Team USA’s Olivia Weaver captured the largest title of her career and first at the PSA Gold level, fulfilling her top seeding at the Silicon Valley Open presented by Oracle NetSuite Wednesday, October 16, at Squash Zone in Redwood Shores, California.
Weaver entered the $122,000 draw as the top seed and a career high world ranking of No. 4, and with the positive momentum of reaching the PSA Platinum Qatar Classic semifinals in her most recent tournament appearance.
The twenty-nine-year-old American progressed to the Silicon Valley semifinals with two 3-0 victories over Egypt’s Nadine Shahin and Farida Mohamed. Weaver then overcame a difficult semifinal test against former Cornell star and three seed Sivasangari Subramaniam in five games 11-6, 8-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-5.
Wednesday night’s final appearance marked Weaver’s first at the PSA Gold level as she awaited Japan’s world No. 12 Satomi Watanabe–who had upset Team USA’s Amanda Sobhy in the quarterfinals. Weaver produced a commanding final performance to earn the biggest title of her career 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 in twenty-eight minutes.
“I think with Satomi’s skill, deception, and racket ability, it was obviously the plan to keep it out of the middle and keep it in the corners,” Weaver said. “I just wanted to play to my strengths and my game. I felt like if I could play to all four corners and make it physical, I stood a good chance, and I’m glad that it worked out in my favor.”
The Silicon Valley Open women’s title remains in American hands for the third iteration running, as Weaver follows three-time champion Amanda Sobhy who won the last two stagings of the tournament in 2021 and 2022.
It’s surreal that I’ve just won my first Gold-level event,” Weaver said after the match. “When I started my career, I don’t know if I saw this on the cards, so I’m over the moon.”
The Silicon Valley Open marks Weaver’s eighth and largest PSA title, and her first of the 2024-2025 season. Weaver now heads to her native Philadelphia to compete in the Comcast Business U.S. Open, October 19-26.