Squash Inspire – Women’s Open: Walid and Baltayan Knock Out Seeds, Tycova Wins Thriller

Teenagers Menna Walid and Lauren Baltayan showcased their burgeoning talents by knocking out seeded players on day two of the Squash Inspire – Women’s Open presented by Expression Networks LLC & Play Squash Academy. 

19-year-old Walid – the World No.77 – came into this event having reached at least the quarter-finals of her last six events, winning three of them, and continued that streak by upsetting top seed Ka Yi Lee here. 

Lee is ranked at No.41 in the world, 36 places above Walid in the rankings, but the match proved to be a one-sided affair in the Egyptian’s favour, finishing 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 in just 23 minutes. 

Walid will now play Baltayan in the last eight, after the 16-year-old French star knocked out No.7 seed Yasshmita Jadish Kumar 3-1. 

The Malaysian did take the opening game on a tie break, winning it 13-11, but it was Baltayan in control from that moment forward. 

She won the second 11-6 to level things up before moving within one game of victory by winning the third 11-8, and had no problem finishing the job, racing through game four for the loss of just two points. 

Lee and Kumar were not the only seeds to crash out in round two, with Mexico’s Diana Garcia and Australia’s Alex Haydon also losing out. 

Sixth seed Garcia – a winner of three PSA Tour titles in 2023 – was comfortably beaten by Canada’s Danielle Ray in the final match of the day. 

Ray is a former top-20 player who is still on the comeback trail from injury, bur provided another reminder of just how talented she is with an 11-9, 11-5, 11-3 over the Mexican. 

Haydon, meanwhile, went down in an epic encounter with Germany’s Katerina Tycova. 

The pair had split the first four games, both winning one game 11-6 and another on a tie break 12-10, and there was little to separate them in the decider either. 

Having already saved two match balls at 10-8 down in game four, Tycova then found herself on the brink of defeat once more in game five at 9-8 down, but rallied to send the match into yet another tie break, though not before squandering a match ball of her own at 10-9 up. 

She would let another opportunity pass by at 11-10 before making it third time lucky on her next match ball, clinching the tie break 13-11 to end a dramatic 65-minute encounter. 

Her reward will be a quarter-final matchup with No.3 seed Nardine Garas, who was joined in the last eight by fellow seeds Enora Villard, Akanksha Salunkhe and Caroline Fouts. 

Results: Women’s Round Two

Menna Walid (EGY) bt [1] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (23m) 
Lauren Baltayan (FRA) bt [7] Yasshmita Jadish Kumar (MAS) 3-1: 11-13, 11-6, 11-8, 11-2 (35m) 
[3] Nardine Garas (EGY) bt Nour Heikal (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (31m) 
Katerina Tycova (GER) bt [8] Alex Haydon (AUS) 3-2: 6-11, 10-12, 11-6, 12-10, 13-11 (65m) 
Danielle Ray (CAN) bt [6] Diana Garcia (MEX) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-3 (22m) 
[4] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) bt Riya Navani (USA) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3 (30m) 
[2] Enora Villard (FRA) bt Wai Yhann Au Yeong (SGP) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-7 (23m) 
[5] Caroline Fouts (USA) bt Alina Bushma (UKR) 3-1: 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-8 (51m)