Canadian Women’s Open 2026 : It’s Fayrouz !!

Fayrouz Aboelkheir was crowned the Canadian Women’s Open champion after victory over Georgina Kennedy at Brookfield Place, Toronto.

In a rematch of their Swedish Open final clash at the start of this month, Aboelkheir prevailed again against the English #1 to claim her ninth title on the PSA Squash Tour, her second of the season.

Aboelkheir, who hadn’t dropped a game on her way to the final, cruised into a 2-0 lead before Kennedy surged back to halve the deficit. In a closely-fought fourth game, Kennedy squandered two game balls to force a fifth game and it was Aboelkheir who kept her cool in the tiebreak to convert her match ball opportunity to secure the title.

“First of all, compliments to Gina – last time we played, it was amazing, and today she came back at me and played amazingly and gave me such a tough battle,” said Aboelkheir.

“It’s certainly got me prepared for the US Open. It was always going to be tough playing the world No.8 – at that level it’s so hard. I’m happy and glad to get the win today, and I can’t wait for more battles.”

Semis : Top seed Aboelkheir and Kennedy ease through to final

Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Georgina Kennedy will face off in a rematch of their Swedish Open final bout when they contest the Canadian Women’s Open 2026 title at Brookfield Place, Toronto.

Aboelkheir, who was victorious against Kennedy in Stockholm at the start of the month, downed fellow Egyptian Nada Abbas to mark her first appearance at this event with a place in tomorrow’s title decider.

“Nada’s a great player and playing her is not easy so I came in today and I knew I had to be focused from the very beginning. I’m happy I closed it in three,” she said.

“I think [your legs] are never fresh, but definitely I feel happy and more fuel in my tank probably than other players so I’m happy.”

Kennedy also earned her place in tomorrow’s final with a comprehensive 3-0 win, against 2024 champion Tinne Gilis. England#1 Kennedy – who had never lost to Gilis on the PSA Squash Tour – stretched her unbeaten streak over the Belgian to five matches.

“Tinne’s my best friend on Tour without a doubt. With that means we know everything about each other, we know everything that’s going on,” she said. “Tinne is the biggest fighter I know. She’s so tough. She’s obviously not at 100% right now but she’s still putting herself in positions where she’s stepping out to compete and that just shows her character. It’s really hard playing against her all the time.

“I try not to worry about the score. I think every day is a new day, but it’s always a bonus to go into the final after playing a shorter match.”

Quarters : Abbas stages comeback as semi-finalists decided in Toronto

Nada Abbas staged a magnificent comeback from 2-1 down to defeat fellow Egyptian Farida Mohamed in a five-game thriller to reach the semi finals at Brookfield Place. Abbas, who also prevailed in five games when the pair met in Karachi at the start of the year, completed the turnaround in 62 minutes to secure a semi-final berth.

“It’s never easy playing against Farida,” said Abbas. “She always attacks and tries to keep the rallies short. I was very edgy today. I just wanted to take it step by step and stay focused and not get frustrated. That was the plan, really. “I think tonight I tried to just stay focused; I’ll need that tomorrow. I need to go back and rewatch that tonight and see where I can be better for tomorrow.”

Abbas next takes on top seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir, who was awarded a walkover after her opponent Anahat Singh withdrew from their quarter-final due to injury.

2025 runner-up Gina Kennedy and former champion Tinne Gilis will lock horns in the other semi-final after defeating Chan Sin Yuk and Grace Gear.

“I feel quite similar to yesterday,” said Kennedy. “I was behind in a lot of the games and had to fight my way through. There’s less pressure in the semis. I got a bit frantic trying to win with the ranking difference, and hopefully I can relax a bit more. I need to be more positive and hope to find my best squash tomorrow.”

Gilis, meanwhile, cruised into the last four with a comfortable 3-0 win over Gear.

Round Two Part Two : Gear topples Moataz in five

World #41 Grace Gear scored the biggest upset on day three of the Canadian Women’s Open 2026, toppling  eighth Hana Moataz in five games at Brookfield Place, Toronto.

After falling 2-1 behind Moataz responded emphatically in the fourth game, taking it 11-2 to force a decider, but after being pegged back from from 5-1 to 5-5 in the fifth Gear held her nerve at the business end to close out the match 11-8.

“I’m over the moon!” she said. “Coming into the tournament I hadn’t had a win yet so to get the win the other day was really important for me. To get the win tonight, even more so. Hana is very in form; she just won a Copper event out in Brazil playing really good squash so I knew I had to bring my best game tonight, and I’m glad I managed to stick to the game plan.”

Gear meets 2024 champion Tinne Gilis in the quarter finals after the Belgian came from a game down to beat Torrie Malik 3-1.

England #1 Gina Kennedy began her  campaign with a 3-0 win over Zeina Mickawy, and she’ll square off against Chan Sin Yuk for a semi-final spot following the Hong Konger’s comfortable 3-0 win over Haya Ali.

Round Two :  Abbas ends home hopes in Toronto

Hopes of a home star reaching the last eight were cut short after Nada Abbas ousted Canadian #1 Hollie Naughton. Backed by a partisan crowd at Brookfield Place, Naughton drew first blood by edging the tiebreak 12-10, but it was Abbas’ quality which ultimately came to the fore in the ensuing games as the Egyptian won 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 to end Naughton’s run on home soil.

“It’s not easy playing Hollie in general, but playing Hollie here [in Toronto] has been more difficult,” she said. “We just played at the Egyptian Open and we had the same result. Coming into this match, I knew what to expect and with the crowd, coming into this match I was a bit nervous.

“But after losing the first game, I knew it was the same scenario as it was in Egypt so this relaxed me and helped me get into the match. I’m glad I’m through.”

Abbas meets her Egyptian compatriot Farida Mohamed in the quarter finals on Wednesday following her 3-1 victory against Alina Bushma.

Top seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir kickstarted her quest for another title this season after downing Nour Aboulmakarim in straight games. Her opponent in the last eight will be Anahat Singh, who held off Saran Nghiem 3-1.

Round One : Naughton wins all-Canadian clash

The Canadian Women’s Open, a PSA Silver-level event  got underway today at Brookfield Place, with Hollie Naughton prevailing in the all-Canadian battle with Nicole Bunyan. Naughton, who faces Nada Abbas in the next round, claimed a 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 success in 27 minutes over her fellow countrywoman.

“It’s always tough to play a fellow Canadian and especially playing in this kind of venue,” she said. “I always want to get off to a good start, so it’s just usually a lot of nerves in the first match. I’m just really happy to get through.

“Obviously Nicole is Canadian, but she’s the other side of Canada so I definitely felt the support. I had my mum and dad in the crowd today, which was fantastic and a lot of friends that I’ve grown up with. I always feel like I’ve got the crowd support here.”

Canada’s Zeina Zein came close to joining her compatriot in round two as the tournament wildcard surged back from 2-1 down against Zeina Mickawy to force a fifth, deciding game. However the Egyptian kept her nerve to win 3-2 in a highly entertaining clash.

Fellow Egyptian Haya Ali staved off a fightback from Hannah Craig to claim a 3-2 success, while Saran Nghiem kicked the day’s play off on the all-glass court with a 3-1 triumph against Nour Heikal.