 (35m)
[5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-0 Hana Ramadan 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (26m)
[3] Farida Mohamed 3-2 [9/16] Ka Yi Lee (HKG)  11-4, 7-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3 (37m)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 3-1 Mariam Metwally  11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-2 (35m)
[2] Salma Hany 3-0 Nardine Garas  14-12, 11-9, 12-10 (42m)

Defending champion Farida Mohamed survived a scare on day two of the Carol Weymuller Open 2025, coming back from 2-1 down to beat Ka Yi Lee as the top eight seeds all progressed into the quarter-finals.

No.3 seed Mohamed had eased past Lee 3-0 in just 23 minutes when they met at the Open Squash Classic in October, but today was a different story altogether, as the players went head-to-head at The Heights Casino in Brooklyn.

After dominating game one, the Egyptian suddenly found herself behind after losing games two and three, with the unseeded Lee sensing a huge upset against a player ranked 27 places above her in the world. But Mohamed rediscovered her accuracy in the fourth, racing into a 5-1 lead before closing the game out 11-5.

The dominant nature of that fourth game perhaps took the wind out of Lee’s sails and certainly handed the momentum back to Mohamed, who cut a focused figure as she reeled off 10 of the first 11 points in the decider, seeing the first two match balls saved before wrapping up proceedings on the third.

Mohamed’s win keeps her on course for a semi-final showdown with top seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir, in what would be a rematch of last year’s final.

Aboelkheir was unseeded as she finished as runner-up here 12 months ago, but has all the pressure of being the No.1 seed this time around. She showed little sign of that pressure early on in her round-two match against Hana Moataz, though, needing less than five minutes to take a one-game lead.

She then took the second 11-8 but was pegged back in the third, letting a 7-4 lead slip as Moataz won seven of the next eight points to send the match into a fourth. But forcing a deciding fifth would prove to be a step too far for the 24-year-old, as Aboelkheir took back control of the rallies, closing out the game 11-6 to set up a quarter-final showdown with France’s Melissa Alves.

Round One

[9/16] Hana Moataz  3-0 [WC] Min Jie Teh (MAS)  11-5, 13-11, 11-4 (24m)
[9/16] Hana Ramadan 3-1 Nour Heikal  11-7, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8 (40m)
[9/16] Nour Aboulmakarim 3-1 Marie Stéphan (FRA) 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 12-10 (52m)
[9/16] Mariam Metwally 3-0 Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) 11-7, 10-12, 8-11, 11-5, 15-13 (63m)
Nardine Garas 3-0 [9/16] Katie Malliff (ENG)  11-2, 11-9, 12-10 (30m)

The 26th Carol Weymuller Open gets underway tomorrow as 24 players head across New York to the Heights Casino Club in Brooklyn for the PSA Squash Tour Bronze level event.

The event has been a regular tournament on the PSA calendar with players always speaking highly of it’s amazing atmosphere and warm feel. The top four seeds all hail from Egypt with both last year’s finalists Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Farida Mohamed featuring once again.

Salma Hany has been suffering with injuries of late but returns as the No.2 seed this week. Nada Abbas completes the top four seedings and will be looking to get the better of her compatriots to score a second win since 2021.