The 2020 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family–the third and final PSA Platinum event in the U.S. during the 2019-2020 season–returns to the University Club of Chicago next week with the world’s best players set to vie for $500,000 of equal prize money, February 27-March 4.
For tickets and more tournament coverage visit windycityopen.com.
Last season, the tournament was held as the 2018-2019 PSA World Championships in place of the Windy City Open, which made squash history as the sport’s first million dollar professional tournament in Chicago’s Union Station.
Egypt’s world No. 2’s Ali Farag and Nour El Sherbini return to Chicago for the first time since lifting the PSA World Championship trophies last March as the men’s one seed and women’s two seed, respectively.
After reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking this month following his third Tournament of Champions title in January, Mohamed ElShorbagy now targets a third Windy City Open title as the men’s two seed. World No. 1 Raneem El Welily has the most successful women’s Windy City Open record in the PSA Platinum era, having won three consecutive titles from 2015-2017. The thirty-one-year-old leads the draw as the top seed in position to win a fourth.
Five members of Team USA enter the women’s draw. World No. 8 Amanda Sobhy enters the draw seeded seventh with predicted matches against Hong Kong’s Annie Au in the round of sixteen and Egypt’s world No. 3 Nouran Gohar in the quarterfinals. World No. 17 Olivia Blatchford Clyne earns the sixteen seed and a first-round bye with a second round match against England’s Emily Whitlock or Scotland’s Lisa Aitken and a potential third round match against New Zealand’s six seed Joelle King.
Sabrina Sobhy, Olivia Fiechter and Haley Mendez all enter first-round play on Thursday, February 27. Sobhy enters the Windy City Open with a career high ranking of world N0. 30 this month and two potential match up against Egyptians, Nada Abbas and fifteen seed Yathreb Adel. Fiechter is set to make her Windy City Open debut against Australia’s world No. 37 Donna Lobban. Mendez, world No. 47, will search for her first career win in Chicago in her third tournament appearance against Belgium’s Tinne Gilis.
Watch live streaming from the glass court on SquashTV and PSA Facebook Live and follow live scores for all matches on psaworldtour.com.
