Final
[1] Farida Mohamed 3-0 Ka Yi Lee (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 (23m)
Top seed Farida Mohamed claimed victory as she defeated Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee to earn her second World Tour title of her career. Lee came into the match after upset wins over No.7 seed Nadine Shahin, No.2 seed Nada Abbas and No.3 seed Hollie Naughton, while Mohamed had yet to drop a game in the tournament.
The opening game saw Mohamed continue the dominant form she has shown throughout the tournament, but cracks were visible, with most of Lee’s early points coming from Mohamed errors. The Hong Kong player grew into the match, but it was too late to impact the scoreline.
Game two saw Lee playing the way she had been in her earlier matches, without pressure and free to go for the shots that have proved so effective throughout her tournament run. The top seed soon fought back however, bringing the score to 5-5 before pushing on confidently to win 11-6 and go within a game of the title.
Lee looked sharp as she used all her effort to take an 8-5 lead, but it wasn’t enough as Mohamed kept consistent, conceding just one point from there to win the game 11-9 and claim the 2024 Open Squash Classic title without dropping a single game.
“It’s such a relief honestly,” said Mohamed after the match. “Coming into the tournament seeded one. Sometimes it’s a little more pressure, but playing at Open Squash made it much easier on me. It’s like a family here, I used to train here whenever I was in New York so it feels like my home club so it definitely removed a lot of pressure from the game today, but I’m so happy with my performance throughout the whole week.
“I’ve never played [Lee] before, and it was very very stressful knowing that she had made two upsets, especially beating the No.2 seed Nada [Abbas]. I went into the match very ready, and I was ready from the very beginning which I think was one of the reasons I played very well throughout the whole game.
“I think I had a good plan, and I was focused the whole time, so I’m very happy with my performance.”
Semis
[1] Farida Mohamed 3-0. [6] Katie Malliff (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 (27m)
Quarters
[3] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 3-0 Mohamed Zakaria 11-8, 11-7, 16-14 (75m)
[1] Farida Mohamed 3-0 [8] Kenzy Ayman 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 (25m)
[3] Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-2 [5] Mariam Metwally 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8 (50m)
[9/16] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) 3-1 [2] Nada Abbas 11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-8 (37m)
Round Two
[1] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-2 [9/16] Mohamed Abouelghar 9-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7 (57m)
[7] Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0 Ibrahim Elkabbani 11-6, 12-10, 11-1 (29m)
[4] Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-1 [9/16] Yahya Elnawasany 11-5, 11-7, 1-11, 13-11 (59m)
Mohamed Zakaria 3-0 [6] Grégoire Marche (FRA) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (53m)
[9/16] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) [8] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 (51m)
[2] Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-0 Aly Hussein 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (38m)
[1] Farida Mohamed3-0[9/16] Emilia Soini (FIN) 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 (21m)
[8] Kenzy Ayman3-0 Haya Ali 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (19m)
[5] Mariam Metwally 3-0 Ainaa Amani (MAS) 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (33m)
[9/16] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) 3-1 [7] Nadine Shahin 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (32m)
[2] Nada Abbas3-1 [9/16] Alicia Mead (ENG) 12-10, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6 (40m)
Round One
[9/16] Mohamed Abouelghar 3-0 Peter Creed (WAL) 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 (24m)
Ibrahim Elkabbani 3-1 [9/16] Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4 (60m)
[9/16] Yahya Elnawasany 3-2 Jonah Bryant (ENG) 7-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 (54m)
Mohamed Zakaria v [9/16] Leung Chi Hin Henry (HKG)
Aly Hussein 3-0 [9/16] Andrew Douglas (USA) 11-5, 13-11, 11-4 (31m)Haya Ali 3-0 [9/16] Marie Stéphan (FRA) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 (24m)
The Open Squash Classic 2024 gets underway tomorrow, with 48 players descending upon New York in a bid to capture the respective Bronze-level titles.
The event, which takes place between October 6-10, will be held at Open Squash FiDi.
In the women’s draw, top seed Farida Mohamed will be attempting to pick up her fourth title of the 2024 calendar year, with her previous three having all come on American soil. The 22-year-old, who resides in New York, opens her account against one of Ineta Hopton or Emilia Soini, whilst sitting in the same half of the draw as No.4 seed Rachel Arnold.
