Quarters I : Hutton holds off Khagafy as first semi-finalists are decided in Cleveland
Jasmine Hutton fended off a spirited resurgence from Malak Khafagy to progress to the semi finals in a pulsating quarter-final at UH Drusinsky Sports Medicine Institute.
Hutton, who lost 3-2 to Khafagy in their only previous PSA meeting, looked on course for a comfortable victory over the Egyptian when she took a commanding 2-0 lead, but Khafagy fought back to force a decider which Hutton took 12-10.
“It was one of those where I played really well in the first two. To be honest I didn’t play that well, she made me so edgy today and I just couldn’t hit the lines and I wasn’t really attacking like I would like to,” she said. “All credit to her – I thought she was the better player today and I was just lucky how I managed to cope in the last couple of points.”
Top seed Olivia Weaver awaits Hutton in the semi finals on Saturday night after she triumphed in the all-American battle with Marina Stefanoni, winning 11-7, 11-7, 11-4.
In the men’s draw Gregoire Marche is through to his first semi-final at a Silver event since 2019 after coming from a game down to beat Nathan Lake.
Marche will face the men’s top seed Paul Coll following the World #2’s 3-0 win over Bernat Jaume.
Round Two : Chotrani reaches first Silver quarter-final
India’s Veer Chotrani booked his place in the quarter finals of a Silver-level event for the first time after axing eighth seed Yannick Wilhelmi in straight games.
The World #52, playing in his first Silver event, delivered an impressive display to win 11-6, 11-8, 11-3 and earn himself a quarter-final clash with tsecond seed Leonel Cardenas on Friday evening.
“I feel amazing,” he said post-match. “It’s first my Silver tournament and my first Silver quarters and I’m stoked to be through today because Yannick [] has been playing so well lately and I’m proud of myself for performing like this.”
Greg Lobban avoided a shock defeat to World #77 Muhammad Asim Khan, winning 3-2 in the final match of the day at Urban Squash Cleveland.
In the women’s draw, Lucy Beecroft produced a sensational comeback from 2-1 down to beat seventh seed Georgia Adderley. Beecroft, who’s through to her first Silver quarter-final since the New Zealand Open in 2023, saw her great attacking verve rewarded with a 11-8, 8-11, 10-12, 11-7, 12-10 win.
“It was a tough one and I knew coming in it was going to be a physical battle,” she said.
“I’ve been working on that and I’m trying to get more confident in that side of my game and being able to control the pace and play to my strengths.
Egypt’s Malak Khafagy produced a remarkable fightback of her own to advance to the last eight, recovering from 2-1 down to overcome Alicia Mead.
Round One : Lake and Mekhalfi win thrillers in Cleveland openers
Nathan Lake and Toufik Mekhalfi staved off late surges from their opponents on the opening day of Squash in the Land 2026 to progress to round two of the Silver-level event.
Lake fended off a comeback from Matthew Lai to win 3-2, while Mekhalfi also triumphed by the same scoreline against Rui Soares to book a place in the second round in Cleveland.
“This is technically a first-ever Silver first round win – today it was tough. It was difficult conditions and I’m really happy with that,” Mekhalfi said. “It was a cheeky match because it was not my best match because the conditions were not easy. If you are not hitting the ball well, the ball was going into the middle of the court and it was difficult to find my length. It got better at points but not during all the match.”
In the women’s draw, Marta Dominguez claimed an impressive victory over Nour Heikal at Urban Squash Cleveland to progress to the second round. The World #59 beat World #.44 Heikal 11-6, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8 to tee up a second round clash with the tournament’s third seed Jasmine Hutton.
Home favourites Audrey Berling and Dixon B Hill had their campaigns in Cleveland cut short at the hands of Tomato Ho and Grace Gear.
Preview
The third edition of the Squash in the Land gets underway tomorrow as 24 men and 24 women look to claim the crown in Cleveland, Ohio. The event will take place from 13th to 18th January across 4 different venues in Cleveland: UH Drusinsky Sports Medicine Institute, Urban Squash Cleveland, Cleveland Skating Club & The Cleveland Racquet Club.
World #2 Paul Coll tops the men’s draw whilst USA’s Olivia Weaver tops the women’s draw. Neither have claimed the title before and would love to add another different trophy to their growing collections.
Coll already has two titles to his name this season, winning the London Classic as well as the Qatar Classic. He’ll be hoping to make that three this week in Cleveland and chase down the runaway World N#1 Mostafa Asal. Weaver often saves her best squash for events on home soil and showcased that perfectly at the Silicon Valley Open earlier this season, where she won in superb style.
Due to the recent withdrawals from Joel Makin and Georgina Kennedy, the second seeds are now Leonel Cardenas and Nele Gilis. Cardenas is a former champion of the event, winning the first edition back in 2024. He holds strong memories from the event, which he’ll be hoping can stand him in good stead for his first event of the new year. Gilis, however, is looking to upset the seedings to earn her first title of the 25/26 season. The Belgian #2 is determined to earn a spot back inside the world’s top 10 and knows that converting positive performances into titles is the best way to do it.
The top seeds all receive byes in round one but 16 other matches are taking place to determine who they will face in round two. Players such as Mazen Hesham and Sabrina Sobhy are in action tomorrow as the event gets underway.
