Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Trio of 3Ks to End the Year

The final three events of the calendar year take place this week, as 2023 draws to a close with a trio of 3k tournaments. 

They will take place in Qatar, India and Egypt, with more talented young stars in action across the board. 

SODIC Squash Open 

The standout event this week is the SODIC Squash Open, the first (and only) PSA Challenger Tour event in 2023 to be held in Egypt. 

Despite being a 3k tournament, the entry list boasts a host of rising Egyptian stars on both sides of the draw. 

The women’s field is topped by World No.84 Menna Walid, who is targeting a third title of 2023, after winning back-to-back events in South Africa and Namibia in September. 

Walid is one of seven teenagers among the eight women’s seeds, with five of them still juniors, including Nour Megahed. 

Megahed is the No.5 seed but is actually the second-highest ranked player in the competition – behind Walid – having climbed more than 50 places in the last two months, currently sitting at No.109. 

Outside of the seeds, Nadien Elhammamy will be looking to showcase her talents with another deep run, having reached the final of her first two PSA Tour events in the last few weeks, winning one and finishing as a runner-up in the other. 

The USA’s Hebaallah Nossier is the only non-Egyptian player in the entry list, and it’s a similar tale in the men’s draw, where Frenchman Grégory Malsang is the only player not playing on home soil. 

Khaled Labib is the No.1 seed, seeking a first PSA Tour title having lost in three previous finals, while Kareem El Torkey and Mohamed Nasser are at No.2 and No.3 respectively. 

JSW 9th Sunil Verma Memorial Open 2023 

Elsewhere, the JSW 9th Sunil Verma Memorial Open will take place in Thane, a neighbouring city of Mumbai. 

Like the SODIC Squash Open, the entry lists are dominated by home players, though the men’s No.1 seed is Sri Lanka’s Ravindu Laksiri. 

Fellow Sri Lankan Nevindu Lakman is also among the seeds, at No.4, but the rest of the men’s field is made up exclusively of Indian players, with Suraj Chand and Rahul Baitha leading the charge as the No.2 and No.3 seeds. 

In the women’s draw, Leungo Katse of Botswana is the only overseas player competing, with Thane’s own home favourite Anjali Semwal the top seed. 

QSF 6 

The other tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour this week is the QSF 6 territory event in Doha, Qatar, with a mix of youth and experienced involved. 

18-year-old Qatari player Salem Al Malki is the No.1 seed, and will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Abdulla Al-Tamimi in securing victory on home soil, with Al-Tamimi having claimed glory at the QSF 3, QSF 4 and QSF 5 events already this season. 

Fellow junior and home hopeful Yousef Essam Farag is the No.3 seed, with Kuwait’s Ammar Altamimi at No.2 

The experienced Altamimi made his Tour debut back in 2005 and reached a career-high ranking of No.78 in 2014, and will have his sights set on claiming a second tour title at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex. 

Stay tuned across the PSA Challenger Tour social channels and PSA website for updates.