Satomi Watanabe claims her 14th PSA Squash Tour title
World #6 Satomi Watanabe came into the tournament as the top seed, but was pushed hard throughout the week en route to the final, overcoming a one-game deficit to beat Nadien Elhammamy in round two, and then needing all five games to get past Jasmine Hutton in the semi-finals.
Standing in her way on finals day was second seed Georgina Kennedy, who had beaten the Japanese star in three of their previous four Tour meetings.
Playing in front of a packed crowd inside the Steel City Squash venue, it was Kennedy who made the better start, moving to within three points of taking the opening game at 8-6 up, only to see Watanabe reel off the next four points on the bounce.
Kennedy saved the first game ball with a crisp forehand down the line, but another crunching forehand – this time from the Watanabe racket – would get the No.1 seed over the line.
Kennedy returned to court early in the game break to drill some more shots down the backhand side, and she once again had her nose in front midway through game two, leading 5-4 after a serve return found the back wall nick.
But that would prove to be the last point she would win in the game, as Watanabe strung together seven points in a row to move 2-0 in front.
She continued to get stronger in game three, too, needing little more than five minutes to bring up six championship balls.
Kennedy continued to fight until the end and won the next two points but Watanabe would not have to wait long for her moment of glory, hitting a sharp forehand dropshot winner to close out the victory.
“I’m really happy, really pleased with the performance this week,” she said.
“This hasn’t quite been the season that I was planning. I had some tough losses and injuries at the start of the season, so I’m really happy that at this point in the season, I finally started to find my squash again.
“I’m really grateful for all the support I was getting when I was back home, but also in London with Alison Waters, and especially with my fiancé, who I had a chat with before I played, so I’m very pleased and very happy.”
Semis : Top seeds Watanabe and Kennedy to contest final
Top seeds Satomi Watanabe and Gina Kennedy will contest the final at Steel City Squash in Pittsburgh after contrasting semi-final wins over Jasmine Hutton and Amanda Sobhy – Watanabe had to come from 1-2 down to deny Hutton, while Kennedy eased past Sobhy in straight games.
Quarters : Top seeds through to semis as Amanda recovers to deny Sabrina
The top four seeds will contest the semi-finals of the PSA Silver event in Pittsburgh after contrasting victories in the quarter-finals at Steel City Squash.
Top seed Satomi Watanabe eased past Saran Nghiem in straight games to set up a semi-final against Jasmine Hutton, who overcame Melissa Alves in four games.
Second seed Gina Kennedy made it two Englishwomen in the last four as she came from a game down to end the comeback run of Rowan Elaraby, but the match of the round saw Amanda Sobhy recover from two games down against younger sister Sabrina.
Round Two : Elaraby Returns from Injury Layoff with Second-Round Win at Steel
Rowan Elaraby marked her return to the PSA Tour with a win, beating Hannah Craig 3-0 on day two of the Steel City Open in Pittsburgh, a day which saw top seed Satomi Watanabe survive a scare and Saran Nghiem knock out the No.7 seed.
25-year-old Elaraby had been out of action since suffering a devastating leg injury at last year’s World Championships in May, requiring surgery that she described as being the most painful of her entire life.
But she made her long-awaited return to action here in Pennsylvania, where Irish No.1 Craig was standing in her way.
Elaraby had coach Wael El Hindi in her corner, but even he could not have scripted a better start to the match, as the No.6 seed won the first seven points inside four minutes, going on to close out game one 11-5.
The Egyptian was moving freely and showed little sign of any lingering injury issues, picking up where she left off in game one with another 11-5 success in the second.
Craig dug deep in game three and even brought up a game ball at 10-9, but was unable to convert, opening the door for Elaraby to clinch the tiebreak and book herself into round two.
A hug from El Hindi after stepping off court prompted an outpouring of emotions from the 25-year-old, who was quickly congratulated by Jasmine Hutton and both Sabrina and Amanda Sobhy, who interrupted her own pre-match warm-up to celebrate with Elaraby, recognising the significance of the moment.
Sobhy sisters set up quarter-final showdown
Amanda and Sabrina Sobhy, the third and eighth seeds, both won their opening match in straight games to set up a sibling quarter-final in Pittsburgh.
They’re joined in the last eight by five more of the seeds, including top and second seed Satomi Watanabe and Gina Kennedy, with Saran Nghiem producing the only upset as she ousted seventh seed Malak Khagafy in five close games to set up a quarter-final with Watanabe.
The other quarter-finals will see Kennedy meet Rowan Elaraby while Jasmine Hutton takes on Melissa Alves.
Round One : Seeds suffer on opening day in Pittsburgh
There were a number of seeding upsets at the PSA Silver Steel City Open got under way in Pittsburgh.
In the top half of the draw 9/16 seeds Nadien ElHammamy Saran Nghiem and Nadine Shahin all progressed to round two, but Margot Prow, Lauren Baltayan, Charlotte Pastel, Hannah Craig and Jana Swaify all advanced at the expense of their 9/16 seeded opponents, wildcard Pastel and US-based Craig both needing all five games.
Steel City Open 2026 : Preview
The 2026 Steel City Open gets underway on Wednesday with 24 players arriving in Pittsburgh in search of the Silver-level title.
With the likes of recent Cincinnati Gaynor Cup finalists Amanda Sobhy and Gina Kennedy both arriving in strong form, and World #7 Satomi Watanabe having been named as the top seed, there will be plenty of players hopeful of a successful run this week at Steel City Squash Club.
Amanda in great form
The form player entering this week’s event is World #11 Amanda Sobhy, who picked up her 23rd PSA Tour title last week at the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup, an event in which she defeated both Jasmine Hutton and England #1 Kennedy in straight games to lift the Silver-level title.
Sobhy will be hoping another positive week here can propel her back into the top ten of the PSA World Rankings and towards the all-important top-eight seeding positions for Majors. Sobhy could once again face off against World #9 Kennedy if both were to advance through to the semi-finals stage of the event. The British #1 is the second seed in Pittsburgh and begins her campaign against Marta Dominguez or Jana Swaify.
That is before a potential quarter-final with sixth seed Rowan Elaraby, who will be competing in her first event since a serious injury at last year’s PSA World Championships.
Satomi dangerous
Top seed Watanabe meanwhile, will be eying a first PSA Tour title of the season and her first since Squash in the Land in January 2025. The Japanese #1 has enjoyed another terrific season, reaching her maiden Platinum semi-final at the Hong Kong Open and displaying her world-class ability when defeating World #1 Hania El Hammamy at the China Open. Watanabe is found in the same quarter of the draw as Egyptianseventh7 seed Malak Khafagy.
Elsewhere
Dangerous left-hander Jasmine Hutton will pose a threat from her fourth seed position, having shown the potential to defeat anybody in the draw on her day. The World #15 will be hoping to continue her push up the rankings towards a coveted top ten position.
The other seeding positions see French#1 Melissa Alves, winner of the Monte Carlo Classic earlier this season and potential quarter-final opponent for Hutton, as well as USA’s Sabrina Sobhy, who has been named as the sixth6 seed and could face off against older sister Amanda if the pair were to reach the quarter-finals stage.
