Season Review: Breakthrough Performers Part Two

After another thrilling season on the PSA World Tour, it’s time to look back at some of the players who have enjoyed breakthrough seasons. Read part one of our review of the squash season’s breakout performers here.

Youssef Soliman

In his eighth season on the tour, this was a year to remember for 26-year-old Youssef Soliman.

The Egyptian couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season at the Zed Open. The Cairo native, playing on home soil, was in brilliant form at the Bronze-level event as he won his first World Tour title after beating Rui Soares, Moustafa El Sirty, Raphael Kandra and Victor Crouin in Cairo.

More impressive performances followed, with Soliman reaching the last eight of two Platinum events and the final of the Gold-level Optasia Championships, where he eventually lost out to former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad.

With Soliman reaching a highest ever World Ranking of World No.11 between March-May this year, expect no shortage of effort from the Egyptian as he looks to crack the top ten.

Satomi Watanabe

After a disrupted beginning to her career during the COVID-19 pandemic, Satomi Watanabe has shown the squash world her considerable talent this season.

The power-hitting Japan No.1, who started the season ranked outside the top 50, has stormed all the way to World No.18 and is tipped to climb further after a series of impressive performances that included reaching the quarter finals of the Platinum-level Hong Kong Squash Open and semi finals of the Silver-level Manchester Open and the Bronze-level Carol Weymuller Open.

How high can Watanabe rise in the 23/24 season?

Aly Abou Eleinen

Another player who has shot up the rankings in the last year, going from World No.61 in July 2022 to World No.21 in the space of a year.

Prior to the first World Tour event of the season, the Zed Open in Egypt, Eleinen had only made two World Tour appearances, both of which came as a wildcard in El Gouna, with Eleinen invited to the Platinum tournament in 2021 and 2022 and all other appearances coming at Challenger or Satellite events.

This season, though, he has made the step up to being a World Tour regular with ease, appearing at 12 events on the calendar as well as winning one Challenger 20 event and reaching the final in another.

Notable achievements for Eleinen this season have included last 16 appearances at the World Championships and El Gouna International, as well as reaching the quarter final of the Silver-level Oracle Netsuite Open.

One of the quickest movers on court and blessed with brilliant powers of recovery, the 23-year-old will no doubt be looking to make an impact at the business end of tournaments as he targets the top 20.

Olivia Fiechter

Olivia Fiechter has always had the talent to pull off incredible wins, with her run to the semi final of the Platinum-level 2021 U.S. Open an early highlight in the short history of the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.

This season, though, we’ve seen the American play her best squash on a far more consistent basis, which was rewarded with a rise to a career-best ranking of World No.7 between March and May.

The US No.2 reached an impressive four World Tour finals this season and, after painful defeats in the finals of two Bronze events – the Malaysian Open and the Carol Weymuller Open – Fiechter finally got her hands on a first World Tour trophy when she avenged her Carol Weymuller defeat to Georgina Kennedy with a win over the Englishwoman in the final of the Silver-level DAC Pro Squash Classic.

This was followed by another title, the Bronze-level Chestnut Hill Classic, and eventually a World Tour Finals debut.

Can Fiechter push on even further in the upcoming season?

Who have been your breakthrough stars this season? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads!

Watch the best of the 2022-23 PSA World Tour action over on SQUASHTV.