Challenger Tour Round-Up: Ismail Upsets Stephan in Vancouver, El Torkey Through to Winnipeg Semis

Richardson Wealth Van Lawn Open 2024 

Rana Ismail remains on course for back-to-back titles, after beating No.3 seed Marie Stephan to reach the Richardson Wealth Van Lawn Open semi-finals. 

The young Egyptian – whose sister Hana is targeting a third straight title in Bristol this week – came from 2-1 down to beat the Frenchwoman, who is ranked 22 places above her. 

Ismail’s reward will be a showdown with another in-form Egyptian in Nour Heikal. 

The 20-year-old finished as runner-up in Ipswich a fortnight ago, and will now have the chance to reach another final in Vancouver, after beating Mexico’s No.6 seed Diana Garcia in just 22 minutes. 

The other semi-final will also feature an Egyptian player, with Menna Walid set to take on top seed Tsz-Wing Tong, after both players recorded straight-game wins in the quarter-finals. 

Oasis Pools & Spas Manitoba Open 2024 

Kareem El Torkey knocked out No.4 seed Mazen Gamel in the Oasis Pools & Spas Manitoba Open quarter-finals, joining the top three seeds in the final four. 

19 years separated the youthful El Torkey and the experienced Gamel, and it was the dynamic young star who came out on top in three tight games, winning the first two 11-9 before closing out victory in a third-game tie break. 

Top seed Tsz Kwan Lau and No.2 seed Ibrahim Elkabbani also won in three, while England’s Ben Smith – the No.3 seed – needed four games to see off Colombia’s Edgar Ramirez, putting a third-game tiebreak defeat behind him to win the fourth 11-9. 

University of the West of England The Bristol Open 2024 

More than 4,000 miles away from where his sister is into the semi-finals in Vancouver, Hana Ismail is into the last four of the University of the West of England The Bristol Open. 

The 19-year-old has won her last two PSA Challenger Tour events, and continued her quest for a third with a 3-1 win over England’s Amelie Haworth, overcoming a slow start to win 3-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7. 

She will now played top seed and UWE favourite Wai Yhann Au Yeong for a place in the final, but the other semi-final will see two unseeded players go head-to-head. 

Ireland’s Breanne Flynn and India’s Urwashi Joshi both knocked out seeded players in the last 16 and repeated the feat in the quarter-finals, with both players now vying for a place in their first ever Challenger Tour final. 

In the men’s draw, Colombia’s Ronald Palomino ended the hopes of another UWE favourite, beating No.2 seed Ameeshenraj Chandaran in a lengthy five-game encounter that lasted nearly an hour and a half. 

Chandaran’s exit means local hopes in the men’s draw now rest solely with Bristol resident James Peach, the No.1 seed. 

Peach will play fellow Englishman Jared Carter in the first semi-final after comfortably beating Ammar Altamimi in the last eight, with Rhys Evans the other man to progress through. 

Yellow Dots Squash Open 2024 

The top two seeds will face off in both the men’s and women’s finals at the Yellow Dots Squash Open. 

Unseeded Oladipupo Ayomide had already caused two upsets to reach the semi-finals, but he was ruthlessly dispatched by men’s No.1 seed Gabriel Olufunmilayo, who lost only five points in a destructive 20-minute performance. 

Both Rofiat Abdulazeez and Busayo Olatunji also recorded straight-game wins in the women’s semi-finals, while men’s No.2 seed Kehinde Samuel Temitope had to work much harder for his win over fourth seed Faruq Sulaimon, needing 50 minutes to complete a 3-1 win. 

You can see details of all the results and fixtures from each event on the PSA Challenger Tour here.