El Tayeb Defeats Defending Champions To Claim Squash In The Land Title

Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb earned her 16th career title after beating No.1 seed Georgina Kennedy 3-1 in the Squash in the Land final.

The two players had met on four previous occasions, with the Egyptian winning three. There most recent encounter in the 2022/23 World Tour Finals, however, saw Kennedy win 2-1.

The pair stayed on level terms, as they traded points to 5-4 in favour of the Egyptian with calculated, physical rallies. The Englishwoman restored parity with a boast that landed just out of reach of an outstretched El Tayeb.

Through long, attritional rallies, Kennedy found herself 8-9 behind at the business end of the first game, but an irretrievable backhand drop levelled the score at 9-9.

The No.1 seed had the first chance at going 1-0 ahead, and converted her game ball after a particularly long, hard-fought rally that ended in an inch-perfect forehand drop from the Englishwoman.

Kennedy had a strong start to game two, taking a 3-1 lead after a mistake from the Egyptian, but a deceptive backhand straight drive brought the gap to 2-3.

The match continued to be fought through attritional rallies, and El Tayeb kept within a point of the Englishwoman until restoring parity at 6-6 after Kennedy hit the tin attempting a boast.

El Tayeb began to score point after point, partially caused by errors from her opponent, but also due to a spell of sharp, accurate squash. After five consecutive points, the No.2 seed levelled the match at 1-1 with a front-court boast.

It was El Tayeb’s chance to lead the scoring as she kept a fine advantage in the early stages of the third game, scoring a particularly spectacular return that nestled into the back-right corner.

The Egyptian maintained her slim lead to 7-8, before going on another run of accurate, high-paced squash to burst into a 10-6 lead. Kennedy seemed fatigued as El Tayeb finished the run of form with an effort that flew past a planted Kennedy.

It was clear that the Egyptian looked less tired as she continued her onslaught into the fourth game. The World No.8 looked unstoppable as she took a 4-0 lead with a backhand straight drive after dragging Kennedy across the court.

The Englishwoman couldn’t keep up as the lead grew to 8-2 after she conceded a stroke for getting in the way of El Tayeb’s swing. Kennedy used the last of her energy reserves as she brought the lead down to 4-8 with a well-placed straight drive, but the damage was already done as the in-form El Tayeb gave herself five championship balls after sending the No.1 seed the wrong way with a front-court boast.

El Tayeb claimed the title on the first time of asking after a tight squeeze forced the error from her opponent.

“I practiced with Gina at the start of the week,” said El Tayeb after winning her third title in Cleveland.

“We played and she gave me a lot of confidence in my game. She’s very nice, not every squash player is very nice, but she gives me compliments all the time. I remember every compliment she gave me and it makes me believe in myself more.

“At this stage I still need someone to give me validation on court and she helped me a lot at the beginning of the week. Having played well yesterday, I called Ali [Farag] after the match and told him I had nothing to lose because I felt Olivia was the better player. At the beginning of this match I felt off.

“Everything was going in nicely yesterday but today it wasn’t going as well as I wanted. It took me a while to hang in there, believe in myself and trust that the five games she had yesterday would be in her legs.

“I kept pushing and tried to tell myself that I’m competing against one of the best players in the world, so it’s a privilege. It paid off and I’m very happy and lucky that it did.

“She was playing shots that had no margin for error and I couldn’t do anything. I tried to enjoy the match as it went on and as I started to win it I enjoyed it a little bit more. This is my third title here, I’ve won three times in Cleveland.

“Gina won the last two times, but I was having a baby when she was winning.”

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Result: Squash in the Land Presented by Greater Cleveland Squash 2024 Women’s Final
[2] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [1] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (47m)