Egyptian teenager Fayrouz Aboelkheir had been quietly going about her business and rising up the rankings, but her performance in the Paris Squash 2024 seemed to be a turning point for the Egyptian and was a true announcement of her arrival to the world’s top players.
The 18-year-old faced England’s World No.6 Georgina Kennedy in the last 16, with a place in a Platinum quarter-final awaiting the winner. Aboelkheir raced out of the blocks and showcased her incredible skill to take a 2-0 lead.
Despite Kennedy battling back to level at 2-2, Aboelkheir looked fresh as a daisy despite the first four games all going to tiebreaks, and she won 11-6 to score an upset.
She returned two days later to face Hania El Hammamy and incredibly took a 2-1 lead, before losing 11-9, 11-8 in the final two games. Coming that close to a win over one of the ‘top three’ will only give more motivation to the teenager for 2025.
