Analysis: How The South Western Women’s Open Was Won

The inaugural South Western Women’s Open took place last week at the Houston Squash Club in the USA. World No.1 Nouran Gohar started the season in strong form as she took the Gold level event beating dangerous compatriot Nour El Tayeb in the final.

Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee caused the only upset in round one as she overcame compatriot Tomato Ho in five games to secure a place in the last 16. Four Egyptians claimed round one wins as Sana Ibrahim, Mariam Metwally, Hana Ramadan all claimed solid victories, whereas Nadine Shahin progressed through to the next round after recovering from 2-0 down against USA’s Haley Mendez.

Nouran Gohar was in clinical form as she beat Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee in her opening match of the tournament and her opening match of the 2022/23 season. In typical Gohar style, she found her length immediately and pinned her opponent deep in the back corners giving Yi Lee no chance to attack. The World No.1 showed no mercy as she hunted the volley and used her attacking kill to see out the match winning 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 in just 20 minutes.

USA’s Olivia Fiechter was Gohar’s quarter final opponent on day three of the event. The pair last met at the J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions at one of the PSA’s most iconic tournament locations, Grand Central Terminal in New York. Gohar won 3-1 on the day in a competitive clash. The World No.1 continued her round one form and was again in ‘Terminator’ mode. She played a lot straighter than usual and restricted Fiechter’s play due to the tightness of the ball on the side wall. 

The No.1 seed only grew in confidence as the match went on and although Fiechter tried her best to hurt Gohar at the front of the court, Gohar was simply too fast and strong to be put under any sustained pressure. 

An all-Egyptian clash with No.3 seed Rowan Elaraby awaited Gohar in the event’s semi-final. Elaraby has not been shy in voicing her desire to challenge the top players in the world and is not content with just making up the numbers in the world’s top ten. Elaraby came out at a blistering pace, firing the ball in short in typical Egyptian style which caught Gohar off guard.

Gohar found herself 2-1 down in the semi-final, losing the third game 12-10. Securing the third game seemed to have taken a lot more out of the younger Egyptian than she would have wanted as she started the fourth game at a slightly slower pace which only spurred on the World No.1. Gohar’s length returned to her usual high standards and with the physicality of Elaraby rapidly fading, ‘The Terminator’ was back to full flow. Gohar secured the final two games both 11-4 to breathe a sigh of relief and move into her first final of the new season.

Another compatriot Nour El Tayeb awaited Gohar in the inaugural event final, as she defeated No.2 seed Amanda Sobhy in an entertaining 63-minute five-game clash to reach her second successive final on the PSA World Tour, after winning the season-opening CIB Zed Open Bronze event.

The final started with great quality from the Egyptian pair, they both imposed their own styles on the match early on with Gohar’s hard-hitting game being countered by El Tayeb’s skill and touch making for a great spectate for the Houston crowd. Despite saving a game ball, El Tayeb lost out in a crucial first game 12-10 after Gohar fired a crosscourt past the World No.8 to seal the game.

The power of Gohar continued in the following games and her relentless pressure to the back of the court was starting to take its toll on El Tayeb. The No.7 seed was seemingly feeling the effects of her semi-final encounter with Sobhy as she struggled to move in front of Gohar to inflict any pressure on the World No.1.

El Tayeb tried her best to keep moving the ball around the court to test the movement of Gohar but the World No.1s movement was simply too strong. Gohar also started to read the attacks of El Tayeb and counter-attack, forcing El Tayeb up the court and cover all areas of the court. After 42 minutes of play, Gohar had secured the title, winning 11-5, 11-7 in the final two games to win 3-0 and take home the first PSA Gold event of the season.

Gohar captured an impressive seven titles last season, and with plenty of events on the horizon this year, could she surpass that this season and remain on top of the world rankings for the entire season?