Richmond Open SF: Gilis and Abbas Set For Final Battle

Belgium’s Tinne Gilis and Egypt’s Nada Abbas will do battle in the final of the Richmond Open after both won in straight games in the last four.

Top seed Gilis, who already has a title to her name this season after winning the Bronze level Squash on Fire Open in February, safely made her way into the final after beating Frenchwoman Melissa Alves. 

Perhaps surprisingly, it was the first time the two Europeans had faced each other on the PSA Tour, but the Belgian had gotten the better of Alves twice at the European Individual Championships previously. The same happened in Richmond, with Gilis taking a straight games victory, winning 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 in 50 minutes.

She will now face Egypt’s Nada Abbas in the final. Abbas, who had defeated No.2 seed Salma Hany in the last eight, downed Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold to make her way into the final. Like Gilis, she won in straight games, dropping no more than six points in each, and the Egyptian is through to her first final since 2021.

The pair have met three times before on Tour, with Gilis holding a 2-1 advantage. Both of those victories have come within the last 13 months, with the most recent being a 3-0 win for the Belgian at the El Gouna International last year. The only win for Abbas was more than six years ago, in the quarter finals of the 2016 London Open.

The final of the Richmond Open, which will see Tinne Gilis and Nada Abbas do battle fr the Challenger 30 level crown, will take place on Saturday, May 13. You can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook. 

Semi-Final Results: Richmond Open
[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)

Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, May 13
[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) v [6] Nada Abbas (EGY)