China Open 2025 : It’s Orfi and Abou !!

Finals : Orfi and Abouelghar claim the titles in Shanghai

Mohamed Abouelghar ended a six-year wait for a PSA title and teen star Amina Orfi fought back to win her third title of the season in a thrilling conclusion to the China Open.

 

 

Egyptian World #.25 Abouelghar came into his final with fellow mercurial talent Youssef Ibrahim looking to win a first title since the 2019 Motor City Open. After the first four games were shared it was Abouelghar who too the decider 13-11 on his second match ball.

“There is a mix of emotions, I feel proud, so happy, and so relieved after all the work I put in mentally and physically,” said Abouelghar. “I’ve believed in myself and I couldn’t be prouder, I’m so grateful.

“I didn’t think about whether I would do it or not, I was thinking about giving it my all. If it went my way then great, if it didn’t, then I would walk out of the court proud of the effort that I put in.”

18-year-old Orfi has enjoyed a spectacular start to her  season, rising to World ‘3 and capturing the London Classic and Canadian Open titles. Satomi Watanabe, meanwhile, had endured a challenging start to the season before re-discovering her best squash in Shanghai in an incredible run to the final that included the prize scalp of Hania El Hammamy in the semi-final.

Watanabe continued as she finished the semis, taking the opening game before Orfi struck back to claim the next three.

Orfi said: “I feel so happy, I think I played very well throughout the whole tournament.
“I’ve been building up at each tournament and I’m happy to win my first title in here in China. It’s my first time here, my first title, so it’s lucky for me here. I’m looking forward to coming back next year.

“It means everything to me, I came into this tournament to play whoever in the final and hopefully win. Satomi played well in this tournament and she is finally herself again. I think I played really well, to win the third title is amazing in half a season. It’s my dream to go to World #1 but I’m not worried about it, I’m taking it step by step and I feel when I’m ready then I’ll get there.”

Semi-Finals : Trio of upsets as finalists decided in Shanghai

World #2 in waiting Hania El Hammamy’s perfect start to the season came to a shuddering halt as the Egyptian fell to Japanese fourth seed Satomi Watanabe in one of three upset results in the semi-finals.

Going into the match El Hammamy boasted a 7-0 record against Watanabe, but Watanabe stormed into a two game lead before closing the match out in the fifth after Hammamy had forced a decider.

 “I still can’t believe it. There’s a lot I want to say, but I’m just really happy and I’m trying not to forget this feeling – like the first step you take back on court when you’re a junior. Beating her gives me confidence.”

Watanabe will face third seed Amina Orfi in the final  after the 18-year-old got the better of USA’s second seed Olivia Weaver in straight games.

The men’s final will be an all-Egyptian clash between World #.25 Mohamed Abouelghar and sixth seed Youssef Ibrahim, with Abouelghar overcoming third seed and  Marwan ElShorbagy and Ibrahim fighting through a brilliant five setter  with 18-year-old Mohamad Zakaria.

Quarters Day Two : Champion dethroned and second seed axed

On a chaotic night in Shanghai, Mohamad Zakaria downed defending champion Mohamed ElShorbagy, sixth seed Youssef Ibrahim upset World #2 Paul Coll and teen star Amina Orfi broke yet another record as the China Open semi-finalists were confirmed.

In a bizarre clash, Egyptian 18-year-old  Zakaria finally got the win he’d been craving against former World #1 Mohamed ElShorbagy.

“I’ve been on the tour for 2-3 years. This was probably one of the strangest squash matches that I’ve ever played in,” said Zakaria.“It didn’t even feel like a squash match, it was a mental battle. I was just finding myself in bad situations. He took it to a mental battle and took it away from the squash and into the mental side. I told him at the end that I had never experienced anything like it, ever. I’d heard about it but never been in it. It has made me realise how much there still is to learn about the mental side of the game.”

In the last match of the day World #8 Ibrahim took on the Coll, the highest seed remaining,and recorded his first win over the Kiwi in nine attempts.

In the night’s opening match, yet another record tumbled to teen squash star Orfi as she became the youngest player in the modern era to record 100 wins on the PSA Squash Tour after defeating Egyptian compatriot Nada Abbas in an injury-curtailed quarter-match.

Quarters Day one : Watanabe finds form as first semi-finalists are decided

Japan’s Satomi Watanabe rediscovered both her best squash and enjoyment for the game in a commanding victory over  Sana Ibrahim to reach the last four of the China Open.

 “I’ve been struggling since the summer with my injury and I’ve been really, really struggling to find my squash until today and still going onto court today and doubting myself a little bit whether I can perform well or even be able to play squash in an enjoyable way. Today I felt like how I used to play last season.”

Watanabe will face Hania El Hammamy in the semi-finals. The Egyptian, who will rise to World #1 on Monday, swatted aside defending champion Rachel Arnold of Malaysia to move to within two victories of a fourth consecutive title.

In the the men’s event only one match took place due to a pre-match injury to top seed Mostafa Asal, with third seed Marwan ElShorbagy getting the better of rising star Kareem El Torkey in an entertaining and at times tense clash.

Round Two : Men’s seeds scattered in Shanghai as Hammamy secures #1 spot

Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy will become the new World #1 after victory over Tomato Ho in round two. El Hammamy arrived in Shanghai needing only to complete her match with Ho to dislodge compatriot and long-term rival Nouran Gohar at the top of the rankings.

“I’m struggling with the jet lag and my sleep is not really good – I actually only woke up an hour and a half before the match and I was really struggling to get myself going,” El Hammamy admitted. “But I’m glad I got through today, though, and I’m glad the day is over. I think tomorrow’s going to be the day when I realise that I’ve become the World No.1!”

El Hammamy meets defending champion Rachel Arnold in the last eight. World #22 Arnold who played some of her best squash in an upset victory over fifth seed Nele Gilis. In the match of the day in the women’s draw, Egyptian seventh seed Salma Hany dug deep to rescue four match balls in a five-game victory against Malaysia’s Aifa Azman, who herself had recovered from two games down to lead 10-7 in the decider.

In the men’s event three seeds tumbled as Egyptian stars Mohamad Zakaria, Mohamed Abouelghar and Kareem El Torkey took down eighth Eain Yow Ng, fifth seed Victor Crouin and seventh seed Mazen Hesham.

The win for Zakaria means he closes the gap on the top ten and will take on defending champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in the last eight, with ElShorbagy surviving a testing encounter with Baptiste Masotti.

Round One : Defending champ Arnold survives in Shanghai

Rachel Arnold’s title defence got off to a rocky start in Shanghai as the Malaysian dragged herself through to round two at the Diamond Squash Center with a comeback victory over Hong Kong’s Tong Tsz-Wing to set up a round two clash with fifth seed Nele Gilis.

“I’m not too pleased with how I played today,” Arnold admitted . “I think the nerves got the better of me but I’m glad I pushed through. I wasn’t expecting anything for myself last year and I think that paid off. I think I lost a bit of focus today during the interruptions.”

Arnold will be joined by two of her compatriots in the next round of the women’s event after sisters Aira and Aifa Azman overcame Ainaa Amani and Hannah Craig.

In the men’s event Alex Lau and Sebastien Bonmalais of France contested two of the closer matches of the day, with Lau scoring a minor rankings upset over Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller and Bonmalais taking down Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy in a fiery encounter.

Elsewhere home hopes for China Squash were extinguished with four defeats from four matches for wildcards Yuning Zhang, Ziyi Liu, Haizhen Li and Penglin Zhou.