Challenger Tour Round-Up: Hamed and Ibrahim Stun Top Two Seeds in Richmond

Richmond Open 2024 

Menna Hamed stunned second seed Farida Mohamed to reach the Richmond Open final, avenging her defeat to the same opponent from a few days ago. 

The pair had met in the final of last week’s Expression St. James Women’s 20k, with the World No.17 winning 3-2 to secure the trophy, but it was a different story this time around. 

After taking game one 11-7 on a stroke, Hamed then won the first two points of game two, only to then lose 11 on the bounce as Mohamed got back on levels terms. 

In a somewhat remarkable turn of events, Hamed herself then won 11 points in a row to record a bagel in game three, clinching it on a soft forehand drop. 

The No.2 seed remained on court for a few seconds after the game, trying to rediscover some rhythm to her game, but it was to little avail, as Hamed quickly opened up a 6-3 lead in game four, a lead she would convert into victory, reaching her second straight final, and the biggest of her career. 

No.1 seed Sabrina Sobhy was also knocked out in the semi-finals, with third seed Sana Ibrahim producing an impressive display to book a spot her biggest final to date. 

Sobhy had come through a topsy-turvy five-game battle with Marina Stefanoni in the quarter-finals, but was outplayed 24 hours later by the young Egyptian, who needed only 23 minutes to record an 11-6, 11-2, 11-6 victory. 

The New York Hyder Trophy 

Jonah Bryant kept his hopes alive of winning a fourth consecutive title, knocking out No.1 seed Seif El-Shenawy to reach the semi-finals of The New York Hyder Trophy. 

Bryant has won each of his last three events, including the 20k Cannon Kirk Gillen Markets Irish Squash Open last week, and is now two wins away from adding a fourth trophy to his cabinet after knocking out the Egyptian 3-1. 

His opponent will be fourth seed Jeremias Azaña, who dominated the in-form Muhammad Ashab Irfan, spending less than half an hour on court in an 11-1, 11-5, 11-5 win. 

The second semi-final will be an all-Egyptian affair between second seed Kareem El Torkey and the unseeded Khaled Labib. 

El Torkey made light work of Mexico’s Alejandro Reyes, winning 3-0 in 25 minutes, while Labib upset third seed Joseph White of Australia. 

In the women’s draw, Margot Prow continued her quest for a third title in succession, knocking out No.4 seed Ingy Hammouda in an all-left-handed quarter-final matchup. 

Prow will now face Chan Sin Yuk for a spot in the final, after the No.1 seed ended the run of lucky loser Kara Lincou, who had made the most of her second chance by winning in round two after suffering defeat in round one. 

The No.2 and No.3 seeds – Alex Haydon and Nour Megahed – will contest the other semi-final, after beating Breanne Flynn and Wen Li Lai respectively. 

AGL Hunter Singleton Open 2024 

The top two seeds will go head-to-head for the AGL Hunter Singleton Open title, after both Temwa Chileshe and Bryan Tze Kang Lim recorded comfortable semi-final victories. 

New Zealand’s Chileshe beat Japan’s Naoki Hayashi 3-1, closing out victory with a bagel in game four, before Lim ended home hopes by sinking Victorian Tate Norris 3-0 in the second semi-final. 

Lim and Chileshe will now meet for the second time on the PSA Tour, with the Kiwi having won their only previous encounter 3-0, back in 2022. 

You can stay up to date with all the results on the Challenger Tour here.