2021 GOLD : Women’s Day ONE

The CIB Black Ball Squash Open began at noon today at the Black Ball Sporting Club in Cairo.

There were five seeding upsets as eight players booked their spots against the top seeds tomorrow.

Session TWO : wins for Abbas, Metwally, Gilis and Aumard

In the evening session Nele Gilis came through a tough encounter as Yathreb Adel suffered an injury in the fourth, while Nada Abbas and Mariam Metwally continued the cull of the 9/16 seeds, beating Joshna Chinappa and Nadine Shahin. The day concluded with Coline Aumard ending the hopes of wildcard Lojayn Gohary.

Coline : It’s never easy to play a future big star. I didn’t know her at all, to be honest, so I didn’t know what to expect. It’s not something I’m used to so I’m glad I won 3-0 because it’s always a bit tricky.

Mariam :  I’ve played Nadine many times, we often practice together, so I know the gameplan and I was just trying to stick to it as much as I can, and it worked!

Nele : I knew going into the match that she was a very tricky opponent, with very good racket skills, one of the best in the world probably! I thought I dealt with it pretty well, but I felt pretty edgy the entire match because she wouldn’t let me get into a rhythm with her shots. In the second game she completely caught me off-guard. I was happy with the way the match was going, but it was an unfortunate end.

Nada : I’m really happy to get this win today, even if it took a-year-and-a-half after my last on this court. Better late than never, I’m really happy to get the win today.

Session ONE : mini upsets for Mohamed, Kennedy and Ramadan

The first session of play saw three seeding upsets as Farida Mohamed, Georgina Kennedy and Hana Ramadan took out 9/16 seeds, all in just over 40 minutes. Tesni Evans was the only 9/16 seed to win as she overcame Zena Mickawy in four games.

Hana : My nerves were all over the place, especially when I was up 2-0. I wanted to keep the pressure on but Danielle changed it up a bit and I had to respond. It took me a whole game to figure it out, but I’m really happy to have got the win in four.

Farida : Tinne’s very fit and I knew it was going to be a very tough match. She didn’t give me any easy shots and from the very first point to the very last she was pushing so hard. Even when I was 2-0 up she didn’t lose momentum and she kept pushing until the end. She managed to lift her game to build so much pressure.

Gina :  There were a lot of nerves going into the match, because Lucy and I teammates and really good friends as well. We’ve played each other a lot recently. I know exactly what to expect of her and she knows exactly what to expect of me. I’m really relieved to get through! I’m not sure why [the court was so challenging], it’s early on in the day so maybe as more people come in it will heat up.

Tesni :  But for me, this week is a big week to prove to myself that I can play at this level. I’ve dropped down to 16 in the rankings which I’m unhappy with, but I’m deservedly where I am. I deserve to be there so my goal this week is to try and climb back up and get some good games and see where my training’s been leading and hope for a better 2022.