2018 Windy City Open to Become Most Lucrative
World Series Tournament Ever
The
2018 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family and EquiTrust Life
Insurance Company will become the most lucrative PSA World Series
tournament ever next month when $500k of prize money will be split
equally across both the men’s and women’s draws between February 22-28.
Held
at the University Club of Chicago’s iconic and intimate Cathedral Hall,
the Windy City Open became the second World Series tournament to offer
parity in prize money between male and female players back in 2015 and
will offer a $200k increase in prize money compared to last year.
World Champions Mohamed ElShorbagy and Raneem El Welily feature in a
world-class draw that will contain 64 players, representing upwards of
15 different countries, while World No.1s Gregory Gaultier and Nour El
Sherbini will also be in action.
El Welily claimed an unprecedented third successive Windy City Open
crown last March with victory over El Sherbini in the final, while
France’s Gaultier collected his second title at the tournament after
overcoming World Championship runner-up Marwan ElShorbagy.
Also competing at the tournament will be 37-year-old Englishman Nick
Matthew, who will make his last ever appearance at the tournament. The
Yorkshireman made history in 2015 when he took the title to become the
oldest ever winner of a PSA World Series tournament.
The tournament wildcards will be made up of men’s World No.68 Chris
Hanson and women’s World No.208 Sabrina Sobhy.
New-York born Hanson is in line to make his fourth appearance at the
tournament, while Harvard Junior Sobhy - the younger sister of former
World No.6 Amanda - makes her first PSA World Tour appearance since
2016.
"Becoming the most lucrative World Series tournament ever is a huge
honour and is indicative of the Windy City Open’s status as one of
squash’s premier events," said Tournament Promoter John Flanigan.
"We would like to thank our title sponsors - the Walter Family and the
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company - for their support and look forward to
welcoming the world’s greatest players back to the University Club of
Chicago once again."
In addition to the record prize money, players will also be competing
for points on the PSA World Series Standings as they aim to secure a top
eight berth, which would guarantee them a spot at June’s PSA World
Series Finals.
Qualifying for the tournament takes place between February 20-21, while
the main draw will be staged between February 22-28.
Action from the glass court matches will be streamed live on SQUASHTV
(Rest of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only), with matches from
the semi-finals and finals also being shown live on mainstream
broadcasters around the world, such as BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports
Australia and Astro.
Tickets start from $25 and can be purchased here
For all the latest news on the Windy City Open, go to
www.windycityopen.com
or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
2018 Men’s Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family and
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company – Entry List
1) Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
2) Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
3) Ali Farag (EGY)
4) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
5) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
6) Nick Matthew (EGY)
7) Tarek Momen (EGY)
8) Simon Rösner (GER)
9) Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
10) Diego Elias (PER)
11) Paul Coll (NZL)
12) James Willstrop (ENG)
13) Ramy Ashour (EGY)
14) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
15) Saurav Ghosal (IND)
16) Daryl Selby (ENG)
17) Borja Golan (ESP)
18) Cameron Pilley (ENG)
19) Omar Mosaad (EGY)
20) Cesar Salazar (EGY)
21) Leo Au (HKG)
22) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
23) Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
Wildcard) Chris Hanson (USA)
2018 Women’s Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family and
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company – Entry List
1) Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
2) Raneem El Welily (EGY)
3) Camille Serme (FRA)
4) Laura Massaro (ENG)
5) Nouran Gohar (EGY)
6) Nicol David (MAS)
7) Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
8) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
9) Joelle King (NZL)
10) Alison Waters (ENG)
11) Annie Au (HKG)
12) Amanda Sobhy (USA)
13) Tesni Evans (WAL)
14) Olivia Blatchford (USA)
15) Joshna Chinappa (IND)
16) Emily Whitlock (ENG)
17) Victoria Lust (ENG)
18) Donna Urquhart (AUS)
19) Salma Hany (EGY)
20) Joey Chan (HKG)
21) Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)
22) Fiona Moverley (ENG)
23) Mariam Metwally (EGY)
Wildcard) Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
World Champion ElShorbagy to Star at Canary Wharf
Classic
World
Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy is in line to make his first appearance at
the prestigious Canary Wharf Classic for five years after the entry list
for the PSA M100 tournament was released today (January 12).
This year’s instalment of the Canary Wharf Classic - which will
celebrate its 15th anniversary between March 5-9 - will feature $100,000
in prize money for the first time and the increase in financial
compensation has enabled the tournament to attract a high-calibre draw
to London’s East Wintergarden, with six of the world’s top 10 players in
attendance.
ElShorbagy, who defeated younger brother Marwan to finally get his hands
on the PSA World Championship trophy last month, heads the entry list
ahead of U.S. Open champion Ali Farag, Marwan and six-time winner Nick
Matthew.
"I am really looking forward to be back playing there, I’ve never won it
before, so I would love to get my name on that trophy," said ElShorbagy.
"We always get an amazing crowd there and it makes the tournament very
exciting. Having the glass court in a such amazing venue like that makes
it even more exciting for the players."
Matthew, the 37-year-old from Sheffield, will be making his final ever
appearance at the tournament after announcing his intention to retire at
the end of the season and the three-time World Champion returns to East
Wintergarden to defend his crown after beating Egypt’s Fares Dessouky in
last year’s final.
Matthew said: "Canary Wharf is absolutely one of my favourite
tournaments on the Tour.
"I’ve been lucky enough to have been successful there, but more than
that I love the unique atmosphere at the event, it can be an incredible
one to play in."
The other top 10 players involved in the tournament are Qatar Classic
runner-up Tarek Momen and World No.8 Simon Rösner, while four-time
winner James Willstrop - the current World No.13 - is seeded eighth for
the tournament.
Meanwhile, World No.56 Nathan Lake, the Cheltenham-based 25-year-old,
has been named the tournament wildcard for the event.
The qualifying stages will be held at the Wimbledon Racquets & Fitness
Club between March 3-4, while the main draw gets under way at East
Wintergarden on March 5 and lasts until the final on March 9.
All matches from the main draw will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of
World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only), while the semi-finals and
final will be broadcast on mainstream channels around the world, such as
BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
The 2018 instalment of the tournament will also be a historic one as it
becomes the first ranking PSA World Tour event to be played using a
best-of-three games scoring format. All round of sixteen and
quarter-final matches will be played under best-of-three scoring, while
the semi-finals and final will revert to the traditional best-of-five
format.
