Challenger Tour Round-Up: Sobhy Beats Stefanoni, Shohdy Wins Maiden Title

Richmond Open 2024 

Top seed Sabrina Sobhy came out on top of a topsy-turvy five-game encounter with fellow American Marina Stefanoni to reach the Richmond Open semi-finals.

The pair had never met on the PSA Tour before, and it was 21-year-old Stefanoni who took the lead early on, winning game one 11-4. 

Sobhy then raced through games two and three for the loss of just three points in total, before dropping game four 11-9, as the match took another twist. 

Any thoughts of Stefanoni having the momentum were soon dispelled, though, as Sobhy dominated game five just as she had done in games two and three, losing only two points to close out victory. 

Sobhy is now the only American left in the draw, following defeat for 18-year-old Caroline Fouts at the hands of Sana Ibrahim, while Menna Hamed knocked out Elise Romba to set up a second meeting with Farida Mohamed in the last five days. 

Giza Region Challenger 1 2024 

Yassin Shohdy claimed his maiden title on the PSA Tour, winning the Giza Region Challenger 1 in Egypt. 

The 19-year-old third seed had only dropped one game en route to the final, and dominated proceedings against No.5 seed Mohamed Gohar in the final, winning 11-7, 11-5, 11-9. 

Victory represents a first trophy on the Challenger Tour for the World No.188, in what is just his fourth tournament at this level. 

The New York Hyder Trophy 2024 

Lucky loser Kara Lincou made the most of her second chance at The New York Hyder Trophy, beating the USA’s Emma Trauber to reach the quarter-finals. 

20-year-old Lincou – the niece of former world champion Thierry Lincou – was beaten by Malak Taha in round one, but was given a spot in round two following the withdrawal of Eva Salzman, with the lucky loser spot decided by a random draw featuring all eight round-one losers. 

She took that opportunity with both hands, knocking out the 19-year-old American 3-1 to reach the last eight of what is her first Challenger Tour event of 2024. 

She will now face top seed Chan Sin Yuk, who beat another Frenchwoman in Taba Taghavi, while Margot Prow continued her red-hot run with a 3-0 win over sixth seed Nour Ramy. 

In the men’s draw, No.5 seed Veer Chotrani suffered a surprise early exit to Khaled Labib. 

The Indian was playing his first match on tour in 2024, and his first since winning the National Collegiate Individual Championships title, but went down 3-1 to the unseeded Egyptian in 44 minutes. 

Chotrani was the only seeded player to fall in round two of the men’s draw, with the other seven players, including the in-form Jonah Bryant, all progressing. 

AGL Hunter Singleton Open 2024 

Tate Norris will carry home hopes into semi-finals day at the AGL Hunter Singleton Open, after fellow Australians Nicholas Calvert, Benjamin Ratcliffe and David Turner all went out in the last eight. 

Norris and Ratcliffe were facing each other, guaranteeing at least one home favourite in the semi-finals, and it was the No.4 seed who came out on top, winning 3-0 in just under half an hour. 

No.3 seed Calvert, meanwhile, was upset by seventh seed Naoki Hayashi of Japan, going down 3-1, while Turner was knocked out by Malaysian second seed Bryan Tze Kang Lim. 

Top seed Temwa Chileshe of New Zealand is through, though, after beating Shota Yasunari 11-4, 11-7, 11-3.