[4] Farida Mohamed (Egy) 3-1 Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGgy) 12-10, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8 (35m)
Egypt’s Farida Mohamed won her maiden title on the PSA World Tour after overcoming her compatriot Fayrouz Aboelkheir in the final in Brooklyn, New York.
Mohamed, who won their only previous meeting at the Rhode Island Open in 2022 on the Challenger Tour, took the opening two games, and although Aboelkheir pulled one back the older of the two Egyptians took the fourth to claim the title.
“It’s overwhelming – I really needed this one badly,” she said. “I came here to win the event and I’m really happy with the mental stability I was in this week. I’m so glad – I don’t think I can reflect on anything right now. I’m just really happy and proud that I came through this tournament with all the challenges I faced since last year. I’m really happy.
“It’s so special, especially here where it’s home away from home because I studied in New York. “This tournament is very special for me because it was where I had my first-ever win in round one. What made it extra special today was having my sister here on the coaching side. It was very special.”
[4] Farida Mohamed (Egy) 3-0 [1] Olivia Weaver (Usa) 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (25m)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir (Egy) 3-2 [2] Salma Hany (Egy) 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 14-12, 13-11 (67m)
Farida and Fayrouz set up unexpected all-Egyptian final
Young Egyptians Farida Mohamed and Fayrouz Aboelkheir produced stunning upsets to beat the top two seeds in the semi-finals at Heights Casino.
Farida, 22, overcame top seed Olivia Weaver in straight games to reach a second PSA World Tour final.
“I’m overwhelmed, but I’m pretty happy with my performance today,” she said. “I came in mentally strong and I needed revenge. I knew I would win as I had this mental mindset that I wanted to fire everything today and I’m really happy with my performance.”
Fayrouz, 17, came from two games down to oust second seeded compatriot Salma Hany, saving match balls in both of the last two games, taking both in extra points to reach her biggest final to date.
“I don’t know what to say!” she said. “To come from 2-0 down against one of the best players on Tour in Salma, it wasn’t easy at all. In the fourth I was down match ball and I’m happy that I regained my focus and found my length again.
“I was thinking I have nothing to lose. I was match ball down and I wanted to do my best. I didn’t want to think about the score and then overthink on court – I just wanted to find my length back and go for my shots more.”
