E.M. Noll Classic: Tournament Preview

The E.M. Noll Classic gets underway tomorrow evening, with the winners of the tournament receiving a wild card spot in the World Championships in Chicago at the end of the month.

32 players have descended upon Philadelphia, with the hope of making it into the biggest tournament in the world of squash.

Along with the World Championships spot, there is also a prize pot of $22,000, split equally between the men’s and women’s draws.

Round One begins at 12:00 local time (UTC -5), with the in-form Ramit Tandon getting the action underway on one of the two courts in use at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia.

There are no byes in the tournament, with it being a straight knockout over the next four days. The finals will be held on Monday 18th, five days before the World Championships begin.

Both of the No.1 seeds, in Wales’ Peter Creed, and Egypt’s Menna Hamed, have already qualified for the World Championships thanks to their world rankings.

Should either of those players win their respective sides of the E.M. Noll, then the loser of the final would take the wild card spot at the Worlds.

20190214101840_19TC3901.JPG?alt=Chris{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20Hanson{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20is{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20one{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20of{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20the{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20American{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20hopes{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20this{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}20week

There are three Americans looking to secure their qualification in the men’s side of the draw. World No.63 Chris Hanson, No.78 Christopher Gordon, and wild card for the event, Atticus Kelly, will all have their eyes on making it to Chicago.

On the women’s side of the draw, Sabrina Sobhy, the younger sister of World No.10 Amanda, will be looking to join her sister on court at the World Championships.

You will be able to follow the results of the tournament when it starts tomorrow. You can see them here.

Men’s Draw: E.M. Noll Classic
[1] Peter Creed (WAL) vs Zac Alexander (AUS)
Cameron Seth (CAN) vs [5] Shehab Essam (EGY)
[8] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) vs Jaymie Haycocks (ENG)
[WC] Atticus Kelly (USA) vs [3] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY)
[4] Ramit Tandon (IND) vs Farhan Zaman (PAK)
Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR) vs [6] Christopher Gordon (USA)
[7] Bernat Jaume (ESP) vs Mark Broekman (ENG)
Stu Hadden (IRL) vs [2] Chris Hanson (USA)

Women’s Draw: E.M. Coll Classic

[2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) vs Farah Momen (EGY)
Jelena Dutina (SRB) vs [8] Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND)
[7] Hana Moataz (EGY) vs Nouran El Torky (EGY)
Cindy Merlo (SUI) vs [3] Rachael Chadwick (ENG)
[4] Jemyca Aribado (PHI) vs Anna Kimberley (ENG)
Noorena Shams (PAK) vs [5] Catalina Pelaez (COL)
[6] Menna Nasser (EGY) vs Lucy Beecroft (ENG)
[WC] Mary Fung-A-Fat (GUY) vs [1] Menna Hamed (EGY)