Challenger Tour Round-Up: More Success for Ismail Sisters, Palomino Denies Peach Home Glory

Richardson Wealth Van Lawn Open 2024 

Rana Ismail secured her second consecutive title, and the biggest of her career so far, beating No.1 seed Tsz-Wing Tong 3-0 in the Richardson Wealth Van Lawn Open final. 

Ismail – seeded No.5 – came into this event having won the 9K Underhill Geomatics Sport Central Open a week ago, but now has a 15K title to her name, after sweeping aside the Hong Kong player in 27 minutes, winning 11-5, 11-6, 11-9. 

Victory for the Egyptian in Vancouver caps an impressive week in which she beat two players ranked inside the world’s top 50, and saw off the threat of compatriot Nour Heikal. 

Oasis Pools & Spas Manitoba Open 2024 

Earlier in the day and a few hundred miles east of Vancouver in Winnipeg, there was more Egyptian success at the expense of a No.1 seed from Hong Kong, as Ibrahim Elkabbani beat Tsz Kwan Lau to the Oasis Pools & Spas Manitoba Open title. 

No.2 seed Elkabbani is ranked 15 places below Lau, but had enjoyed a dominant week in reaching the final, only dropping one game all week. 

He carried that momentum into the showdown with Lau, winning games one, three and four all by the same 11-8 scoreline, with an 11-9 loss in the second being the only blot on his record. 

The 15K crown is Elkabbani’s second at that level – having won the SA Open earlier this season – and is his sixth trophy on the PSA Challenger Tour overall. 

University of the West of England The Bristol Open 2024 

Not wanting to be outdone by her older sister, Hana Ismail continued her sensational run of form, beating Ireland’s Breanne Flynn to claim the University of the West of England The Bristol Open crown, her third straight title on the PSA Tour. 

The 19-year-old Egyptian won events in both Cheltenham and Colchester coming into this competition, and completed her hat-trick with a 3-1 win at Bristol’s Workout Harbourside. 

She didn’t have things all her own way though, not only needing all five games to see off No.1 seed Wai Yhann Au Yeong in the semi-finals, but then falling a game down to Flynn in the final. 

The unseeded 28-year-old had enjoyed a memorable week already, reaching what was her first ever Challenger Tour final, knocking out two seeds along the way. 

And after taking the first game 11-5, she would have been eyeing a fairytale finale to the week, but Ismail found her feet in game two and barely looked back, not dropping more than six points in any of the next three games to clinch glory. 

In the men’s draw, Colombia’s Ronald Palomino denied home favourite and No.1 seed James Peach, holding off a stirring fightback from the Bristol-based lefty. 

Palomino is a former World No.70 who missed much of 2023 through injury, but he looked to be heading for a comfortable victory here after taking the first two games. 

Peach, though, turned the tide in dramatic fashion, winning game three 11-2 in less than seven minutes, before levelling things up by winning the fourth 11-8. 

At 9-7 up in the decider, Peach had glory within his sights, but Palomino had other ideas, reeling off the next four points – the final one on a stroke – to get his hands on a fifth Challenger Tour title. 

Yellow Dots Squash Open 2024 

No.2 seed Busayo Olatunji battled back from 2-1 down to win the women’s title at the Yellow Dots Squash Open, while Gabriel Olufunmilayo won the men’s competition. 

Neither Olatunji nor her opponent Rofiat Abdulazeez – the women’s No.1 seed – had been truly tested coming into this final, both getting to this stage without dropping a game. 

But that all changed in the final at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria, as the pair went toe-to-toe through fives games over 75 minutes. 

Ultimately, it was Olatunji who came out on top, taking games four and five 11-8, 11-4 after being 2-1 down, to get her hands on the trophy. 

The men’s event, meanwhile, was won by top seed Olufunmilayo, who beat second seed Kehinde Samuel Temitope. 

Like Olatunji, Olufunmilayo was pushed harder than he had been all week in getting to this final, being taken to a fourth after losing a third-game tiebreak when on the brink of glory. 

He regained his composure, though, and dominated game four, losing only four points to secure the victory as the match hit the hour mark. 

Victory for both Olatunji and Olufunmilayo represented their first ever titles on the PSA Challenger Tour. 

You can stay up to date with results and fixtures from all events on the PSA Challenger Tour here.