PHOTO ALBUM
Semi-Finals :
[1] Malak Khafagy (Egy) 3-2 [4] Torrie Malik (Eng) 11-9, 8-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6 (56m)
Camille Serme (Fra) 3-0 [6] Haya Ali (Egy) 14-12, 13-11, 11-6 (29m)
Top seed Malak Khafagy will play former World No.2 Camille Serme in the Santiago Open 2025 final, following an action-packed semi-finals day at the As Cancelas shopping mall in northern Spain.
Despite Spanish interest having ended in the quarter-finals, there was once again a packed-out crowd for the two semi-final matches, with each and every seat taken, and spectators lining the steps and the side walls as well.
They were treated to a dramatic encounter in the first match, too, as Khafagy and fourth seed Torrie Malik battled it out for close to an hour in a five-game tussle, a tussle that became increasingly physical as the match wore on.
The Egyptian was wearing heavy strapping on her leg after a collision in her quarter-final win over Hana Ismail, a collision that had left her cramping badly after that match, but she appeared to be moving freely on court 24 hours later, taking game one 11-9 after almost 10 minutes.
Malik responded well to level the score after two, and carried that momentum into game three, losing only five points on her way to success.
That third game included five stroke decisions, and that number was repeated in game four, albeit with three of those five strokes coming on loose drives from Khafagy at 10-6 up, leaving the referee with an easy decision each time.
Despite seeing those three game balls – and another at 10-9 – disappear, Khafagy kept her cool to close out the tiebreak and send the match into a decider, with the crowd hooked by what as unfolding in front of them.
The physical nature of the match continued into game five as tensions rose and emotions ran high, but it was Khafagy ultimately who came out on top when a Malik forehand found the tin at 10-6 down, sending the No.1 seed into her first World events final.
There, she will face a player who is no stranger to World event finals in the form of Serme, who battled past sixth seed Haya Ali 3-0, although the 3-0 scoreline does little to tell the true story as to how close the matchup was.
In fact, Ali may be left wondering what could have been, having taken the 36-year-old to a tiebreak in each of the first two games. She had two game balls in the first and fought back from 10-7 down to level at 10-10 in the second, but was unable to convert either opportunity, with Serme showing all her experience when it mattered.
Serme had been taken to five in each of the last two rounds – having gone to five only twice in total since returning to the Tour this season – but there would be no repeat on semi-finals day here, as she raced clear of Ali in the third.
From 3-2 up she won five points on the bounce to all-but end the Egyptian’s hopes of a comeback, taking her third match ball a few moments later on a smart backhand dropshot winner.
The crowd – which had remained full throughout both matches – showed their appreciation for the spectacle they had witnessed, and will hope for more of the same on finals day tomorrow, when Khafagy and Serme go head-to-head for the title.
For Khafagy it is a chance to win the biggest title of her career, while for Serme, victory would be the perfect end to what has been a stunning return to professional squash, having won two Challenger titles, the GillenMarkets British Open qualifying event and the French nationals this season, with her only defeats coming to Nour El Sherbini and Georgia Adderley.
Quarters: Serme Beats Stefanoni in Controversial Ending
Quarter-Finals
[4] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt. Noa Romero (ESP) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-6 (28m)
[6] Haya Ali (EGY) bt. Lucia Bautista (COL) 3-1: 7-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 (34m)
[1] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt. Hana Ismail (EGY) 3-1: 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8 (50m)
Camille Serme (FRA) bt. [2] Marina Stefanoni (USA) 3-2: 11-9, 5-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-9 (58m)
Camille Serme knocked out Marina Stefanoni in a controversial ending to an epic encounter, which brought the curtain down on quarter-finals day at the Santiago Open 2025.
The two players took to the all-glass court at the As Cancelas shopping mall for the final match of the evening, following on from an all-Egyptian battle between Malak Khafagy and Hana Ismail.
There may not have been the packed-out, partisan crowd that had been witness to Serme’s win over home favourite Marta Dominguez in round two, but there was still a healthy audience in attendance, all hoping for a well-matched battle between a former World No.2 and one of the rising stars of women’s squash.
That would prove to be exactly what they got, too, as Serme and Stefanoni played out a five-game thriller which went right down to the wire. Even in the deciding fifth game, there was little indication of which way the match would go, with there never being more than two points between the two players on the scoreboard.
Both players were playing some immaculate squash, with Serme hitting her targets well and Stefanoni showing exceptional touch in the front corners.
At 9-8 up, the young American thought she had two match balls on a forehand drop that she felt was a winner, but the referee was unsure and asked the players to play a let. Serme then won the next two points to move 10-9 in front and bring up a match ball of her own, with the crowd on the edge of their seats as the match approached the hour mark.
The ending would prove to be somewhat anti-climactic and certainly controversial, as the referee called ‘out’ on a high backhand down the line from Stefanoni, leaving the American in disbelief.
Serme, too, looked a little shell-shocked, offering sympathy to her opponent, who – to her credit – left the court with remarkable composure, accepting the decision with only a look of disappointment as the crowd applauded both players.
After two five-gamers in a row, Serme will now take on Egypt’s Haya Ali in the semi-finals, after the No.6 seed battled back from behind to end the impressive run of Colombia’s Lucia Bautista 3-1.
The other semi-final, meanwhile, will be between top seed Khafagy and fourth seed Torrie Malik, who put in an impressive display to beat wildcard Not Romero in front of a vocal Spanish crowd in the day’s first match.
Malik and Romero had not played each other since juniors, but went all the way to a tiebreak in game one, with Malik saving a game ball at 10-9 down to take it 12-10.
That perhaps took the wind out of Romero’s sails, but it certainly didn’t deflate the crowd, who continued to cheer each and every point the Spaniard won as if it was match ball, even when she was 8-2 down in the third.
Ultimately, though, they would be powerless to prevent Malik’s march towards victory, with the No.4 seed wrapping up success in just under half an hour.
The semi-finals of the Santiago Open take place from 7pm local time (GMT+2) on Friday, June 13th, streaming live on the SQUASHTV Live Streaming YouTube channel.
Round Two : Bautista & Romero Score Upsets as Serme Outlasts Dominguez
Noa Romero (ESP) bt. [7] Enora Villard (FRA) 3-2: 5-11, 12-10, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4 (44m)
[4] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt. Wai Yhann Au Yeong (SGP) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 12-10 (24m)
Lucia Bautista (COL) bt. [3] Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 3-1: 12-10, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 (37m)
[6] Haya Ali (EGY) bt. Rana Ismail (EGY) 3-2: 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 15-13 (49m)
[1] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt. Lowri Roberts (WAL) 3-1: 13-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8 (38m)
Hana Ismail (EGY) bt. [8] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-1: 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (48m)
Camille Serme (FRA) bt. [5] Marta Dominguez (ESP) 3-2: 11-6, 12-10, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7 (57m)
[2] Marina Stefanoni (USA) bt. Alison Thomson (SCO) 3-1: 11-13, 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 (44m)
Lucia Bautista and Noa Romero both scored big upsets on a thrilling second day of action at the Santiago Open 2025, which also featured epic five-game wins for Haya Ali and Camille Serme.
Wildcard Romero had never featured in a World event before this week, but booked her spot in round two with a 3-1 win over fellow Spaniard Cristina Gomez in round one, before going one better by beating eighth seed Enora Villard 3-2 24 hours later.
The 21-year-old Trinity College student was opening the day’s play against France’s Villard, and just as she had done against Gomez, she lost the opening game, but came out on top of what would prove to be a crucial second-game tiebreak.
She won game three 11-4 but would be forced into a decider by her opponent, who won the fourth 11-9.
Undeterred, Romero stormed out of the blocks in game five, taking less than five minutes to establish a 9-2 lead, a lead that she soon converted into an 11-4 success to clinch the biggest win of her PSA Squash Tour career so far.
Her quarter-final opponent will be fourth seed Torrie Malik, who beat Wai Yhann Au Yeong 3-0 in the second match of the day, but there was an upset to follow in the next encounter, as Colombia’s Bautista knocked out third seed Nour Aboulmakarim.
The Colombian had never won a World events match before her round-one success over Ali Loke, and faced a 38-place ranking deficit against Egypt’s Aboulmakarim.
That underdog tag perhaps suited her well, though, as she cut a relaxed figure in the build-up to her match, laughing and joking with her coach courtside as the players waited to be introduced by Spanish squash icon Borja Golan.
That composure served her well in game one, too, as she battled back from 10-8 down to clinch the tiebreak, before winning the second 11-7 to move within one game of glory. Bautista has spent the last few days training in Spain with Golan, and the former World No.5 was cheering her on from the seats as she continued to go toe-to-toe with Aboulmakarim.
She lost game three 11-8 and then fell 6-2 behind in the fourth, but proceeded to reel off six points on the bounce to move 8-6 in front, greeting every point with a look – and sometimes a roar – towards her corner.
Aboumakarim closed the gap back to 8-7 but that would be her final taste of success, as Bautista moved to match ball at 10-7, and then sealed victory on a stroke, letting out another roar towards her team, barely able to contain her emotions as she headed off court.
The drama was far from being done, either, with two more five-game thrillers to come in round two.
The first was an all-Egyptian battle between Rana Ismail and Haya Ali, in which Ali staged stunning fightback from 2-0 down to win in five, winning a dramatic, tension-filled fifth-game tiebreak 15-13 after saving two match balls.
The crowd had been gently filling up throughout the day with a regular stream of passers-by catching a glimpse of the action in amongst their shopping, but the atmosphere for the second third five-gamer of the day was on another level.
With Spanish No.1 Marta Dominguez in action against former World No.2 Camille Serme, there was not a spare seat in the stands, with every space taken down the stairs as well and spectators lining the side walls.
Despite having the partisan crowd against her, it was Serme who made the better start, winning game one 11-6 and taking the second 12-10. But despite their home favourite being down on the scorecard, the Spanish crowd continued to cheer every point Dominguez won, with those cheers growing louder with each and every rally as she clawed her way back into the contest.
An 11-6 success for Dominguez in game three saw the Spaniard leave the court to cries of ‘vamos’ from every corner, and after closing out the fourth 11-5, the noise could be heard right around the As Cancelas shopping maul.
The 23-year-old’s reaction to winning game four – a turn to the crowd with outstretched arms that was reminiscent of Russel Crowe’s famous ‘Are you not entertained’ scene from Gladiator – had almost everyone watching believing that a Spanish win was now well within reach.
Another huge cheer echoed through the shopping centre corridors – with customers in the neighbouring Zara perhaps wondering what was going on – as Dominguez won the first point of game five.
But Serme – using all of her experience – was out to spoil the party, winning the next four points before racing out to six match balls at 10-4 up.
Dominguez did threaten what would have been a truly sensational comeback, winning the next three points to get the crowd on the edges of their seats once more, but a loose backhand down the middle would ultimately hand Serme a stroke, ending a pulsating contest after almost an hour.
Serme’s reward for outlasting Dominguez is a quarter-final matchup with the USA’s Marina Stefanoni, while the other last-eight encounter will be an all-Egyptian affair between top seed Malak Khafagy and the unseeded Hana Ismail.
Round One – Wild Card Noa surprises!
Wildcard Noa Romero marked her World events debut with an impressive win, as action got underway at the Santiago Open 2025 in Spain.
The 21-year-old Spaniard – a student at Trinity College – had never played in a World-level event before this, but was given a wildcard on home soil and was drawn to face compatriot Cristina Gomez in round one.
Despite being separated by more than 70 places in the rankings, there was little to split the two players in the early exchanges. It was the more experienced Gomez who headed off court with a one-game lead, though, and she raced into a 5-2 lead in the second, only for Romero to turn the tide.
She reeled off seven of the next eight points to lead 9-6, and while Gomez closed the gap back to 10-9, Romero got the 11th point she needed to level the score. Another 11-9 success in game three handed Romero a 2-1 lead, and at 5-2 up in the fourth, she had victory within her sights.
The young Spaniard had her family watching on in the crowd, and greeted them with a fist bump after each point she won as the finish line edged closer. From 9-6 up, she lost two consecutive points to set the nerves racing, but she remained calm despite the pressure, ripping a backhand winner cross-court to close out the win on match ball at 10-8.
There was more drama to come in the second match of the day, too, as Singapore’s Wai Yhann Au Yeong staged a stunning fightback to beat England’s Kiera Marshall in five.
The 26-year-old came straight to Santiago from Texas – via a six-hour layover in London – after finishing as runner-up in a Challenger Nine event in Houston on Sunday, but shrugged off any jet lag she might’ve had to book her place in round two.
She had to do things the hard way, though, finding herself staring down the barrel of defeat at 2-0, 10-9 down, only to save match ball and take the third 13-11, before dominating the fourth – winning it 11-2 – and closing out the fifth 11-6, setting up a second-round clash with fourth seed Torrie Malik.
Wins for Lucia Bautista and Rana Ismail – over Ali Loke and Tessa ter Sluis respectively – then closed out the afternoon session, with another home favourite, Sofia Mateos, kicking off the evening schedule.
Mateos was taking on Wales’ Lowri Roberts and threatened an upset after taking game one 12-10 and then moving 4-1 in front in the second.
Spain’s Sofia Mateos in action against Lowri Roberts of Wales.
But Roberts found her feet as game two wore on, establishing an 8-6 lead that she would convert into an 11-8 success, and from there, she took control. Not once during either the third or fourth games did the Welsh No.3 trail, needing fewer than seven minutes to win them both, wrapping up victory just a couple of minutes after the half-hour mark of the match.
That result was followed by convincing 3-0 wins for Hana Ismail and Camille Serme, with former World No.2 Serme needing just 18 minutes to see off Nadia Pfister, while Scotland’s Alison Thomson drew the day to a close with a 3-1 win over Cristina Tartarone.
