Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim and Fayrouz Abouelkheir will make their debuts in the Comcast Business U.S. Open Squash Championships quarterfinals after second round wins Monday night, October 21, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.

Monday night saw the top half of the second round play out on both glass courts as more than 400 spectators packed into the Specter Center.

The eight second round matches saw all six seeded players advance in three games, including Team USA’s Olivia Weaver who recorded a decisive win over England’s Katie Malliff to the enjoyment of a group from her high school alma mater, Germantown Friends School.

Weaver will make her third career U.S. Open quarterfinal appearance on Wednesday night against the eighteen-year-old Abouelkheir. The Egyptian world No. 13 upset England’s world No. 6 Georgina Kennedy in the first round, and on Monday defeated England’s world No. 17 Sarah-Jane Perry for the third time in 2024, 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-8 in forty-four minutes.

Like Abouelkheir, Ibrahim upset the world No. 6 in the first round and in the final match of the day dispatch compatriot Youssef Soliman for the first time in his career to set up a quarterfinal against world No. 1 Ali Farag.

Tuesday will see the completion of the second round with matches starting at 5pm ET.

Tickets are available on usopensquash.com/tickets. Watch live coverage on squash.tv.

More than 100 squash fans jumped on court before watching the first round of the Comcast Business U.S. Open Squash Championships Saturday, October 19, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.

The squash fans played in round robins, skill level clinics and open play at the Specter Center while the world’s best squash players prepared to take to the courts that evening.

Thank you to all attendees and supporters!

 

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Former Penn star and world No. 15 Aly Abou Eleinen reached the Comcast Business U.S. Open Squash Championships round of sixteen for a second consecutive year with a win over Harvard graduate Timmy Brownell, while Egypt produced nine of sixteen victors Sunday, October 20, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.

Brownell and Eleinen, who first faced each other in the 2019 College Squash Individual Championships, met for just the second time on the PSA Squash Tour and first time in a PSA Platinum event. It was the American who took the opening game 12-10, but Eleinen earned the momentum for the rest of the match, advancing 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 in fifty-nine minutes.

“That’s a big win for me, Timmy is never an easy player to come up against, especially on this court,” Eleinen said. He’s probably the person who trains on this court the most, he probably knows every inch of this court, so it was really tough today. The court was really dead today and I found it tough to find my length, even until the end. I just kept digging deep and fighting.”

Eleinen is one of three College Squash graduates left in the draw alongside world Harvard’s No. 1 Ali Farag and Princeton’s world No. 4 Olivia Weaver.

“It’s so nice playing here,” Eleinen said. “Seeing familiar faces and walking around in Philadelphia, it feels like my second home. I have got my family and friends here, so hopefully I can keep going.”

Eleinen was one of nine victorious Egyptians on the day, including his second round opponent 2022 finalist Tarek Momen.

On the women’s draw, Egypt’s Hana Ramadan and Malak Khafagy are both set for their debuts in the U.S. Open second round.

Team USA’s representation in the tournament waned on Sunday with four Americans exiting the tournament. Top-ten-ranked Belgian sisters Nele Coll and Tinne Gilis defeated Americans Amanda Sobhy and Marina Stefanoni, respectively, and wild card Lucie Stefanoni fell short against Scotland’s Georgia Adderly in four games.

Tickets are available on usopensquash.com/tickets. Watch live coverage on squash.tv.

MSquash founder and teaching professional Katline Cauwels was recognized as the US Squash nominee for the 2024 USOPC Coach of the Year Award during a special presentation at the Comcast Business U.S. Open Squash Championships Saturday, October 19.

Since 1998, the USOPC National Coach of the Year nominee has honored the best coaches at the highest levels of the game.

Cauwels, a junior national champion in her native Belgium and former world No. 40 professionally, moved to the US in 2014 with her husband Shaun Moxham and children, Maddox and Savannah. Shortly after moving to the U.S. Cauwels and Moxham opened their first High Performance Academy MSquash in Port Chester, New York in 2018. Cauwels and Moxham developed MSquash into one of the leading squash programs in the country, producing numerous national champions and nationally-ranked players. Building on the program’s success, MSquash opened a second campus in South Norwalk, Connecticut in 2021.

“It’s special to receive this award,” Cauwels said. “It’s obviously for me my name is on there, but no athlete at MSquash has been coached by one coach, but rather ten coaches and a full team behind everyone. There are physical therapists and strength and conditioning coaches and eight squash coaches. This is not an award just for me, it’s for the entire MSquash team.”

Before receiving the award, Cauwels kicks off the 2024 U.S. Open Squash Championships with the ceremonial first hit.

Interview courtesy of PSA.

The Comcast Business U.S Open Championships begin this weekend with best players in the world descending on the Arlen Specter US Squash Center to compete for the Platinum event titles.

The home favorite in the men’s event is World No. 30 Timothy Brownell. The 27-year-old lives in Philadelphia and trains at the Specter Center, so is in the best possible position to make his home advantage count. Brownell won his first match of the season at the recent Silicon Valley Open and will be determined to build on that this week.

The Harvard graduate has expressed his excitement for the U.S. Open to get underway and can’t wait to be competing in front of many friends and family on home soil.

“I’m super excited to be playing in front of a home crowd in Philly,” Brownell said. “It doesn’t get any easier than waking up in your own bed and playing on the courts you practice on every day. It makes a huge difference playing in front of a home crowd. It’s easy to play up to a great crowd and feed off their energy. It’s always rowdy when Americans step on court at the U.S. Open so I can’t wait to play some mega rallies and enjoy the atmosphere.”

Brownell recorded his best finish in a major event at the end of last season where he reached the quarterfinals of the prestigious British Open. The American knows that every win on the PSA Squash Tour is treasured and not to be taken for granted but that run in particular was a massive confidence booster.

“It certainly was a boosted my confidence, as I’ve said before people don’t realize how tough it is to win on tour. Making steady improvements doesn’t always translate to immediate wins, so getting through a few rounds in a major event was a great way to show myself and the team around me that the system is working. I’ve been on the flip side of some losing streaks before and believe me, I’ll never take a win for granted!”

Brownell hit a career milestone last season, becoming the highest-ranked American man, a position that he has held ever since. The national champion isn’t placing too much importance on the accolade and admits that he has his eyes on bigger goals.

“The important thing for me is showing up everyday and putting in the work to get better and get closer to my potential. A big target for me this year is to perform well at the World Team Championships in December, and when those jerseys come on nobody will care who’s ranked what. I’m at my best when I can crack a smile and can play freely, and I don’t plan on changing that.”

The 2024 Comcast Business U.S. Open Squash Championships are just one week away! The world’s top squash players descend on the Arlen Specter US Squash Center to compete for the prestigious PSA Platinum titles, October 19-26, in Philadelphia.

Celebrate opening day of the tournament by jumping on court during the the U.S. Open House Saturday, October 19, from 2-5pm. Experienced squash fans and new fans interested learning the sport will be able to play in round robins, skill level clinics and kids games. Meet your favorite pro and get their autograph before they compete in the U.S. Open first round. All U.S. Open House attendees receive free GA tickets to Saturday’s matches. Register for the U.S. Open House here.

Compete in the U.S. Skill Level Championships, October 26-27, and receive 50% off GA tickets to the U.S. Open Semifinals and Finals. Entries close Wednesday, October 16.

Tickets for all sessions are still available. Contact [email protected] for group ticket options and special packages. View usopensquash.com/draws for all match info.

Be a part of squash history as Latasha Khan and Julian Illingworth are inducted into the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame during a special luncheon on U.S. Open finals day Saturday, October 26.