South Africa’s Dewald van Niekerk and Egypt’s Nadien ElHammamy will play in next month’s PSA World Championships in Chicago after claiming contrasting victories in the African qualifying finals at the Mossel Bay Squash Club in South Africa.
The pair, who will both be competing in their first World Championships next month, defeated Egyptian duo Aly Hussein and Nour Khafagy in the finals.
No.2 seed Van Niekerk came through a marathon 91-minute five-game duel with Hussein to become the first South African man to put his name in the World Championships draw since Stephen Coppinger in 2016.
The 27-year-old managed to stage an impressive comeback after falling 2-0 down to top seed Hussein in the final, managing to take the third game 11-3 and edge a thrilling fourth game tie-break in his favour to send the match to the decider.
From there, the World No.87 looked the only winner, coming through a one-sided fifth game by an 11-2 scoreline.
Egyptian rising star ElHammamy, meanwhile, enjoyed a much more straightforward victory in her respective qualifying final, defeating No.3 seed Khafagy by an 11-4, 11-6, 11-1 scoreline.
From her No.6 seeding, ElHammamy, 17, displayed her bright future in the game after coming through a tricky draw without dropping a single game. This run included wins over Ritaj Gomaa, No.2 seed Hayley Ward, No.4 seed Menna Walid and No.3 seed Khafagy in the final.
Men’s Final:
[2] Dewald van Niekerk (SA) bt [1] Aly Hussein (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 6-11, 11-3, 12-10, 11-2 (91m)Women’s Final:
[6] Nadien ElHammamy (EGY) bt [3] Nour Khafagy (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-1 (25m)
Tickets are on sale now for the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family
For more information on the event, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.
