[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) 3-0 [3] Victor Crouin (Fra) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (30m)
Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam and Egypt’s Karim Abdel Gawad were crowned Grasshopper Cup 2026 champions in Zurich after defeating Satomi Watanabe and Victor Crouin at the Gold-level event.
Sivasangari produced a herculean effort to lift the Grasshopper Cup for the first time, recovering from 2-1 down against Watanabe to win 3-2.
The Malaysian, who produced a sensational comeback yesterday in the semi finals against top seed Amina Orfi, dug deep once again to win 15-13, 5-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-8 after 62 minutes.
Sivasangari will rise to World No.5 in the PSA World Rankings on Monday after scooping her second title of the season – her 17th on Tour – becoming the first Asian player in eight and a half years to break into the top five since her fellow countrywoman Nicol David.
“Yesterday I had a long match and a big win. Satomi and I have been playing since I was nine years old, we grew up together, we’re good friends off court and it’s always tough playing each other,” she said.
“We grew up playing every category together and now in the senior events. I’m happy with how we’ve grown up together on the Tour and for me I’m just relieved and happy. I’m very tired but I’m happy to be winning this title.”
Meanwhile Gawad clinched the Grasshopper Cup for the second time in his trophy-laden career after downing Crouin 3-0.
Gawad, who last triumphed in Zurich in 2023, only dropped one game all week to claim his 32nd piece of silverware on the PSA Squash Tour.
The World No.4, who’s been in sensational form in Zurich, produced another masterclass today in the final as he dispatched the Frenchman 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 in just 30 minutes.
“I’m really happy to win another title here in Zurich, my second title,” he said afterwards.
“I’m really happy with how I’ve performed all week, how I’ve pushed and it’s always special to win a title more than once.
“I watched his [Victor Crouin] match against Diego [Elias] and he played some amazing squash so I knew I had to be mentally, physically and tactically ready from the very first point.
“I had different plans to win today’s match and after an amazing match yesterday, I was looking for a good final and I’m happy with how I managed to win today.”
Semis : Top seeds beaten in semi-finals in Zurich
Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam staged a remarkable comeback to dislodge top seed Amina Orfi and reach the final of the Grasshopper Cup 2026 in Zurich, while France’s Victor Crouin overcame men’s top seed Diego Elias in four games.
Subramaniam, who hadn’t beaten Orfi since the final of the HKFC Open in 2023, rallied from 2-1 down to triumph 3-2 against the World #3 and progress to the final in Zurich for a second year running.
“I feel happy,” she said afterwards. “There’s nothing much to say about Amina, she’s World #3, she’s still very young but she’s at that level and a really strong player. I was just trying to focus on my gameplan and there’s always a bit of physicality with her but I tried to stay composed, stay calm and not overthink the moment and enjoy it. I was just trying not to get distracted with things out of my control.”
Her opponent in the final will be Japan’s Satomi Watanabe after the third seed dispatched England #1 Gina Kennedy in straight games.
In the men’s semis French #1 Crouin recovered from a game down down to stun men’s top seed Elias, advancing to his first Grasshopper Cup final.
“It’s huge to make it to the Grasshopper Cup final,” he said. “It was a good match on my hand, there was a lot of variety in my game; using the height, using the drop and I tried to make it tough for him more mentally than physically.
Standing in Crouin’s way is 2023 champion Karim Abdel Gawad, who fended off Joel Makin in four games. Gawad, who defeated Makin when he lifted the Gold-level title in Zurich three years ago, continued his red hot form to reach the final
Afterwards, Gawad said: “The crowd is amazing. They know what good squash is and when you play a good shot, they stand behind you and they cheer for both of us. It’s a crazy venue and the crowd is amazing, I enjoy being here and it’s one of my favourite tournaments on the calendar.”
Quarters : Orfi fights back as semi-finalists decided in Zurich
Top seed Amina Orfi recovered from a game down against fellow Egyptian Salma Hany to progress to the semi finals of the Gold-level event at Zurich Hauptbahnhof.
“I thought I played well,” she said. “i’m really enjoying playing in Zurich. It’s my first time playing this tournament and I think everything about it is so nice. I’m enjoying my time here in Zurich.”
Orfi’s semi-final opponent will be Sivasangari Subramaniam – a rematch of their encounter in the final of the Karachi Open – after the Malaysian comprehensively advanced to the last four with a dominant success against Nada Abbas.
Gina Kennedy and Satomi Watanabe will square off in the other women’s semi-final after they defeated Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Jasmine Hutton.
In the men’s draw Victor Crouin is through to the semi finals the first time after he came from a game down to overcome Declan James.
“I tried to play the best squash I could tonight. Declan definitely made it very tough out there – he’s got such a good squash IQ on there, he was using his strength as well as he could and he was trying to make the game as clean as possible and try and make it difficult to move around,” he said.
Top seed Diego Elias awaits Crouin in the semi finals after holding off Mohamed Abouelghar in three games. 2023 champion Karim Abdel Gawad and Joel Makin will lock horns for a place in the final following victories against Abhay Singh and Iker Pajares.
Gawad produced some of his scintillating best to defeat Singh 2-0, while Makin had to fight back from 1-0 down to see off Pajares 2-1.
Day Three : Singh & Pajares gatecrash quarters as home hopes end
Abhay Singh and Iker Pajares are through to the quarter finals of a Gold-level event for the first time after ousting seventh and sixth seeds seed Aly Abou Eleinen and Youssef Soliman.
Singh, featuring at the Grasshopper Cup for the first time, overcame Eleinen 2-0 to secure his maiden last eight spot at a Gold event. Pajares, who’s reached the last eight of Platinum events previously, produced another impressive performance to down Soliman in straight games having taken out Swiss #1 Dimitri Steinmann in round one.
Home hopes were dashed after 14-time Swiss national champion Nicolas Mueller was defeated by fourth seed Joel Makin, while second seed Karim Abdel Gawad downed Auguste Dussourd 2-0.
In the women’s draw Jasmine Hutton came from a game down to to beat Melissa Alves, setting up a quarter-final against second seed Satomi Watanabe, who came through a tough encounter with Rowan Elaraby. Fayrouz Aboelkheir downed fellow Egyptian Nour Heikal and England’s Gina Kennedy defeated her compatriot Grace Gear.
Day Two : James downs Ibrahim as first quarter-finalists are decided
England’s Declan James scored the only seeding upset on day two of the Grasshopper Cup , dispatching fifth seed Youssef Ibrahim to progress to the quarter finals.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw last year’s runner-up Diego Elias kicked off his campaign with a 2-0 win against Fares Dessouky. Victor Crouin and Mohamed Abouelghar also notched straight games successes, seeing off Greg Lobban and Juan Vargas.
In the women’s draw Salma Hany downed Lucy Turmel, Sivasangari Subramaniam produced a dominant display against Farida Mohamed, Nada Abbas won the all-Egyptian battle with Mariam Metwally and top seed Amina Orfi downed Hollie Naughton.
Day One : Mueller the last Swiss standing after opening round
Fourteen-time Swiss national champion Nicolas Mueller battled back from a game down to defeat Baptiste Masotti and keep home hopes alive in Zurich.
Mueller, who’s the most decorated Swiss national champion, is the last player standing from the host nation of the Gold-level event following the exits of Swiss #1 Dimitri Steinmann, Yannick Wilhelmi and wildcards Louie Hafez, David Bernet, Cindy Merlo and Ambre Allinchx.
“It’s always good to get a win on home soil. It was a quick-fire match – Baptiste and I played about 18 minutes for three games and there weren’t many long rallies. I’m very happy about that,” Mueller said.
Steinmann was defeated by Iker Pajares in an impressve 11-8, 13-11 victory for the Spaniard.
In the women’s draw Rowan Elaraby continues her comeback from injury after recovering from 1a game down against Lee Ka Yi Lee,
Elaraby, featuring in her third tournament since she broke a bone in her foot at last year’s World Championships, marked her first appearance in Zurich since 2023 by notching a 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 win over Lee, while Grace Gear held off fellow Englishwoman Katie Malliff 2-1 to reach the second round, and Nour Heikal toppled her Egyptian compatriot Hana Moataz 2-0 in 13 minutes.
