Among the 128-strong players heading to Chicago this week for the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family are 13 qualifiers, who have either prevailed in qualifying events or been handed a Wildcard position for the flagship PSA Squash Tour event.
In this article, we take a look at these respective players, giving you a closer look at both familiar and fresh faces ready to make their mark on the world stage.
Noor Zaman
Pakistan’s Noor Zaman confirmed his spot at the 2024-25 PSA World Championships after a historic win at the U23 World Junior Championships last month.
On his home court in Karachi, the 21-year-old delivered a sensational comeback, fighting from two games down to defeat Egypt’s Kareem El Torkey and claim victory at the inaugural edition of the event at the DHA Creek Club.
Zaman has certainly come into the limelight with his performances in the last 12 months and is now arguably the brightest squash prodigy coming out of Pakistan. Having risen as high as World No.60 last month, Zaman will certainly be a player to keep an eye on in the years to come on the PSA Squash Tour.
Zaman will enter the PSA World Championships on the back of three tournament victories in his last four events, having won the CAS International as well as the Liverpool Cricket Club Open – the latter of which saw him defeat Scotland’s Rory Stewart in the final.
Round One Opponent: Abdulla Al-Tamimi
Nadien Elhammamy
African qualifying event winner Nadien Elhammamy will enter the PSA World Championships full of confidence after an impressive run of results in the 2024-25 season.
Elhammamy, 17, has reached at least the quarter-finals of all six of her PSA Tour events this season, with a notable runner-up finish at the British Junior Open U19 event and a narrow quarter-final defeat to Anahat Singh in the quarter-finals of the Indian Open.
After finishing runner-up in last year’s African qualifying event, the Egyptian teenager went one better this time around, coming from her No.6 seeding position to book her flight to Chicago. That week, Elhammamy claimed wins over Ritaj Gomaa, No.2 seed Hayley Ward, No.4 seed Menna Walid and No.3 seed Nour Khafagy in the final.
Elhammamy will be making her debut this week at the PSA World Championships and will take on Scotland’s Lisa Aitken in the first-round.
Round One Opponent: Lisa Aitken
Veer Chotrani
India’s Veer Chotrani has quickly established himself as a future star of Indian squash, having already won four events since the start of the 2024-25 season.
After graduating last year from Cornell University, a final year which saw him win the CSA Individual Championships, Chotrani has began competing with more regularity on the PSA Tour, winning the LifeTime MetroWest, White Oaks Cup, the SRFI Indian Tour, and the Asian Qualifying Event for the PSA World Championships.
The 23-year-old came through from his top seed billing in the Asian Qualifying event to book his spot in the main draw of the PSA World Championships, defeating Hong Kong’s Chi Him Wong in the semi-finals and Malaysia’s Ameeshenraj Chandaran in the title decider.
Chotrani will face England’s Declan James in the first round of the PSA World Championships, his debut at the flagship event.
Round One Opponent: Declan James
Kiera Marshall
After winning the European Qualifying Event, England’s Kiera Marshall couldn’t have asked for a bigger first-round opponent in the PSA World Championships main draw, with seven-time champion Nour El Sherbini awaiting her in Chicago.
Marshall, 23, delivered a superb week of squash from her No.7 seeding to take the honours at the European qualifying event, claiming a series of impressive scalps. After straight-game wins over Cristina Tartarone and Cristina Gomez in the opening two rounds, Marshall was tested all the way in her semi-final win over Saskia Beinhard, coming through a fifth-game tie-break 12-10.
From there, the Englishwoman wasn’t to be denied in the final, defeating Alison Thomson in four games.
Marshall currently sits five spots off her career-high rank of World No.78 and will be competing in her maiden PSA World Championships this week.
Round One Opponent: Nour El Sherbini
Matias Knudsen
World No.76 Matias Knudsen secured his spot in the main draw of the PSA World Championships after claiming victory at the Pan American qualifying event last month at the Missouri Athletic Club.
The Colombian 25-year-old, renowned away from the court for his series of incredible trickshot videos on social media, dropped just one game across his four wins in St. Louis, Missouri, defeating Matias Lacroix, top seed Cesar Salazar, No.4 seed Spencer Lovejoy and No.5 seed Alejandro Enriquez in the final.
Knudsen will take on Scottish No.1 Greg Lobban on his PSA World Championships debut this week in Chicago and will join Miguel Rodriguez and Juan Vargas as one of three Colombians in the men’s main draw.
Round One Opponent: Greg Lobban
Jessica van der Walt
Australian No.1 Jessica van der Walt will be making her third PSA World Championships appearance this week in Chicago and hope to claim her first victory in the main draw when she takes on British No.1 Georgina Kennedy.
The World No.62 defeated top seed Alexandra Haydon in five games to book her flight to this year’s edition of the PSA World Championships, following previous wins over Sze Yu Lee, Ella Lash and Madison Lyon.
Van der Walt has a wealth of experience to her name, having played over 150 tournaments during her career to date and winning the last three editions of the Australian Nationals.
Round One Opponent: Georgina Kennedy
Nicholas Spizzirri
Current World No.128 Nicholas Spizzirri has been awarded a Wildcard entry for the 2024-25 edition of the PSA World Championships, and will be hoping to make the most of his opportunity when he takes on German No.1 Raphael Kandra.
Spizzirri, 23, is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania and recently made his debut for the US National team at the World Team Championships in Hong Kong in December.
Last season saw Spizzirri make his World Event debut at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, whilst also winning his first PSA Tour event at the Charleston Challenge in July 2024.
Round One Opponent: Raphael Kandra
For more information on the event, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.
In this article, we take a look at these respective players, giving you a closer look at both familiar and fresh faces ready to make their mark on the world stage.
Noor Zaman
Pakistan’s Noor Zaman confirmed his spot at the 2024-25 PSA World Championships after a historic win at the U23 World Junior Championships last month.
On his home court in Karachi, the 21-year-old delivered a sensational comeback, fighting from two games down to defeat Egypt’s Kareem El Torkey and claim victory at the inaugural edition of the event at the DHA Creek Club.
Zaman has certainly come into the limelight with his performances in the last 12 months and is now arguably the brightest squash prodigy coming out of Pakistan. Having risen as high as World No.60 last month, Zaman will certainly be a player to keep an eye on in the years to come on the PSA Squash Tour.
Zaman will enter the PSA World Championships on the back of three tournament victories in his last four events, having won the CAS International as well as the Liverpool Cricket Club Open – the latter of which saw him defeat Scotland’s Rory Stewart in the final.
Round One Opponent: Abdulla Al-Tamimi
Nadien Elhammamy
African qualifying event winner Nadien Elhammamy will enter the PSA World Championships full of confidence after an impressive run of results in the 2024-25 season.
Elhammamy, 17, has reached at least the quarter-finals of all six of her PSA Tour events this season, with a notable runner-up finish at the British Junior Open U19 event and a narrow quarter-final defeat to Anahat Singh in the quarter-finals of the Indian Open.
After finishing runner-up in last year’s African qualifying event, the Egyptian teenager went one better this time around, coming from her No.6 seeding position to book her flight to Chicago. That week, Elhammamy claimed wins over Ritaj Gomaa, No.2 seed Hayley Ward, No.4 seed Menna Walid and No.3 seed Nour Khafagy in the final.
Elhammamy will be making her debut this week at the PSA World Championships and will take on Scotland’s Lisa Aitken in the first-round.
Round One Opponent: Lisa Aitken
Veer Chotrani
India’s Veer Chotrani has quickly established himself as a future star of Indian squash, having already won four events since the start of the 2024-25 season.
After graduating last year from Cornell University, a final year which saw him win the CSA Individual Championships, Chotrani has began competing with more regularity on the PSA Tour, winning the LifeTime MetroWest, White Oaks Cup, the SRFI Indian Tour, and the Asian Qualifying Event for the PSA World Championships.
The 23-year-old came through from his top seed billing in the Asian Qualifying event to book his spot in the main draw of the PSA World Championships, defeating Hong Kong’s Chi Him Wong in the semi-finals and Malaysia’s Ameeshenraj Chandaran in the title decider.
Chotrani will face England’s Declan James in the first round of the PSA World Championships, his debut at the flagship event.
Round One Opponent: Declan James
Kiera Marshall
After winning the European Qualifying Event, England’s Kiera Marshall couldn’t have asked for a bigger first-round opponent in the PSA World Championships main draw, with seven-time champion Nour El Sherbini awaiting her in Chicago.
Marshall, 23, delivered a superb week of squash from her No.7 seeding to take the honours at the European qualifying event, claiming a series of impressive scalps. After straight-game wins over Cristina Tartarone and Cristina Gomez in the opening two rounds, Marshall was tested all the way in her semi-final win over Saskia Beinhard, coming through a fifth-game tie-break 12-10.
From there, the Englishwoman wasn’t to be denied in the final, defeating Alison Thomson in four games.
Marshall currently sits five spots off her career-high rank of World No.78 and will be competing in her maiden PSA World Championships this week.
Round One Opponent: Nour El Sherbini
Matias Knudsen
World No.76 Matias Knudsen secured his spot in the main draw of the PSA World Championships after claiming victory at the Pan American qualifying event last month at the Missouri Athletic Club.
The Colombian 25-year-old, renowned away from the court for his series of incredible trickshot videos on social media, dropped just one game across his four wins in St. Louis, Missouri, defeating Matias Lacroix, top seed Cesar Salazar, No.4 seed Spencer Lovejoy and No.5 seed Alejandro Enriquez in the final.
Knudsen will take on Scottish No.1 Greg Lobban on his PSA World Championships debut this week in Chicago and will join Miguel Rodriguez and Juan Vargas as one of three Colombians in the men’s main draw.
Round One Opponent: Greg Lobban
Jessica van der Walt
Australian No.1 Jessica van der Walt will be making her third PSA World Championships appearance this week in Chicago and hope to claim her first victory in the main draw when she takes on British No.1 Georgina Kennedy.
The World No.62 defeated top seed Alexandra Haydon in five games to book her flight to this year’s edition of the PSA World Championships, following previous wins over Sze Yu Lee, Ella Lash and Madison Lyon.
Van der Walt has a wealth of experience to her name, having played over 150 tournaments during her career to date and winning the last three editions of the Australian Nationals.
Round One Opponent: Georgina Kennedy
Nicholas Spizzirri
Current World No.128 Nicholas Spizzirri has been awarded a Wildcard entry for the 2024-25 edition of the PSA World Championships, and will be hoping to make the most of his opportunity when he takes on German No.1 Raphael Kandra.
Spizzirri, 23, is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania and recently made his debut for the US National team at the World Team Championships in Hong Kong in December.
Last season saw Spizzirri make his World Event debut at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, whilst also winning his first PSA Tour event at the Charleston Challenge in July 2024.
Round One Opponent: Raphael Kandra
For more information on the event, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.
