USA’s Weaver and Egypt’s Hesham Top Draws For Silicon Valley Open 2024

The draws for the inaugural Silicon Valley Open 2024 presented by Oracle NeSuite have been released, revealing USA’s Olivia Weaver as the top seed in the women’s draw and Egypt’s Mazen Hesham leading the men’s draw for the PSA Squash Tour Gold level event.

Scheduled to take place from October 11th to 16th at Squash Zone in Redwood City, California, the tournament will feature 48 players vying for victory. Tickets for the event are available for purchase here, and fans can also catch the action live on SQUASHTV.

Olivia Weaver, the women’s title favourite, had an impressive season on U.S soil last year, securing wins at the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup and DAC Pro Classic. Her outstanding performance in the latter half of the season marked a career-best, and she aims to build on that success. After a summer of intense training, Weaver hopes to cement her position in the world’s top four.

Amanda Sobhy, former World No.3, returns to the PSA Squash Tour after a lengthy absence due to a second Achilles rupture. Sobhy sustained the injury during her Hong Kong Open final against Hania El Hammamy in December and has not competed since. The Silicon Valley Open will mark the American’s comeback on home soil, and with three California wins to her name, she is eager to showcase her best form and vie for her 21st PSA title.

Georgina Kennedy from England and Sivasangari Subramaniam from Malaysia hold the other two top four seeding spots in the women’s draw. Sivasangari has already tasted victory in a Gold event, triumphing over three of the world’s top four players at the London Squash Classic earlier this year. Kennedy, on the other hand, is yet to reach the final of a Gold event in her eight attempts. As the highest seed she has ever been in this level of competition, Kennedy is determined to give herself a shot at the title.

In the men’s draw, Mazen Hesham, the top seed, earned his World No.5 ranking with consistent performances last season. Hesham reached the quarterfinals in all but two of his 15 tournaments and made it to three finals. He aims to maintain his consistency this season and secure the biggest title of his career.

Joining Hesham in the top four seeding positions are Karim Abdel Gawad, Tarek Momen, and Mohamed Elshorbagy, three legends of the modern game. With a combined 1,852 PSA matches of experience, these players will draw on their expertise to compete for the trophy. Momen claimed silverware in the opening World Tour event last season, while Gawad clinched three titles. After receiving opening round byes, Gawad will face Abdulla Al Tamimi or Omar Mosaad, and Momen will take on either Ramit Tandon or Karim El Hammamy in their respective openers.

Mohamed Elshorbagy, stuck on 49 career titles since the Black Ball Open in 2023, hopes for a performance reminiscent of his success in California in 2022 to reach the milestone of 50 titles. In his opening clash, Elshorbagy is seeded to face USA men’s No.1 Timothy Brownell, provided Brownell defeats England’s Curtis Malik. Brownell had an impressive 23/24 season, reaching the last 16 of the U.S Open and the quarterfinals of the prestigious British Open. He aims to draw on the support of the home crowd to produce his best squash.

More danger lurks below in the men’s draw as all four of the 5/8 seeds are capable of producing upsets on their day. European trio Joel Makin, Marwan Elshorbagy and Victor Crouin are joined by Egypt’s Youssef Soliman as they eye places in the semi-finals. The Silicon Valley crowd will certainly be treated to a wide open race for the men’s title. 

For more information on the Silicon Valley Open 2024, visit the tournament website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook,Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. 

Men’s draw:
[1] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bye
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v [9/16] Greg Lobban (SCO)
[9/16] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v Juan Camilo Vargas (COL)
[8] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bye
[5] Joel Makin (WAL) bye
Patrick Rooney (ENG) v [9/16] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY)
[9/16] Ramit Tandon (IND) v Karim El Hammamy (EGY)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bye
[4] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) bye
Curtis Malik (ENG) v [9/16] Timothy Brownell (USA)
[9/16] Adrian Waller (ENG) v [WC] Bransten Ming (USA)
[7] Victor Crouin (FRA) bye
[6] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) bye
Wildcard v [9/16] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY)
[9/16] Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) v Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bye

Women’s draw:
[1] Olivia Weaver (USA) bye
Grace Gear (ENG) v [9/16] Malak Khafagy (EGY)
[9/16] Nadine Shahin (EGY) v Menna Hamed (EGY)
[7] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bye
[6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bye
Emilia Soini (FIN) v [9/16] Mariam Metwally (EGY)
[9/16] Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) v Marie Stephan (FRA)
[4] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bye
[3] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bye
Riya Navani (USA) v [9/16] Kenzy Ayman (EGY) 
[9/16] Zeina Mickawy (EGY) v Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG)
[5] Amina Orfi (EGY) bye
[8] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bye
[WC] Riva Bhagwati (USA) v [9/16] Sana Ibrahim (EGY)
[9/16] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) v Alicia Mead (ENG)
[2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bye