Rachel stuns World No.3 ElSherbini

World No.25 Rachel Arnold claimed the biggest result of her career as she stunned eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini on a dramatic day of action at the 2026 Qatar Classic in Doha.

Rachel advanced to her maiden Platinum quarter-final on the PSA Squash Tour with a 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 12-10 victory over an out-of-sorts ElSherbini, who struggled to combat the attacking threats posed by her Malaysian opponent on the severe glass court inside the Khalifa International Squash Complex.

Defeat for ElSherbini brings to a close a remarkable run of 105 consecutive PSA Tour events in which she has reached at least the quarter-finals, with the streak stretching back almost 12 years to the 2015 Cleveland Classic.

“I feel pretty amazing, right now,” Rachel said after the match. “I’ve never beaten a top-ten player I think, so it’s pretty huge for me. I woke up today feeling great and I just believed in myself the whole time, just point by point.

“I just had to stay consistent with my game and stick with it. I think before I would have probably played more shots to the front and be impatient, but today I still stayed patient and lifted it to the back first.”

Just an hour after Rachel’s shock victory, England’s Jasmine Hutton blew the women’s draw wide open once again as she defeated No.7 seed Georgina Kennedy with a clinical straight-games victory.

The World No.12, who had Rachel in her corner as coach for the day, picked her punches exceptionally well throughout her 33 minutes on court, overcoming her England teammate by an 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 scoreline.

Training partners Hutton and Rachel will both be bidding to reach maiden Platinum semi-finals when they face off on Wednesday evening.

Elsewhere on day three, Youssef Soliman produced a masterful display to defeat rising star Mohamad Zakaria in a brutal three-game battle lasting 85 minutes.

In a match which started and ended with rallies over the 100-shot mark, it was Soliman’s supreme ball control which saw him able to overcome the supremely talented 18-year-old Zakaria, who starts the 2026/27 season at a career-high rank of World No.7.

Also progressing to the men’s quarter-finals are defending champion Paul Coll, who dispatched Dimitri Steinmann with a faultless performance, along with No.4 seed Karim Gawad and No.5 seed Victor Crouin, who defeated Melvil Scianimanico and Kareem El Torkey, respectively.

Junior rivals No.6 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir and No.2 seed Amina Orfi complete a fascinating women’s quarter-finals line-up after the pair claimed respective wins over Aifa Azman and Nardine Garas.

Results – Men’s Round Two (Bottom Half)

[4] Karim Gawad (EGY) bt Melvil Scianimanico (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-2 (31m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt [6] Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 12-10 (85m)
[5] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt Kareem El Torkey (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-3, 10-12, 11-5 (62m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 (44m)

Results – Women’s Round Two (Bottom Half)

Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt [3] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 12-10 (43m)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt [7] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (33m)
[6] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-1: 11-3, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6 (56m)
[2] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt Nardine Garas (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 14-12, 11-3 (34m)