Expression Network LLC Kinetic Racquet Women’s 30k 2024 D1: Megahed Fights Back from the Brink

Egyptian teenager Nour Megahed produced a sensational comeback to beat Akanksha Salunkhe on day one of the Expression Network LLC Kinetic Racquet Women’s 30k. 

The 18-year-old is currently at a career-high ranking of No.96 in the world, but still went into this round-one matchup as the underdog, with Salunkhe sitting 24 places higher at No.72. 

For the first 24 minutes, it looked as though the Indian No.1 was heading for a comfortable afternoon, giving herself two match balls at 2-0 and 10-8 up. 

But Megahed had other ideas, saving both match balls to force a tiebreak, which she took 13-11 to keep herself alive. 

That moment turned the tides in dramatic fashion, with Megahed only trailing for a single point across the next two games. She took the fourth 11-8 before racing through the fifth, clinching victory when a Salunkhe forehand found the tin, capping a run of seven straight points for the young Egyptian. 

Megahed’s win was the only match to go to five on day one at the Kinetic Indoor Racquet Centre, though rising star Riya Navani was made to work hard for her win over another Egyptian, Ingy Hammouda. 

Navani – one of the brightest prospects in US squash – took games one and three against the 23-year-old lefty, but dropped game two and looked as though she might be headed for a decider at 9-6 down in the fourth.

Riya Navani in action during her win over Ingy Hammouda.

From there, though, Navani reeled off five points on the bounce to book her spot in round two, where she will face French fourth seed Enora Villard. 

Diana Garcia and Alina Bushma also needed four games to get through to day two, but there were no such problems for Danielle Ray or Lucia Bautista. 

Playing on the unique orange and black glass court, Ray and Bautista both put in dominant displays, each taking 20 minutes to beat Ali Loke and Winifer Bonilla respectively, with Ray dropping only 14 points in total. 

Their reward will be round-two encounters with the top two seeds, as Bautista opens day two on the glass court against top seed Emily Whitlock, while Ray will take on second seed Jasmine Hutton. 

Round two gets underway at 12pm ET (5pm BST) on Monday, with all four matches on the glass court streaming live on the SQUASHTV Live Streaming YouTube channel. Click here to tune in. 

Results: 
Nour Megahed (EGY) bt Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) 3-2: 3-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-4 (50m) 
Lucia Bautista (COL) bt Winifer Bonilla (GUA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-3 (20m) 
Hannah Craig (IRL) bt [WC] Madison Ho (USA) 3-0: 13-11, 11-3, 11-7 (35m) 
Danielle Ray (CAN) bt Ali Loke (WAL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 (20m) 
Riya Navani (USA) bt Ingy Hammouda (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 (43m) 
Alina Bushma (UKR) bt Elise Romba (FRA)3-1 : 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6 (37m) 
Zeina Zein (EGY) bt Sofía Mateos (ESP)3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-8 (20m) 
Diana Garcia (MEX) bt [WC] Riya Shankaran (USA) 3-1: 11-9, 11-5, 6-11, 11-3 (37m)