World No.8 Sivasangari Subramaniam blitzed her way into the women’s final of the Silicon Valley with a sublime performance against Egypt’s Salma Hany.
The Malaysian No.1, who ended the run of the USA’s Amanda Sobhy in the quarter-finals, continued her fine form at Squash Zone in Redwood City to set up a title-deciding match with World No.5 Olivia Weaver.
A quick-fire start from Sivasangari proved crucial to setting her on her way to the 22-minute victory, with the 26-year-old firing winners into the front two corners with regularity and using smart angles to disrupt the movement of a struggling Hany.
The Egyptian managed to throw in several counter punches after falling 6-1 down in the second in a flash, managing to restore parity on the scoreboard, but the World No.15 fell two games behind as Sivasangari took the second game by an 11-9 scoreline.
The third game continued in a similar vein, as the No.3 seed moved from strength to strength, while Hany continued to struggle with her accuracy in the front.
After the match, Sivasangari said: “It means a lot. Salma is a very tricky player; she’s very skilful. I remember the last time we played I was 2-0 up and I lost the match. So today I just tried to focus on every point, every rally and try to do my best. I followed the game plan well today.
“I’m pleased to be through to the final here this year after getting knocked out at this stage last year.
“It give me a lot of confidence because I’m trying to challenge the top players and try to be consistent by beating those players just beneath me.”
No.2 seed Karim Gawad eased into the men’s final of the Silicon Valley Open 2025 presented by Oracle NetSuite with a commanding three-game victory over the unseeded Kareem El Torkey.
Gawad, who is yet to drop a game this week after claiming earlier wins against Juan Vargas and Jonah Bryant, continued his sublime form thanks to an 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 win on the all-glass court at Squash Zone in Redwood City.
Right from the outset, Gawad picked up where he left off from his win over Bryant, moving effortlessly and hitting his targets across all four corners of the court.
Although El Torkey threw in his own series of entertaining winners, the unseeded 21-year-old, competing in his very first Gold-level semi-final, began to struggle with his movements on the court due to a slight physical issue.
Gawad showed no let-up after holding off a late El Torkey charge in an eight-minute first game, continuing to delight the packed house with some high-quality squash.
After just 28 minutes of play, the World No.5 booked his spot in the final alongside French No.1 Victor Crouin.
After the match, Gawad said: “Kareem is a very talented up-and-coming player. I played him in the Egyptian Open at the beginning of the season, and I won it 3-2. He nearly had me last time, so I knew I had to put it all out on court today to get the win.
“I’m pretty sure he wasn’t 100%. I think there were some issues with his body for sure. I wish him the best for the U.S. Open and the rest of the season.”
Final Result
Men: [2] Karim Gawad (EGY) bt Kareem El Torkey (EGY) 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (27m)
Women: [3] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [7] Salma Hany (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-5 (22m)
