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 Wildcards 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.
Dewald van Niekerk
At the age of 27, Dewald van Niekerk will be competing in his maiden PSA World Championships this year after coming through a quality draw at the African qualifying event.
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 victory after falling 2-0 down to top seed Hussein in the final, moving through to win his eighth event on the PSA Tour.
Van Niekerk reached a career-high rank of World No.81 earlier this season and has reached the quarter-finals of both the Cape Town Squash Open and Odense Open. He is also a four-time winner of the South African Nationals, taking the title in the last four editions.
First Round Opponent: Dimitri Steinmann
Lucie Stefanoni
Lucie Stefanoni will join her older sister Marina in the main draw of the PSA World Championships after booking her flight to Chicago with victory at the Pan American qualifying event.
The 20-year-old, a sophomore at Harvard, entered the Pan American qualifying event as an unseeded player and progressed to the final with upsets over No.4 seed Catalina Pelaez and No.1 seed Lucia Bautista. After winning a five-game semi-final against Bautista, Stefanoni went one better by defeating Barbados’ No.2 seed Margot Prow in a five-game final, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 3-11, 12-10.
Stefanoni featured in the PSA World Championships as a 16-year-old back in 2021, that year losing out to Wales’ Emily Whitlock in the first round.
This time around, Stefanoni will take on Egypt’s Nada Abbas as the American looks to score her first-ever World Events victory on the PSA Squash Tour.
First Round Opponent: Nada Abbas
Rhys Dowling
World No.145 Rhys Dowling will be the sole Australian player in the men’s draw of the 2024/25 PSA World Championships.
Twelve months on from losing out in the final of the Oceania Qualifying Event, Dowling delivered a strong week of squash to go one step further and win the event. The 30-year-old defeated Bradley Fullick, No.8 seed Benjamin Ratcliffe, Tate Norris and No.5 seed Dylan Molinaro.
Dowling has played in 140 events in his career to date and is closing in on 300 matches, by no means lacking experience on the PSA Tour.
Left-hander Dowling will face off against Mexican No.1 Leonel Cardenas in the opening round of the PSA World Championships this week. This will be Dowling’s first time competing in the flagship PSA Squash Tour event.
First Round Opponent: Leonel Cardenas
Riya Navani
Riya Navani has been named as the sole tournament Wildcard in the women’s draw of the PSA World Championships, and she will mark her debut with a first-round clash against England’s Jasmine Hutton.
The World No.154, a freshman at Stanford, is a two-time USA Junior National Champion and earlier this year finished runner-up in the CSA Individual Championships, the latter two rounds of which were held under the iconic chandeliers inside Grand Central Terminal.
Last year, Navani marked her World Events debut at the South Western Open with victory over Nour Aboulmakarim, before losing out in the second round to Wales’ Emily Whitlock.
Navani will be making her debut at the PSA World Championships this week and will be one of five American prospects taking to court in Chicago.
First Round Opponent: Jasmine Hutton
For more information on the event, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.
Melvil Scianimanico
France’s Melvil Scianimanico will make his PSA World Championships debut in Chicago this week after clinching a dramatic victory in the final of the European Qualifying Event.
No.7 seed Scianimanico came through a five-game thriller with compatriot Toufik Mekhalfi to take the win by an 11-4, 1-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 scoreline after 83 minutes of dramatic play.
The 20-year-old recently reached the quarter-finals of the U23 World Junior Championships and has enjoyed a taster of the big stage this campaign, having been named as a Wildcard for the 2024 Paris Squash event.
Scianimanico will face off against Spanish No.1 Iker Pajares in the first round of the main draw.
First Round Opponent: Iker Pajares
Anahat Singh
Anahat Singh is the rising star of Indian squash. So far this season, the 17-year-old rising star has already won nine PSA Tour titles from the 10 events she has competed in, boasting a staggering win rate of 97% from her 37 matches.
Singh will enter the PSA World Championships on the back of her first World Event success at the Copper-level Indian Open, as well as victory in the Asia Qualifying event. In the latter of these tournaments, Singh dropped just one game across her four matches, defeating Hong Kong’s Toby Tse in the final.
From competing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games at the tender age of 14, to claiming a pair of bronze medals at the Asian Games 2023 – in the women’s team and mixed doubles events – and more recently winning back-to-back Indian National Championships, there’s good reason behind Singh’s billing.
Awaiting the teenager in the first round of the main draw is American Marina Stefanoni.
First Round Opponent: Marina Stefanoni
Dewald van Niekerk
At the age of 27, Dewald van Niekerk will be competing in his maiden PSA World Championships this year after coming through a quality draw at the African qualifying event.
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 victory after falling 2-0 down to top seed Hussein in the final, moving through to win his eighth event on the PSA Tour.
Van Niekerk reached a career-high rank of World No.81 earlier this season and has reached the quarter-finals of both the Cape Town Squash Open and Odense Open. He is also a four-time winner of the South African Nationals, taking the title in the last four editions.
First Round Opponent: Dimitri Steinmann
Lucie Stefanoni
Lucie Stefanoni will join her older sister Marina in the main draw of the PSA World Championships after booking her flight to Chicago with victory at the Pan American qualifying event.
The 20-year-old, a sophomore at Harvard, entered the Pan American qualifying event as an unseeded player and progressed to the final with upsets over No.4 seed Catalina Pelaez and No.1 seed Lucia Bautista. After winning a five-game semi-final against Bautista, Stefanoni went one better by defeating Barbados’ No.2 seed Margot Prow in a five-game final, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 3-11, 12-10.
Stefanoni featured in the PSA World Championships as a 16-year-old back in 2021, that year losing out to Wales’ Emily Whitlock in the first round.
This time around, Stefanoni will take on Egypt’s Nada Abbas as the American looks to score her first-ever World Events victory on the PSA Squash Tour.
First Round Opponent: Nada Abbas
Rhys Dowling
World No.145 Rhys Dowling will be the sole Australian player in the men’s draw of the 2024/25 PSA World Championships.
Twelve months on from losing out in the final of the Oceania Qualifying Event, Dowling delivered a strong week of squash to go one step further and win the event. The 30-year-old defeated Bradley Fullick, No.8 seed Benjamin Ratcliffe, Tate Norris and No.5 seed Dylan Molinaro.
Dowling has played in 140 events in his career to date and is closing in on 300 matches, by no means lacking experience on the PSA Tour.
Left-hander Dowling will face off against Mexican No.1 Leonel Cardenas in the opening round of the PSA World Championships this week. This will be Dowling’s first time competing in the flagship PSA Squash Tour event.
First Round Opponent: Leonel Cardenas
Riya Navani
Riya Navani has been named as the sole tournament Wildcard in the women’s draw of the PSA World Championships, and she will mark her debut with a first-round clash against England’s Jasmine Hutton.
The World No.154, a freshman at Stanford, is a two-time USA Junior National Champion and earlier this year finished runner-up in the CSA Individual Championships, the latter two rounds of which were held under the iconic chandeliers inside Grand Central Terminal.
Last year, Navani marked her World Events debut at the South Western Open with victory over Nour Aboulmakarim, before losing out in the second round to Wales’ Emily Whitlock.
Navani will be making her debut at the PSA World Championships this week and will be one of five American prospects taking to court in Chicago.
First Round Opponent: Jasmine Hutton
For more information on the event, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.
