Nada Abbas staged a magnificent comeback to defeat Farida Mohamed (Photo by PSA)
Nada Abbas staged a magnificent comeback from 2-1 down to defeat fellow Egyptian Farida Mohamed in a five-game thriller to reach the semi finals of the Canadian Women’s Squash Open at Brookfield Place, Toronto.
Abbas, who also prevailed in five games when the pair met in Karachi at the start of the year, completed the turnaround in 62 minutes to secure a semi-final berth.
In a stop-start encounter, Mohamed edged 2-1 ahead before Abbas levelled with an 11-8 win in the fourth game.
After a brief halt in play due to an injury sustained by Mohamed in the fifth, Abbas remained composed to earn three match balls, but failed to capitalise as Mohamed forced a tiebreak. Abbas was given another chance to close out the match and successfully converted after an error from Mohamed.
“It’s never easy playing against Farida,” said Abbas post-match.
“She always attacks and tries to keep the rallies short. I was very edgy today. I just wanted to take it step by step and stay focused and not get frustrated. That was the plan, really.
“I think tonight I tried to just stay focused; I’ll need that tomorrow. I need to go back and rewatch that tonight and see where I can be better for tomorrow.”
Abbas takes on top seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir next, who was awarded a walkover after her opponent Anahat Singh withdrew from their quarter-final due to injury.
2025 runner-up Gina Kennedy and former champion Tinne Gilis will lock horns in the other semi-final after defeating Sin Yuk Chan and Grace Gear, respectively.
Kennedy, who lost out to current World No.1 Amina Orfi in last year’s final, battled back from deficits in the first two games to establish a 2-0 lead.
Chan’s perseverance was rewarded in the third when the World No.30 clinched the tiebreak 12-10 to halve the deficit. Kennedy looked poised to seal the win in the fourth, but squandered two match balls before keeping her cool in the tiebreak to secure a 12-10 victory.
“I feel quite similar to yesterday – I was behind in a lot of the games and had to fight my way through,” she said.
“I don’t feel like I’m hitting my targets as well as I could be. ‘Simmie’ makes you feel like that in fairness. She was playing really well, and a big thank you to Joelle [King] for helping me through that.
“There’s less pressure in the semis. I got a bit frantic trying to win with the ranking difference, and hopefully I can relax a bit more. I need to be more positive and hope to find my best squash tomorrow.”
Gilis, meanwhile, cruised into the last four with a comfortable 3-0 success against Gear. The Belgian, who lifted the title in Toronto in 2024, dispatched the Englishwoman 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 in 27 minutes.
Elsewhere, the remaining quarter finals of the Smart Centres Canada Cup took place at Brookfield Place.
No.2 seed Leonel Cardenas overcame Muhammad Ashab Irfan to book his place in the semi finals.
Cardenas, who won the Cambridge Group of Clubs Classic 2024 and the Toronto Athletic Open 2025, held off Irfan 3-1.
The Mexican will square off against Dimitri Steinmann following the World No.21’s 3-0 triumph over Melvil Scianimanico.
RESULT
Quarter Finals: Canadian Women’s Open
[1] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt. [6] Anahat Singh (IND) 3-0: walkover
[5] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt. [4] Farida Mohamed (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10 (62m)
[3] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt. Grace Gear (ENG) 3- 0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 (27m)
[2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt. [7] Sin Yuk Chan (HKG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 12-10 (54m)
Quarter Finals: Canada Cup
[5] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt. Melvil Scianimanico (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-8 (56m)
[2] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt. Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) 3-1: 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6 (61m)
