2026 Day TWO : Qualifying Semis at OWest

Another tough match, very happy to get through, for sure…

Youssef is a very good junior. I know him from the Junior local matches in Egypt. He is not usually the one people talk about, just outside the Egyptian top 5, but he is just short of them, and he is really good, even if he doesn’t get as much spotlight as the others. And proved that yesterday and today.

I knew I was higher seeded and higher ranked, and he had a good win yesterday. So there was a bit of pressure for me, as the lower ranked feels that he can beat the top player, and the top player is in a position where people think, oh, it’s easy, but it NEVER is. So happy with the way I dealt with it.

My performance was really good in this match. In the first game, I wouldn’t say I was sleepy, but I didn’t get the tactic right. Then with the help of Karim [Ali Fathi] and the support of Nouran, I got my head back to the game, and got the right tactic and rhythm for the whole match.

Edwin : He’s really strong. Ben and I have known each other for a long time, and I’ve watched him play Toufik [Mekhalfi, a French player] a lot. In fact, I asked Toufik for advice before the match, because he played Ben a lot in juniors and on the PSA tour. Thanks Toufik!

He’s from the Pontefract school, so of course he’s very strong at the straight game. You can tell he’s worked hard on it. He volleys a lot, especially straight. And since my own game is the straight game too, when I come up against a player like me, I have to find other weapons!

Once again, Yann [Menegaux, French National coach] helped me a lot. He gave me confidence on changes of direction, and on making Ben work with boasts and cross-courts. Even if I’m less confident with those, there are matches where you have to put things in place that you haven’t mastered 100%.

I’m glad I tried, and it worked. Ben had to work a lot harder once I got him moving around the whole court. In the third game I was down 7-4, so I’m very happy to have come back, a bit like yesterday. That means I’m in a good place in this tournament. I can’t wait for tomorrow to give it everything.

Tomorrow, I play Seif Refaay, a player I’ve been watching a lot lately. He’s getting very good results, I think he has a 90%-win rate. He played very well against Perry [Malik], against Amir [Khaled Jousselin] at the British Junior Open, and against Zakaria at the World Juniors. He’s a very clean player.

That said, I’m playing well right now and I’ve beaten good players too, so I want to prove tomorrow that I deserve this place in the main draw.

Yasshmita : It was a match tougher mentally than physically.

I have been having a few tournaments back to back, I’m having some good results, playing all my best squash ever, so I feel a bit tired physically. Also there has been a lot of expectations. From myself, from everyone.

So I’m trying to deal with that. Both yesterday and today, I was not 100%, but I’m learning to push myself on those bad days. And having my coaches here is just a bonus.

I’m really really proud of myself, pushing myself, trying to win. I have so much of history with Lowri. I think it’s a tie between us at the moment, 2-2 or 3/2. Really happy to get this win. Lowri is one of the most skilful players on Tour, and today in the first two games, I was trying to going short and beat her at the short game, and I just couldn’t do that!

I needed to be more patient, play to the back and eventually, she was going to get tired, and make a few errors. And that really worked out well, especially in the last game. So yes, patience, trying to build up on it…

Habiba : Last time I played the qualifications for the British Open, I lost in the semis. So today, I felt a lot of pressure, I didn’t want to lose in the semis again, I really wanted to win this match and play the final. I put a lot of expectations on myself today.

And the same for tomorrow. I believe I can do it.

I have been improving my short game, that was the big part of my win today. A few months ago, I was still playing a solid basic game. But today, I’m happy that I was able to play a more attacking game, going for more volleys, and attack more.

Tomorrow, I’ll be playing Lauren for the first time. But we train together sometimes, we are friends, so, I’ll just do my best and hope for the best!

Seif : I’m very proud of the way I played today. I knew from yesterday that I was about to play the top seed of the qualifying. So I was ready mentally. Of course, it was always going to be a tough match.

In the first two games, I was going well with my plan but in the third, he started reading some of my shots, and adapted to it. So it took me a little time to realise what he changed, that was in the third. But I was able to recover in the fourth and close it there.

He was playing a very solid game. He was not going for silly shots or attacking too much to the front, so I had to be very very patient, and wait, wait, wait, not going for anything, because I knew he wouldn’t make any errors. And I would have offered him at least 4 or 5 points per game. My patience was the key today I think.

Lauren : I was sick right before the match. I must have eaten something that didn’t agree with me. So I’m happy I managed to deal with that. And because I knew I had an obstacle in my way today, I focused on my basic game and on the quality of my shots.

In the last game, I made a lot of errors, because I wasn’t expecting such a comfortable match. So I tried to finish a bit quickly in the final game. I wasn’t focused enough on the quality of my shots, or on the coaching I had received. So I’m very happy to have won 3-0.

Xin Ying : My mindset was I can do my best, and I’ll do my best. Yesterday, she had a really good match, and she upset the second seed of the qualifying event.

I trained really hard back in the summer. And I felt I had to just win point by point. Focus point by point the whole match.

I was happy with my discipline on court, I tried to keep hitting everything to the back, making sure my length reaches the back. Also, I hit the ball harder, not lifting it to prevent her from volleying too much. I’m happy with that.

Ruqqaya : Coming back in the second game to win it took a lot of mental strength. I don’t remember what the score was, I just remember I was down. I told myself to really push, as hard as I could, because I knew that I would win the game as I had a few strengths against her. I played her a lot and last time, I also won. I’m glad it worked because being 2/0 up made a big difference and gave me a big boost.

I haven’t been on tour for long, maybe two or three years, but I have been put in different situations, which allow me to find solutions when I face problems on the court. I’m still growing as a player obviously and these are the kind of matches that help me to become the kind of player I am today.

My goals for my season? Well, my ranking is not too good, 54 at the moment. And I just started in US College, it’s my first year in Virginia Uni, I’m going to do my best to balance Uni and school. So it would be amazing to break into the top 20, but realistically, if I can break into the top 30, doing my studies and a few tournaments, it would be great.

Tanvi : I just flew from Japan the day before yesterday at night, because of the Asian Games. So yesterday, I was really struggling on court, it went 3/2 and I almost lost.

Today, I just regrouped with my coaches, and the most important thing for me, is not to take the pressure with me on court. I work with Dhruv Dhawan in India, and he works in conjunction with my fitness trainer Ahmed Faragallah here in Cairo.

Ahmed was here with me, he picked me up from the hotel today and we just spoke about not taking pressure, enjoying my squash, getting used to the court, finding length, hitting my drops and it worked out very well.

She is a really close friend of mine, and she had a tough match yesterday and a really good win for her. It’s great to see she is doing so well, she only started to play pro a year ago.

I was ready for her, I knew she would be fast, picking up a lot of balls, so I’m glad I won 3/0 although the scoreline looks in my favour, she was tough, handing in there, and finding some great winners of her own.

Sanjay : There were a few discussions between Ameeshenraj and the ref, not between us. We are pretty good friends, we just played the Asian Games, we are team mates, and we share a room here. And it’s pretty difficult to play against a good friend.

We knew what was going to happen on court, so we never talked to each other, we might have smiled one of two times. He got more involved with the ref than I did, I kind of expected that, so I decided to stay calm.

We know each other’s game so much, we train together. I know he is a fast pace player and he is very quick. So I really have to control the pace, and I know he loves to cross, whenever we train, and if I cross all the time, he gets the better of me and stays in the front.

So I told myself that I had to stay calm, and try not to open too much. And also, I know that he loves the trickle boast to the front right, so I had to not to play there too much. He still got me a couple of times in the first game, and I stopped playing there.

Ibrahim : Today was about how I was going to be able keep my calm and the control of myself on court, and control my anger.

It was a really physical match today. You know, Farouk is 17, a big boy, nothing to lose, a really tough guy, no pressure on him at all. He is really really big on court, and I had to move from one corner at the back to the front constantly, and there were a lot of brutal decisions from the ref.

All I had to do was focus on my game, try and hit the ball in the corners at the back, taken from him any opportunity to control the middle of the court, any loose ball in the middle, he would play a beautiful shot, and then, I don’t want to say block, but he takes a really big space because of his size.

So I was taking a lot of deep breath, and try to calm myself down. Because I was really worked up, and I can’t play well with that attitude. So whenever I was winning a point I would motivate myself, and push myself 100%.

I’m really really glad it all worked out, and especially to come back from 6/4 down in the 4th.

I had the feeling that I finally managed to get him tired in the middle of the 4th. When we were 5/5, 6/6, I could see him breathing hard. All the hard work he had to produce throughout the match, going to the back corners, finally paid off at that point. So I had to make sure I was not giving him any opportunities in the middle.

But also, do not rush! I’m really happy with myself today, because when my opponent is getting tired, normally, I start to go in front, again and again, so today I’m really happy I kept my game plan going. I’m so happy that my coach Hesham El Attar was here today. The work he did with me this summer paid off today. I saw it, and it made a big difference.

Menna : I was happy with my mental strength today, and with my performance. It’s my third time playing against her, and it’s the first time I get the win. And it’s the toughest game we ever had, with the most decisions.

We are both a bit slow to clear the ball, and that creates a lot of interference for both of us.

I had to fight hard, for every point, till the last rally. And I tried to stick to my basic game, but I lost it in the middle of the match, and attacked too early. I made a lot of errors. So I refocused to the game plan and it worked in the end.

Nour : Playing Haya is pretty difficult. And when she gets nervous, she makes a lot of errors. But my game plan was not to rely on her errors.

My game plan was to focus on my basic game, not thinking about anything else. And even if I get an easy opening, not to go and attack, as she is very fast, and quick to the front, very aggressive. I had to keep the rallies going, digging in, and making sure I wouldn’t give her too much time on the ball at the front.

So it was difficult tactically but also mentally, as although she makes a lot of errors, you feel that it’s easy, but it’s not. At all.