Hani Claims First World Events Title
World No.61 Habiba Hani claimed the first World Events title of her career after defeating top seed Anahat Singh in the final of the NSW Squash Bega Open 2025 at the Bega Country Club.
No.2 seed Hani, who had never been beyond the semi-finals of a World Event before this week, fought back from a game down to defeat India’s rising star Singh in four games at the Copper-level event.
Coming into the match, both players were eying a career-best win on the PSA Squash Tour, and it was 17-year-old Singh who got off to the quicker start, coming through a tight opening game by an 11-9 scoreline.
However, 20-year-old Hani responded in impressive fashion, levelling the match before pushing on to within a game of victory through 11-5 and 11-8 wins.
As the match wore on, Singh began to struggle with an ankle injury, with Hani capitalising on this to move from 5-4 in the fourth game to victory without losing a point. At 10-4 down, Singh shook hands with her opponent, retiring in the last moments of the match due to injury.
This win secured a fifth PSA title of Hani’s early career – and her first on the World Tour – with the Egyptian kicking off her 2025/26 campaign in perfect fashion.
Quarters – Unseeded Khafagy Overcomes Cheng To Confirm Semi-Final Line-Up
Unseeded Egyptian Nour Khafagy continued her superb run at the NSW Squash Bega Open 2025 as she defeated No.6 seed Nga Ching Cheng to progress to the semi-finals of the Copper-level event at the Bega Country Club.
World No.82 Khafagy, who with victory moved through to the second World Events semi-final of her career, proved too strong for her Hong Kong opponent throughout the 38-minute contest, rallying from a game down to claim victory by a 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 scoreline.
This win came a day after her dramatic comeback victory over the tournament No.3 seed Amina El Rihany, whom she fought from 2-0 down to defeat.
Khafagy will face top seed Anahat Singh in the semi-finals of the Copper-level event after the World No.53 continued her blemish-free start to the event with a straight games win over South Africa’s Hayley Ward.
In the bottom half of the draw, No.5 seed Akanksha Salunkhe and No.2 seed Habiba Hani will face off in the semi-final after the pair claimed victories over Alexandra Haydon and Noa Romero, respectively.
A day after her thrilling 13-11 fifth-game victory over Aussie Sophie Fadaely, India’s Salunkhe knocked the only remaining home hope to book her spot in the last four, getting the better of No.4 seed Haydon in straight games. Hani, meanwhile, ended Romero’s quest for a fifth PSA title in eight events with an 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5 win.
Round One
The first World Event of the 2025/26 PSA Squash Tour season got underway today, with eight players booking their spots in the second round of the Copper-level NSW Squash Bega Open 2025.
Two Australian players delivered wins for the home support on the opening day of action at the Bega Country Club, with Sarah Cardwell defeating Jasmine Thirst of England in straight games and Sophie Fadaely overcoming fellow Aussie Remashree Muniandy by an 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 scoreline. Cardwell’s reward will be a second-round tie with top seed Anahat Singh, while Fadaely will face off against No.5 seed Akanksha Salunke.
The match of the day, though, came between Egypt’s Nour Khafagy and Australian legend Rachael Grinham, the latter of whom, at 48 years old, was competing in her 822 PSA Tour match.
Despite being nearly 30 years older than her opponent and having reached World No.1 two years before her opponent was even born, Grinham went toe-to-toe with Khafagy throughout a well-contested 32-minute clash, forcing a fourth game from 2-0 down and moving to within just two points of a deciding game.
However, it was ultimately World No.82 Khafagy who moved on to claim an 11-7, 12-10, 5-11, 11-9 victory and set up a round two tie with No.3 seed Amina El Rihany.
Elsewhere, there were a string of three-game victories for Egypt’s Lojayn Gohary, New Zealand’s Ella Jane Lash, Spain’s Noa Romero and India’s Tanvi Khanna.
Japan’s Erisa Sano Herring, meanwhile, scored a ranking upset over Maltese opponent Collete Sultana. Despite sitting 33 spots behind Sultana in the current World Rankings, Sano Herring came out of the blocks quickly and held off a strong second-game comeback from Sultana to eventually seal an 11-4, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8 win.
Preview :
The first World Event of the 2025/26 PSA Squash Tour season commences with the NSW Squash Bega Open 2025 Copper-level event taking place from the Bega Country Club between 13-17 August.
India’s next squash sensation, Anahat Singh, tops the seedings and will hope to build on her extremely successful 2024/25 campaign. In her early career to date, the 17-year-old has won 12 PSA titles from 18 events, with nine of these successes coming in the last 12 months. After receiving a first-round bye, Singh will face one of Sarah Cardwell or Colette Sultana, while also sitting in the same quarter of the draw as No.7 seed Hayley Ward.
Elsewhere in the top half of the draw lie a trio of talented Egyptian players in the form of No.3 seed Amina El Rihany and unseeded duo Nour Khafagy and Nadien Elhammamy. Ever-improving 22-year-old El Rihany is currently sitting four spots off her career-high rank of World No.59 and will hope that a strong run in Bega can see her edge towards the world’s top 50. She kickstarts her campaign against either compatriot Khafagy or 48-year-old Australian legend Rachael Grinham.
Although ranked at World No.92, Elhammamy will pose a serious threat to the seeded players after an impressive last few months on tour. Most recently, the Egyptian 18-year-old finished runner-up at the World Junior Championships – a run which included a superb three-game win over top seed Singh.
Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the draw, seeded players include Egypt’s Habiba Hani, Australia’s Madison Lyon and Alexandra Haydon and India’s Akanksha Salunkhe. No.2 seed Hani opens up her title quest against either Ella Lash or Sarbani Maitra, before a potential quarter-final against No.8 seed Lyon, if the event were to go to seeding.
There will be six Australian players featuring in the draw and looking to draw upon the home support: Sarah Cardwell, Rachael Grinham, Alexandra Haydon, Remashree Muniandy, Madison Lyon and tournament Wildcard Sarbani Maitra.
