TORONTO — Egyptian squash star Fayrouz Aboelkheir was crowned Canadian Women’s Open champion after defeating Georgina Kennedy at Brookfield Place in Toronto.
In a rematch of their Swedish Open final earlier this month, Aboelkheir prevailed again against the English No.1 to claim her ninth title on the PSA Squash Tour, her second of the season.
Aboelkheir, who hadn’t dropped a game on her way to the final, cruised into a 2-0 lead before Kennedy surged back to halve the deficit. In a closely-fought fourth game, Kennedy squandered two game balls to force a fifth game and it was Aboelkheir who kept her cool in the tiebreak to convert her match ball opportunity to secure the title.
“First of all, compliments to Gina – last time we played, it was amazing, and today she came back at me and played amazingly and gave me such a tough battle,” said Aboelkheir.
“It’s certainly got me prepared for the US Open. It was always going to be tough playing the world No.8 – at that level it’s so hard. I’m happy and glad to get the win today, and I can’t wait for more battles,” the Egyptian star said, according to the official PSA Squash Tour website.
In the Smart Centres Canada Cup, No.1 seed Diego Elias downed No.2 seed Leonel Cardenas in straight games to claim the Silver-level title.
Elias, who had defeated Cardenas in their only previous meeting on Tour at the Qatar Classic in 2024, made it back-to-back triumphs over the Mexican to land his second piece of silverware this season.
The former World Champion carried his excellent form into the final, with his pinpoint accuracy across the court helping the Peruvian win 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 in 45 minutes.
“We’ve only played once on PSA, but we train together all the time. He comes to Toronto and he trains with me, so that’s really good to have,” he said.
“We’re great friends, and it’s amazing to play each other in a final, especially here in Toronto. He’s been improving, and I think he is going to top 10 next week, so congrats to Leo [Cardenas].
“After Peru, Toronto is my second home. I’ve been coming here since I was 13 or 14, so I know a lot of people in the squash world here, and it’s great to play here.”
