Eighteen-year-old world No. 3 Amina Orfi took out eight-time world champion Nour El Sherbini for their second straight match up, while past men’s champions Paul Coll and Mostafa Asal are set to clash following the 2025 Comcast Business U.S. Open Squash Championships semifinals Friday, October 24, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
A first-time U.S. Open women’s champion is guaranteed after world No. 2 Hania El Hammamy ended Olivia Weaver’s home title hopes and Orfi recorded a statement victory over one of the greatest players of all time.
El Hammamy and Weaver opened up the evening’s proceedings with the Egyptian furthering her claim for the world No. 1 ranking with a commanding performance against the U.S. No. 1. After taking the first two games 11-7, 11-6, the El Hammamy came back from 6-9 down in the third game to silence the boisterous home crowd 11-9 in forty-six minutes.
El Hammamy will make her third U.S. Open final appearance against Orfi, who became the youngest player to ever reach world No. 3 at eighteen years old.
Orfi entered her fourth career match up against El Sherbini having won their most recent encounter in April’s El Gouna Open–a five-game 101-minute affair. The first two games were evenly split and both decided in extra time with Orfi winning the opener 13-11 and El Sherbini notching the second 12-10.
With the match locked in at one game apiece, it was Orfi who grabbed hold of the initiative, pinning El Sherbini deep into the back two corners with her relentless line hitting. Despite ‘The Warrior Princess’ battling back from 8-2 down in the fourth to draw level at 9-9, Orfi regained her composure in impressive fashion to book her spot in her first U.S. Open final.
“I know she is able to get points really quickly, it is something she is known for, so I had to focus on my game and go back to what I was doing in both the second and fourth games,” Orfi said. “You can’t ignore the fact that she is an eight-time World Champion, but coming into this match, I know that even though I’m third in the rankings and above her, when you’re playing her, it still feels like you’re playing the world No. 1.”
In the men’s event, top seeds Mostafa Asal and Paul Coll continued their blemish-free U.S. Open campaigns as the pair powered into the men’s final after respective three-game victories over Egyptian duo Youssef Ibrahim and Karim Gawad.
World No.1 Asal, who in 2021 became the youngest-ever U.S. Open Champion at the age of just 20, produced a dominant performance to see off the dangerous No.8 seed Ibrahim by an 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 scoreline.
It was Asal’s accurate length hitting into the back two corners that proved crucial to his success, with ‘The Raging Bull’ negating Ibrahim’s renowned attacking prowess in the mid-court and subsequently moving through to the 37th PSA Tour final of his career.
“It means a lot to me, this was the first Platinum event I ever won in my life, so it’s unique and I’m really happy to be back,” Asal said after the match.
“Youssef is an absolute fighter; he gave more than 100%. I know that feeling when a shoulder pops out, and to continue to play and entertain everyone is amazing. It is just one match a time, I have a great team behind me and great people on my side. I am really happy we are putting the tactics together.”
Coll, meanwhile, dispatched an under-par Gawad to the loss of just four points, with the Egyptian No.4 seed feeling the aftereffects of his five-game quarter-final victory over Mohamad Zakaria.
Gawad struggled to match the intensity and accuracy of a faultless Coll throughout their 25 minutes on court, with the Kiwi breezing through to the final by an 11-2, 11-1, 11-1 scoreline.
Watch the finals live on Peacock from 6pm ET.