Subramaniam Stuns World No.1 El Sherbini

In the shock result of the tournament, Malaysian World No.16 Sivasangari Subramaniam produced a spectacular performance to stun Egyptian World No.1 Nour El Sherbini and reach the last four of the GillenMarkets London Classic.

Subramaniam, who prior to today’s contest had never taken a game off the seven-time World Champion, let alone beaten her, set alarm bells ringing in El Sherbini’s camp when she outfought the top seed on the way to an 11-9 win in game one.

The World No.1, who has been fasting during Ramadan, opted to stay on court for extra practice between games, but still struggled to deal with the relentlessness of Subramaniam, who attacked well and pulled the Egyptian around the court.

In an incredible display, the Malaysian continued to cover every inch of the court, cutting off El Sherbini’s attacks as she sent shockwaves through the squash world by finishing the match in straight games with another 11-9 win. 

That win for Subramaniam represents the first time a player outside the top 10 in the PSA World Rankings has beaten Nour El Sherbini since Annie Au in 2015.

Afterwards, Subramaniam said: “I’m still speechless. That went really quick and I don’t know what was happening on court, beating the World No.1!

“I respect Sherbini a lot, she’s the best on tour and is really talented. To beat a player like that, I came in with my A Game today.

“I was just trying to focus on my game, rather than how she is feeling, but I took full advantage with my attacking game today.”

Result: [7] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) 2-0: 11-9, 11-9 (24m)

The semi-finals of the GillenMarkets London Squash Classic take place tomorrow, 31 March, at Alexandra Palace. Action will be streamed live on SQUASHTV from 15:00 (GMT).

For more information on the GillenMarkets London Squash Classic, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. You can also keep track of all of the live scores from the event by clicking here.