The U.S. Skill Level Championships will be held alongside finals weekend of the 2023 U.S. Open presented by Truist, October 14-15, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
The Skill Level Championships offer draws ranging from 2.5 up to 6.5. All draws will be capped at sixteen players and entries will be accepted on a first-come first-serve basis.
All players participating in the US Skill Level Championships will be eligible for a 50% discounton general admission tickets for matches on Friday October 13 and Saturday October 14–semifinal and final matches of the U.S. Open.
World No. 1’s Nouran Gohar and Ali Farag and a record fourteen Americans will lead the 2023 U.S. Open presented by Truist field, October 7-14, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center on the campus of Drexel University in Philadelphia.
The 2023 U.S. Open will feature the world’s top ten women–including Team USA’s Amanda Sobhy and Olivia Fiechter–and eight of the world’s top ten men.
2023 marks the tournament’s fiftieth edition since the inaugural U.S. Open in 1954, and tenth offering prize money parity across the men’s and women’s PSA Platinum draws.
Gohar will aim to make U.S. Open history as the top seed and defending champion by becoming the first four-time women’s champion, will need to overcome fierce competition from seven-time world champion Nour El Sherbini, 2017 champion Nour El Tayeb and Team USA’s four top-twenty ranked women.
Farag will bid to become the seventh three-time men’s champion after falling short in the 2022 final, while Peru’s Diego Elias begins his title defense as the two seed. Three-time champion and world No. 3 Mohamed ElShorbagy will have the chance to become just the second four-time champion alongside Peter Nicol.
World No. 5 Amanda Sobhy, world No. 9 Olivia Fiechter, world No. 14 Olivia Blatchford Clyne and world No. 16 Sabrina Sobhy lead a record-setting group of fourteen Americans, marking the largest U.S. delegation in the softball era.
World No. 37 Shahjahan Khan, Philadelphia native and world No. 44 Todd Harrity and world No. 50 Timmy Brownell lead the seven Americans in the men’s draw.
U.S. juniors Madison Ho and Zane Patel will make their U.S. Open debuts as wild cards after representing Team USA at the World Junior Championships this summer.
Draws and match times will be released on Friday, September 8.
Tickets for the 2023 U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist are available now on usopensquash.com/tickets as the world’s best players prepare to return to the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, October 7-14, in the heart of Philadelphia on the campus of Drexel University.
The PSA World Tour Platinum event will feature eight days of world class squash with the prestigious U.S. Open titles and equal prize purses on offer. General Admission and reserved Backwall Premium seats offer access to all matches each day.
Create a one-of-a-kind experience by hosting a group at the 2023 U.S. Open! Packages include reserved space immediately adjacent to the on-court action and can add-on food & beverage options.
The U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist will celebrate the tournament’s fiftieth staging when the world’s best squash players descend on Philadelphia this fall, October 7-14, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center on the campus of Drexel University.
Mark your calendars now to witness one of the world’s most prestigious tournaments.
The twenty-first annual World Squash Day was celebrated in style in the U.S.
The heart of the celebration was at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center. It was there that the finals of the 2022 U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist were held, with Nouran Gohar of Egypt and Diego Elias of Peru capturing the titles in the forty-ninth edition of the American national open championship in front of a sell-out crowd. In addition, the 2022 U.S. Skills Levels Championship were in full swing.
US Squash-accredited tournaments across the country celebrated World Squash Day: Philadelphia, Detroit, Houston, New York, Santa Clara, Baltimore, Greenwich, Richmond, Cleveland and Boston all hosted events. In total, 1,419 matches were played on World Squash Day in the U.S.
US Squash also promoted U.S. Open watch parties, encouraging clubs to host clinics and exhibitions wrapped around tuning into the Open finals on SquashTV.
WSD has a deep connection to the U.S. It was originally launched in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Many squash players died that day in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington. One notable person was Derek Sword, a twenty-nine year old and avid squash player from Scotland who was based at the New York Athletic Club. Sword worked as an equity sales analyst on the 89th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Ten days before the attacks, he had gotten engaged to be married.
In January 2002, a group of New York and British friends honored Sword by hosting a memorial match in London. This event led to the creation of World Squash Day. Each year since 2002, WSD events have taken place across the globe—exhibitions, clinics, publicity stunts, tournaments—that expose the game to new people and sustain and deepen a love of the game for those already involved.
(l-r): Travis Rhodes, Regional President of Truist, Nour El Sherbini, Nouran Gohar, Diego Elias, Ali Farag, Maisha Kelly, Drexel University Director of Athletics.
The 2022 U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist ended in historic and unfortunate fashion, as Egypt’s Nouran Gohar matched Nicol David’s record of three consecutive titles, while Peru’s Diego Elias became the first South American champion after two-time champion Ali Farag was forced to concede the match after two points due to a knee injury Saturday, October 15, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
The capacity crowd were treated to a battle between two greats of the modern women’s game in Gohar and six-time world champion Nour El Sherbini.
After splitting the first two games, Gohar’s pace and power were too much for El Sherbini as the world No. 1 clinched the title 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6 after fifty-one minutes.
“It’s so hard against Nour, she who knows how to win titles even if she’s not playing her best,” Gohar said. “It’s more mental than anything with her and I was really happy with the way I played. It’s a joy to play against her, I actually missed our battles last year because it brings the best out of us both, she’s a great player and it was very enjoyable out there.”
Gohar now joins David as the only men or women to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles having also won in 2019 and 2021, and moves just short of Cassie Jackman’s four total.
“Honestly, I don’t want to lose my No.1 spot under any circumstances, but when I think about the rankings too much, it’s extra pressure that I don’t need. I feel like I go into a tournament wanting to win because then I know I will get the maximum points, so I’m just focused on what’s in my hands and that’s all I think about.”
The ensuing men’s final was poised to either crown another three-time champion in Farag or a first-time champion in Elias, but it ended abruptly after two points when Farag pulled up with a knee injury and offered his hand to a stunned Elias.
“I’m happy but I just don’t know how to feel,” Elias said afterwards. “I feel very bad for him, I was ready for a big battle. I’m super happy, I just didn’t want it to be this way. I’m going to have a beer for sure, but I have a match on Wednesday at the Grasshopper Cup in Switzerland, so I can’t have too many.”
Elias–a two-time U.S. Junior Open champion–has now won two Platinum titles, adding the U.S. Open to his 2021 Qatar Classic title.
“I just spoke to my family, they’re all super happy that I made history. I still don’t know what happened to him. I’m usually very happy after I win matches and tournaments, but I don’t know how to feel, I still can’t believe what’s happened.”
The forty-ninth U.S. Open was the eleventh held in partnership with Drexel University, and the second year of presenting sponsor support from Truist.
Peru’s Diego Elias will make his finals debut after his third straight semifinal attempt at the U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist, while the women’s final will feature a seismic showdown between world No. 1 Noran Gohar and six-time world champion Nour El Sherbini Friday, October 14, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
After falling short in the 2019 and 2021 semifinals, the twenty-five-year-old from Lima was on top of his game against a resurgent Mohamed ElShorbagy. Elias perfectly executed his game plan against the three-time U.S. Open champion, dispatching the Englishman 12-10, 11-7, 11-6 in forty-seven minutes.
“I’m just very happy with my performance,” Elias said. “We’re now 5-5 in head to heads and it’s always very tough. He became a very good friend of mine and it’s always tough playing with him. I’m feeling great, I won yesterday and today 3-0 so I’m fresh. It’s a bit late but I think I can still recover pretty well and be ready for tomorrow.”
Elias, a two-time U.S. Junior Open champion, will make his second career appearance in a Platinum final against two-time champion Ali Farag. Elias’s only Platinum title took place at the 2021 Qatar Classic.
“I think the start of the tournament wasn’t great. My first two rounds I got in trouble for no reason really. This tournament has a few rest days so it kind of felt like a new tournament from the quarters onwards and having coaches Jonathan Power and Wael El Hindi here with me is great and having their support is the best.”
Farag will have the opportunity to become a three-time U.S. Open champion Saturday after overcoming a tough challenge from the other ElShorbagy brother, Marwan, in four games.
“He’s got all the weapons in his repertoire to hurt you with, so I’m really happy that I didn’t panic after the third and I kept my focus,” Farag said. “Usually I hit more aggressive length in the back corners, I hit it with more bite, but today because I knew I don’t want to tire myself out, it was a little bit more calculated. And that made the difference and that’s why I didn’t feel necessarily as tired at the end.”
Nour El Sherbini (r) against Joelle King.
The women’s final will feature two giants of the modern game in what will be Gohar and El Sherbini’s first encounter at the U.S. Open.
El Sherbini opened the semifinal session with a comprehensive three-game win over New Zealand’s Joelle King to book her spot in her fourth career U.S. Open final. The six-time world champion has won every major title the sport has to offer–except the U.S. Open.
“I think if I lost the second it was going to be tough for me, so I’m happy to get the win,” said El Sherbini. “I just focus on every match, it’s another final and the U.S. Open is the only major title I haven’t won, so I’m just looking forward to the final.”
Gohar’s quest for a third U.S. Open title saw 2017 champion Nour El Tayeb become the latest victim, after Gohar powered her way to a win 11-5 in the fourth after El Tayeb took the third game.
“I felt that if everybody thinks that I’m not good enough to win today, it’s fine, I’m just going to prove them wrong,” Gohar said. “And I’m the kind of character who likes to challenge myself before challenging others.”
The finals will take place Saturday from 6pm ET.
Follow @USOpenSquash on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the tournament. Tickets are still available on usopensquash.com/tickets. SquashTV subscribers can enjoy all of the action live.
Three-time U.S. Open Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy took out world No. 1 and two seed Paul Coll in a five-game epic at the second quarterfinal night of the 2022 U.S. Open Championships Presented by Truist Thursday, October 13 at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
ElShorbagy has been one of the most consistent players in U.S. Open history, reaching twelve consecutive quarterfinals, five final appearances, and winning the title in 2014, 2016, 2018.
The world No. 5 has started the season in blistering form, winning the Qatar Classic and Oracle NetSuite Open, and on Thursday pulled off the biggest result of his season so far over the world No. 1. ElShorbagy and Coll entertained the capacity crowd with a marathon five game battle, filled with intensity, athleticism and skill. In the decisive fifth game, ElShorbagy pulled away from 6-all to win 11-7 after ninety minutes on court.
The match held significant permutations outside of the U.S. Open as it sees Coll drop the world No. 1 mantle to semifinalist Ali Farag.
“I want to give some credit to Paul, he had so much to lose,” ElShorbagy said. “I know how he felt, even when he changed the ball in the fourth, how much he had the advantage. But in the fifth game with the pressure, anything can happen and I’ve been in that situation a million times and I just stayed aggressive, but there is a reason for that because I’ve been in that situation probably more times than him. So I think that’s kind of the difference on that.”
ElShorbagy, who won his three U.S. Open titles as an Egyptian, recently changed his representation to England where he has spent the last two decades of his life.
“There is a reason why I switched to play for England, it’s because I wanted to have a great team behind me” said ElShorbagy after his win. “Jade [the England physio] has been doing an incredible job on me this week. We will do a lot of work tonight on my body to come back fresh for tomorrow. I have so much trust in her I have seen how she works and all the English guys, when I was playing Nick [Matthew] and James [Willstrop] and all these guys. So I can’t wait to come back tomorrow.
ElShorbagy will face world No. 4 Diego Elias next, after the Peruvian put in an impressive three-game performance against Welshman Joel Makin to reach his third straight U.S. Open semifinal.
“When you have played so much squash in your career, I think I read some stat that this is my twelfth quarterfinal in the U.S. Open, so that shows the consistency that I have to push over the years,” ElShorbagy said. “I always give my best every time I go on court, I barely pulled out of any tournament, I’ve always tried to be in the best shape I can. And that has always been I think my greatest strength over the years is that I always showed up.”
Joelle King
While Coll exited the tournament, New Zealand will still be represented after world No. 5 Joelle King ended Sabrina Sobhy’s impressive run on home turf. A twenty-three-minute first game saw the Kiwi crucially save six game balls before taking the advantage 19-17. The American stayed within reach over the second and third games, but King pulled through at the decisive moments to win in three games and fifty-one minutes.
“Yeah, that was 3-0 but it hardly feels like that was a 3-0 match,” King said. “Sabrina is an incredible player. I’ve always known she’s had it in her, what she has produced this week and I’m just extremely proud that I hung on top in that first game and I think that was probably the difference today. When I was her age, and I had had a big win at a tournament, I know all those feelings that you have. So I tried to come out mentally strong today. To be honest, I tried to make it a bit of a mental game and a few tactics but I think when you have a big win in a tournament, there’s of course excitement and you’ve taken out the number two seed etc. And so yeah, I was aware of all her dangers, but I tried to stay mentally tough.”
King will face Egypt’s world No. 3 and two seed Nour El Sherbini in the semis, after the six-time world champion bounced back from a third round injury scare with an efficient three-game win over compatriot Salma Hany.
Friday’s semifinal session will begin at 6pm ET.
Follow @USOpenSquash on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the tournament. Tickets are still available on usopensquash.com/tickets. SquashTV subscribers can enjoy all of the action live.
The Philadelphia Squash Racquets Association honored William Strong tonight at the 2022 U.S. Open presented by Truist with the 2022 PSRA Service Award.
Opening the ceremony on the glass court at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, Dent Wilkins, Chief Marketing Officer at US Squash, spoke about the enduring partnership between the PSRA and US Squash and thanked the PSRA for all its efforts growing the game in the region. Tim Dearnley, the President of the PSRA, then congratulated Strong on his deep engagement with squash in Philadelphia. “Bill Strong served as PSRA treasurer for seventeen years,” said Dearnley, “working under five different PSRA presidents.”
Strong thanked all his teammates and friends in the game, noting that he could never leave the area because of the vibrant squash community.
For decades Strong has been a leader in Philadelphia. Besides serving as PSRA Treasurer, he has long been a captain for league doubles teams at Berwyn Squash & Fitness Club.
Strong first started playing squash in the late 1960s at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, played at Middlesex School and then was No.7 on the varsity at Princeton his freshman year before turning to Tiger football fulltime. Strong has long been a gifted left-wall doubles player, well known for his sportsmanship.
One of the greatest high school squash coaches in U.S. history, Strong was the varsity coach at Haverford School for the 1979-80 season and again from 1989 to 2009. During that time, Haverford captured ten Inter-Academic League titles and finished off an unmatched scholastic streak where the Maroon & Gold went undefeated in league play from 1977 to 1994, winning 104 straight dual matches. Strong also was a founder of the Mid Atlantic Squash Association; MASA now boast more than seventy high school and middle school girls and boys teams. Strong guided the school when it built a new squash facility in 2000.
After stepping down as varsity coach, Strong helmed the middle school team for a decade, including guiding them to a national title in 2014. He taught middle school history at Haverford for thirty-two years.
The world’s oldest squash organization, the Philadelphia SRA—originally called the Philadelphia Association—was founded in 1903. Previous winners of the PSRA Service Award include Molly Pierce (2013), Ken Jaffe (2014), Frank Reidy (2015), Bill Lane (2016), Andy Nehrbas (2017), the Hand/McIntosh Family (2018), Nick Lepore (2019) and Bill Rux (2021).
2017 champions—husband and wife Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb—cruised into the semifinals of the U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist together, defeating top ten opponents Tarek Momen and Amanda Sobhy Wednesday, October 12, at the Arlen Specter US Squash in Philadelphia.
El Tayeb and Farag made history in 2017 by becoming the first married couple to win the same major sports title together, and the Egyptians showed signs of more title aspirations together with impressive quarterfinal displays.
El Tayeb, who has recently made a comeback on the PSA tour following a hiatus due to the birth of her first child, extinguished the home crowd with a skillful three-game win over the American world No. 4, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 in thirty-three minutes.
“I like the indoor courts, in Egypt it’s always outdoors, which I guess I don’t like very much, but I like the courts here,” I like the atmosphere, I like the crowd, so hopefully, I can keep going. The semis is nice, but I’ve done that already this season, so hopefully I can push it one round further than this.”
Sobhy and El Tayeb have played each other three times in the last month, each winning one leading into their U.S. Open match up. Sobhy won on El Tayeb’s home turf at the Egyptian Open, and El Tayeb returned the favor at the Specter Center.
“We’ve been playing a lot recently, me and Amanda, so we know each other,” El Tayeb said. “I think I felt more comfortable today. I felt more comfortable on this court than last week in Egypt. I think I played well and I’m very happy.”
Marwan ElShorbagy celebrates his first U.S. Open semifinal appearance
Farag stopped 2021 U.S. Open finalist Tarek Momen in his tracks, grinding down the world No. 6 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 in fifty-two minutes.
“I think both me and Nour came up against some very, very tough opponents,” Farag said. “Both of us played some of our best squash of the week so far, and we couldn’t be happier going home tonight.”
Farag will face a first-time U.S. Open semifinalist in the form of world No. 8 Marwan ElShorbagy, who dispatched compatriot Youssef Soliman in three games.
ElShorbagy has a superior head-to-head record against Farag, winning eight of their 14 PSA encounters, but has lost his last two matches against the 30-year-old. ElShorbagy is aiming to reach his first U.S. Open final.
“Me and Youssef are very good friends off court and it was a tricky match because we only played once and he’s beaten me before,” ElShorbagy said. “I’m just really happy to be so focused from the beginning and so sharp. I found my rhythm and felt my length was really good today and I’m really happy with the way I’ve been hitting the ball. I played well and it was a good match, I thought.”
Thursday will see the second half of the quarterfinals play out with matches starting at 5:30pm ET.
Follow @USOpenSquash on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the tournament. Tickets are still available on usopensquash.com/tickets. SquashTV subscribers can enjoy all of the action live.
