Defending Champions Crouin & Gilis Top Squash On Fire Open Draws

France’s World No.11 Victor Crouin and Belgium’s World No.8 Tinne Gilis will look to defend their titles at the 2024 Squash On Fire Open when they return to Washington D.C. as the top seeds for the second successive year.

The PSA World Tour Bronze event will feature both a men’s and women’s draw and will take place at the Squash On Fire club between February 14-18 with the action available to watch live for free on SQUASHTV.

Situated atop a downtown Washington, D.C. firehouse, Squash On Fire is a publicly accessible squash facility and has helped foster a burgeoning squash community in the heart of the American capital. The inaugural Squash On Fire Open debuted on the calendar in 2021 as a Challenger 20 level event and swiftly ascended to Bronze status in 2022.

24-year-old Crouin defeated Mohamed ElSherbini in last year’s final, his last title win on the PSA World Tour. Since then, Crouin has been unable to reach a final, but will be hoping that he can recapture his top form and repeat his 2023 success as he looks to break back into the world’s top 10. The Frenchman will start his campaign against either Leonel Cardenas and Yannick Wilhelmi.

World No.12 Youssef Soliman is the second seed in the men’s event and will be determined to score a first PSA title since August 2022. Soliman was a semi-finalist at the 2022 Squash On Fire Open, losing out to runner-up Joel Makin in four games. The Egyptian has already reached a final this season at the Windsor Cup in August and will be determined to go one better this year in Washington D.C.

Iker Pajares and Youssef Ibrahim occupy the No.3 and No.4 seeded positions in the draw. Ibrahim is always capable of scoring upsets, which he showed at the Grasshopper Cup where he defeated World No.7 Mazen Hesham. Ibrahim is in the bottom half of the draw and is seeded to face compatriot Soliman if the results go to seeding. Pajares has tasted victory already this season as he captured the Open Niort 20k title and reached the semi-finals of his last Bronze event, the Hong Kong Football Club Open.

Gilis will return to the Squash On Fire Open for the third consecutive year. In 2023, she overcame Egypt’s teenage sensation Amina Orfi in the final to lift her fifth PSA title. The Belgian No.2 will face either Danielle Ray or Haya Ali after receiving an opening round bye.

USA No.3 Sabrina Sobhy is the No.2 seed for the second successive year and is in the same half of the draw as No.3 seed Amina Orfi. The pair played out one of the most exciting semi-finals last year, with Orfi coming through in five games. Sobhy is yet to reach a semi-final this season and will be looking to draw on home support to gather momentum for the second half of the season.

2023 runner-up Orfi has taken the PSA World Tour by storm since her final appearance in last year’s Squash On Fire Open. The 16-year-old is going from strength to strength and has tested many of the top 10 players as she looks to break into that bracket herself his year. Orfi will play either Nardine Garas or Ainaa Amani in her opening match in round two.

Two spots are yet to be filled in both draws as a pre-qualifying event – the Squash On Fire Open Wild Card challenge – will take place the week before the Bronze event. The winners of the Challenger 3 events will earn spots in the main draw. The men’s winner will play France’s Lucas Serme and the women’s winner will face Egypt’s Kenzy Ayman.

“We are excited to extend a warm welcome to some of the world’s top squash players at Squash On Fire,” said Squash On Fire Executive Director Will Hopton.

“Squash is one of America’s rapidly expanding sports. With Squash On Fire’s ideal location in the heart of Washington, D.C., together with its cutting-edge facilities, and an inclusive pay-and-play model, we are enthusiastic about hosting these remarkable talents and growing our community.”

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Men’s draw:

[1] Victor Crouin (FRA) bye

Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) v [9/16] Leonel Cardenas (MEX)

[9/16] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) v Spencer Lovejoy (USA)

[6] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bye

[8] Nathan Lake (ENG) bye

James Willstrop (ENG) v [9/16] Rui Soares (POR)

[9/16] Bernat Jaume (ESP) v Tom Walsh (ENG)

[3] Iker Pajares (ESP) bye

[4] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bye

[Qualifier] v [9/16] Lucas Serme (FRA)

[9/16] Shahjahan Khan (USA) v Yassin Elshafei (EGY)

[5] Greg Lobban (SCO) bye

[7] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bye

Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) v [9/16] Todd Harrity (USA)

[9/16] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) v [WC] Mark Broekman (ENG)

[2] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bye

Women’s draw:

[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bye

Danielle Ray (CAN) v [9/16] Haya Ali (EGY)

[9/16] Malak Khafagy (EGY) v [WC] Anna Serme (CZE)

[8] Hana Moataz (EGY) bye

[5] Lucy Turmel (ENG) bye

[Qualifier] v [9/16] Kenzy Ayman (EGY)

[9/16] Ineta Hopton (LAT) v Menna Hamed (EGY)

[4] Tomato Ho (HKG) bye

[3] Amina Orfi (EGY) bye

Nardine Garas (EGY) v [9/16] Ainaa Amani (MAS)

[9/16] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) v Akanksha Salunkhe (IND)

[6] Rachel Arnold (MAS) bye

[7] Zeina Mickawy (EGY) bye

Saskia Beinhard (GER) v [9/16] Aira Azman (MAS)

[9/16] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) v Marta Dominguez (ESP)

[2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bye