Richmond Open: Gilis Secures Second Title Of Season

Belgium’s Tinne Gilis claimed her second win of the campaign as she took home the Richmond Open title on Saturday afternoon.

The Belgian had already laid claim to the Squash On Fire Open title, her first PSA World Tour crown, earlier this year, and came into this week’s Challenger 30 level event at the Country Club of Virginia as the top seed.

After a first round bye, the Belgian took on Australia’s Jessica Turnbull in the second round, and took her first win of the week in straight games. She then came up against Egypt’s Sana Ibrahim in the quarter finals. It went to four games, with only one of those not being an 11-9 scoreline either way, but Gilis got the job done.

Frenchwoman Melissa Alves was then beaten in the semi-finals in their first meting on Tour, before the Belgian faced Egypt’s Nada Abbas in the final. Abbas had already beaten the tournament’s No.2 seed, Salma Hany, on route, and won the opening game of the final. From there, though, Gilis was in control, dropping just 11 points across the next three games to take the title in Richmond.

Results: Richmond Open
Final
[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [6] Nada Abbas (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-2 (45m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [3] Melissa Alves (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 (50m)
[6] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (30m)

Quarter Finals
[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [8] Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 (45m)
[3] Melissa Alves (FRA) bt [7] Hana Ramadan (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 (45m)
[5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Katie Malliff (ENG) 3-2: 12-10, 7-11, 16-14, 7-11, 11-1 (62m)
[6] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [2] Salma Hany (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 12-14, 11-9, 11-7 (56m)

Second Round
[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (29m)
[8] Sana Ibrahim (EGY) bt Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) 3-2: 11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8 (53m)
[7] Hana Ramadan (EGY) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 13-11 (38m)
[3] Melissa Alves (FRA) bt [WC] Malak Kamal (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-1 (31m)
Katie Malliff (ENG) bt [4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-2: 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-3 (45m)
[5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 3-0 rtd (15m)
[6] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (30m)
[2] Salma Hany (EGY) bt Jana Shiha (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 11-9, 11-4 (45m)

First Round
Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt Saskia Beinhard (GER) 3-1: 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 (35m)
Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) bt Rana Ismail (EGY) 3-1: 5-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 (25m)
Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Karina Tyma (POL) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4 (40m)
[WC] Malak Kamal (EGY) bt Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 3-1: 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-3 (35m)
Katie Malliff (ENG) bt [WC] Avery Park (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-1 (30m)
Lucy Beecroft (ENG) bt Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-8
Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt Cristina Gomez (ESP) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (40m)
Jana Shiha (EGY) bt Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 6-11, 11-4 (40m)