Challenger Tour Round-Up: Chileshe & Lyon Win in NZ; Khafagy & Nasser Claim ACE titles

Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open 2024 

Temwa Chileshe ended three years of heartbreak at the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open, beating Anthony Lepper on finals day to get his hands on the trophy. 

Thew New Zealander was the beaten finalist at this event in each of the last three years but finally got over the line at the fourth time of asking, clinching his second PSA Tour title in the process. 

He was made to work hard for victory, though, with hometown favourite Lepper fighting back to force a decider after losing the first two games. 

Chileshe, though, regained the momentum and closed out game five 11-7, getting his hands on a trophy that had previously proved so elusive to him. 

In the women’s final, top seed Madison Lyon denied fellow teenager Ella Lash victory on home soil, capturing her maiden Challenger Tour title in the process. 

Lyon had beaten Lash in the Oceania Junior Championships finals just a few weeks ago and repeated the trick here at the North Shore Squash Club, losing game one 11-8 before turning things around, dominating the front of the court to reel off three games on the bounce and get her hands on the silverware.

ACE Challenger 6K 2024 

Mohamed Nasser and Nour Khafagy completed an Egyptian double at the ACE Challenger 6K, denying the home crowd the chance of Malaysian glory in the process. 

Both Nasser and Khafagy were playing Malaysian opponents in the city of Johor, with men’s top seed Nasser facing wildcard Joachim Chuah, and Khafagy taking on fifth seed Sehveetrraa Kumar. 

19-year-old Chuah had already knocked out two seeded players en route to this stage, becoming the youngest wildcard to reach a PSA Tour final this decade, but was outclassed by his Egyptian opponent, who ran out a 3-0 winner in 38 minutes. 

That followed a thrilling five-game win for Khafagy in the women’s final. 

The 17-year-old was seeking her first title at this level but showed little sign of any nerves early on, cruising through the first game to take it 11-4. 

Kumar – herself only 18 years of age – then found her feet as the pair went toe-to-toe across the next two games, with the Malaysian levelling up the scores by winning the second, only for Khafagy to get her nose back in front with the third. 

It appeared as though the momentum may have shifted back in the Malaysian’s favour as proceedings headed to a decider, with a one-sided fourth game ended 11-2, but Khafagy was undeterred, regaining her focus before closing out the fifth 11-8 to secure glory. 

ECP Open 2024 

Paraguay’s Francesco Marcantonio and Mexico’s Sarahi Lopez won their first Challenger Tour titles at the ECP Open, winning the respective men’s and women’s finals. 

Marcantonio saved four match balls in an epic semi-final win over top seed Rowan Damming, and needed to dig almost as deep to beat second seed Andres Herrera in the final. 

After taking game one 11-8, the seventh seed found himself on the back foot as Herrera fought his way back into the contest, squaring the score by claiming the second 11-8, before edging a third-game tiebreak 13-11. 

But back came Marcantonio once again, sending the match into a decider by winning game four 11-8 and ultimately going on to claim glory, edging a tense game five 11-9 as the match hit the 90-minute mark. 

Things were more straightforward for women’s champion Lopez, who needed just over half an hour to see off 16-year-old Laura Silva. 

The Brazilian teenager had not dropped a game en route to the final, but was second best on finals day, as the more experienced Mexican won 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 to secure her first title on the Challenger Tour. 

You can see all the results on the PSA Challenger Tour here.