[6] Nouran Gohar (Egy) 3-1 [Q] Ruqayya Salem (Egy) 14-12, 11-8, 14-16, 11-6 (59m)
Whan an opening game between Nouran Gohar and Ruqayya Salem.
A back-and-forth, hotly contested opener between the two Egyptian players, with teenage qualifier Salem saving a game ball to force a tie-break.
From there, the 18-year-old sees two opportunities of her own slip by, before former World No.1 Gohar pounces to take a crucial one-game advantage.
Two games down, 10-9 down, Salem forces a tie-break against 2024 World Champion Nouran Gohar.
She goes on to save a further two match balls in the following tie-break, before taking her own opportunity to send the match to a fourth game as we approach the hour mark.
Seriously gutsy squash from teenager Ruqayya Salem!
Rivalry reignited 💥
We certainly can’t wait to see these two back on court together 🤩
⏭️ Swipe to hear @NouranGohar’s thoughts on returning to the big stage and facing @noursherbini in the quarters 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7UqvL3gEiA
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 12, 2026
“When I stopped, I was World No.1, but then it’s hard when you’re out for a year and then you’re back playing these big matches, big battles.
“It takes some time to remember, even if in practice I’m close to my level, but it’s another story. So I’m very happy with the way I battled it out today. And obviously, Ruqayya had an amazing tournament. All respect to her. I definitely didn’t underestimate her at all. She has a bright future ahead of her.
“I feel as fit, as good as I was. But then the thing is, I need to get the match experience again under my belt. I have this experience, but then I need to remember it. It’s in the back of the mind, but there is a bit of dust on it and I just need to clear it out and have these different scenarios passing through.
“It’s not magic. I need to trust the process. And as long as I’m feeling I’m on the right track, that’s the most important thing for me. And with time, I’ve been doing this for 15 years. So I know that trusting the process is the most important thing. And then when the right time is there, it’s going to come all of it together.
“I’m super excited, honestly. I haven’t been that excited for some time about playing a quarter-final. I felt like a junior back during those days where I wanted to win my matches here on the traditional course to be able to play in front of an amazing venue.
“I remember I was like jumping and very happy during my warm up to be playing there. So I’m feeling the same excitement and obviously somewhat quite familiar to me.
So, yeah, I’m very excited to be playing that match. And having this rival back. And yeah, I’m not sure if she misses me, but I did miss these matches. So I’m really looking forward to it.
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