Amanda Sobhy made history by becoming the first U.S. born player to reach the semifinals of the PSA World Championship presented by the Walter Family with a three-game win over world No. 5 Hania El Hammamy Monday night at the University Club of Chicago.
The American world No. 7 sent the home crowd into raptures with a clinical performance against one of the Tour’s most in-form players in El Hammamy underneath the chandeliers in Cathedral Hall. Sobhy controlled the opening game 11-3, and used her precise shot-making to win crucial points to pull away in close second and third games, 11-8, 11-9, after forty-one minutes.
“The crowd kept pushing me,” Sobhy said.”I tried to stay really focused because she is phenomenal in the big points. I knew she would be really good on those big points so I had to be better. I tried as much as I could to step up, stay confident, stay aggressive in those points, keep pushing the pace and once I won that final shot, all the emotion came out of me. I am very pleased!”
El Hammamy entered the semifinal encounter having won her last four matches against Sobhy since March 2020, including June’s World Tour Finals. Sobhy will now face world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini, who is in search of a fifth career and third consecutive world title, Wednesday, July 21, at 5pm CT, 6pm ET.
“It’s the best I have played against her in a while,” Sobhy said. “I was up for this match, I was really looking forward to it. She has beaten my the last few times but she has never beaten me on home soil, and we were on home soil tonight. Luckily I have a rest day tomorrow so I will fully take advantage of that. Make sure that I recover well, eat, hydrate and sleep, and then prepare for my match against El Sherbini. We played at the Black Ball Open and this season we are at 1-1. I love the energy here, I love competing and I just don’t want it to end, so I will just keep giving it all I have!”
Watch the semifinals and finals live on SquashTV. For tickets, live streaming and more tournament coverage visit worldsquashchamps.com.