Texas Open 2026: It’s Nour and Victor !!

Nour ElSherbini and Victor Crouin captured the Gold-level Texas Open 2026 titles after claiming wins over Olivia Weaver and Diego Elias and on an epic finals night at the Houston Squash Club.

Fourth Crouin claimed the biggest title of his career to date following a sublime four-game victory over World #4 Elias, while ElSherbini clinched her second title in as many weeks after a thrilling comeback win over U.S. #1 Weaver.

Although coming into the men’s final on a four-match losing run against 2024 World Champion Elias, Crouin produced a superb display of precise, clinical squash to negate the world-class threats of Elias.

“I’m so glad I got over the line in the end,” Crouin said. “I was thinking of the Grasshopper Cup match last year when I lost against Diego from 10-5 up, so I was relieved to win 11-9 in the end. Obviously, it’s my first Gold event win, and I’ve been chasing wins over top-five players for a while.
“I’ve been feeling strong on court and I’m trying to chase the top five for sure. I’ve been fairly consistent this season and I feel it’s been one of my strengths.”

ElSherbini won her 47th PSA Tour title after fighting back from 2-1 down to defeat second seed Weaver, pulling away in the latter stages of both the fourth and fifth games with some quality, error-free squash  to stretch her winning run over the American to 17 matches and claiming  her second Texas Open crown – 12 years on after first claiming the title as a qualifier.

“I’m so glad to get through the match today. It was very tough mentally as well as physically,” ElSherbini said. “Olivia played absolutely amazingly and I’m happy I won in the end.

It was in the same mood and the same rhythm as last week in Chicago. To go in and play another tournament back-to-back, it was hard. I’m so proud of how I handled it and the end result I wanted.”

Semis : Top seeds ElSherbini and Elias to face Weaver and Crouin in Houston Finals

World #3 Olivia Weaver and World #5 Nour ElSherbini have set up a title-deciding showdown at the Texas Open 2026, joining World #4 Diego Elias and World #7 Victor Crouin in the finals of the Gold-level event in Houston.

Weaver and ElSherbini, who contested the Platinum-level Hong Kong Open final in December, will once again go head-to-head for silverware after claiming  three-game victories over Georgina Kennedy and Marina Stefanoni. Tomorrow’s final will see Weaver attempt to overturn a 0-16 head-to-head record against the eight-time World Champion, with the U.S. #1 admitting after her semi-final win, “I can’t wait. This is why you put in the work, to play on occasions like this against the best players in the world. I’m really hungry to take home the title.”

ElSherbini, who won the Texas Open as a qualifier back in 2014, ultimately proved too strong for Stefanoni in the latter stages of all three games to move through to her 77th PSA final  with an 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 scoreline.

In the men’s event fourth seed Crouin advanced to his second Gold-level final of the season following a clinical three-game victory over fellow Frenchman and tournament surprise package Melvil Scianimanico. Top seed Elias was the last player to book his spot on finals day, after the Peruvian avenged his recent defeat to Marwan ElShorbagy at the Motor City Open with a four-game victory.

Quarters : Scianimanico stuns Gawad to reach last four in Houston

World #47 Melvil Scianimanico claimed his second former World #1 scalp in as many days after stunning Karim Abdel Gawad with a sublime performance in the quarter-finals of the Texas Open 2026.

Just 24 hours on from his career-best victory over former Mohamed ElShorbagy, the Frenchman delivered yet another tireless performance to overcome second seed Gawad 11-6, 11-7, 11-9.

“Like yesterday, I’m over the moon. It’s amazing to produce this level of squash. I just don’t believe it, to be honest. Yesterday’s win over ElShorbagy gave me so much confidence in the way I play. I just wanted to play simple squash and play my game.”

The 22-year-old will face close friend and compatriot Victor Crouin in the semi-finals after the fourth seed beat Aly Abou Eleinmen in four close games.

Elsewhere there were commanding wins for top seeds Nour ElSherbini and Diego Elias over Georgia Adderley and Muhammad Ashab Irfan, while Marina Stefanoni breezed past an injury-hampered Salma Hany in just 17 minutes.

Third seed Marwan ElShorbagy was the last player confirmed in the semi-finals, after he closed out a hard-fought four-game encounter against Dimitri Steinmann

Round TWO : Trio of upsets as Quarter-Finalists decided in Houston

Houston-based Muhammad Ashab Irfan delivered one of three major seeding upsets on day two of the Texas Open 2026, overcoming eighth seed Eain Yow Ng in a thrilling fifth-game tie-break to reach his first Gold-level quarter-final.

On a dramatic day of play in which rising stars Melvil Scianimanico and Nadien Elhammamy joined Ashab Irfan in achieving career-best wins, it was the World  #44 – who trains and plays at the Houston Squash Club – who stole the show with an 11-7, 8-11, 4-11, 11-8, 14-12 win over World #16 Ng.

“That was intense and I’m really proud of myself. Obviously, Yow is a very hard player to play against, and he’s an amazing top-ten player. To win like this in my home club is amazing, and I’m really proud of myself. When you look out of the court and the crowd is cheering you on and supporting you, it’s huge. To reach my first Gold quarter-final at my home club is a big deal for me.”

Elsewhere World #47 Scianimanico delivered a stunning performance as he fought back from a game behind to defeat former World #1 Mohamed ElShorbagy by a 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 scoreline. The 20-year-old Frenchman will play World #3 Karim Abdel Gawad in tomorrow’s quarter-finals, after the former World Champion got the better of England’s Nick Wall in four games.

In the women’s draw Egypt’s Elhammamy continued her career-best run in Houston after defeating seventh  seed Kenzy Ayman in a feisty all-Egyptian affair. The 18-year-old, who is set to rise into the top 50 of the women’s rankings for the first time next week, joins eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini and U.S. ‘1 Olivia Weaver in the next round after the pair claimed straight game wins over Mariam Metwally and Nour Heikal.

There was one other seeding upset on the second day of play, with Swiss #1 Dimitri Steinmann holding off a five-game comeback from sixth seed Youssef Soliman to advance, with Soliman retiring late on in the fifth game due to injury.

Round ONE : Heikal wins thriller as action gets under way in Houston

World #46 Nour Heikal came through a thrilling all-Egyptian battle on day one of the Texas Open 2026, fighting back from two match balls down to defeat Nour Aboulmakarim at Houston Squash Club. Heikal will be joined in the second round by compatriot Nadien Elhammamy, who upset World #34 Lucy Beecroft to record her first Gold-level win.

Houston Squash Club crowd favourite Muhammad Ashab Irfan got his campaign up and running with an impressive three-game victory over Yannick Wilhelmi. Other notable winners in the men’s event included Nick Wall, who overcame Kareem El Torkey in straight games, and Gregoire Marche, who continued his recent fine form with victory over Sam Todd.

Preview : Men & Women PSA $100k Gold, 12-16 Feb, Houston, USA

The American swing of the PSA Squash Tour season continues with the Gold-level Texas Open 2026 getting underway at Houston Squash Club.

Current World Champion Nour ElSherbini and 2024 World Champion Diego Elias top the draws. ElSherbini will be competing in Texas for only the third time, first appearing in the Texas Open in 2014, where she came all the way from qualifying to win the entire event. U.S. #1 Olivia Weaver is the second seed, with third and fourth seeds Gina Kennedy and Salma Hany slated to reach the semi-finals.

Elias is looking to rebuild his performances of late after a knee injury sidelined him for several months earlier this season. The reigning British Open champion has competed in three successive events at the start of 2026 and will be hopeful that he is now up to full speed as he attempts to hunt down Karim Abdel Gawad, Paul Coll and Mostafa Asal at the top of the men’s rankings.

Houston favourite Gawad occupies the second seeding position, while third and fourth seeds Marwan Elshorbagy and Victor Crouin pose serious threats to the top two.