Analysing the Contenders – Women

The SmartCentres PSA Squash Tour Finals get underway in just five days with eight of the top performing male and female players set to battle it out for the coveted season ending title.

Staged at Toronto’s Revival Film Studios, the SmartCentres PSA Squash Tour Finals will be held in Canada for the first time in the tournament’s history. Group stage action will begin on Monday June 23 at 15:00 (GMT-5). Eight matches will be played per day for the first three days of the event until the group stage has drawn to a close

We’ve taken a look at the women’s event and who the contenders are for the title.

Women’s Groups

Nouran Gohar & Olivia Weaver

World No.1 Nouran Gohar is the heavy favourite for this years SmartCentres PSA Squash Tour Finals as she looks to claim the title for the third successive year. ‘The Terminator’ has won the title three times in the last four seasons and knows what it takes to win. Gohar has only lost two matches since October, claiming seven titles in the process. Only two players have managed to stop Gohar this season and neither Nour ElSherbini or Hania El Hammamy are in the draw next week in Toronto. Gohar already holds the record for the most Tour Finals titles won but will be desperate to stretch her tally to four.

Olivia Weaver is the No.2 seed for this years event as she looks to reach the final for the first time in her career. Weaver has deservedly held the World No.4 spot all season and has consistently pushed ‘The Big 3’ all season but is yet to claim a win over one of them. The American has been fiercely consistent this season but will be put under pressure by players in her group, Orfi, Subramaniam and Sobhy.

Nouran Gohar (left) takes on Olivia Weaver (right) during the 2024 QTerminals Qatar Classic semi-finals.
Nouran Gohar (left) takes on Olivia Weaver (right) during the 2024 QTerminals Qatar Classic semi-finals.

Amina Orfi & Tinne Gilis

Egypt’s Amina Orfi is one of three debutants in this years women’s event as she looks to make her mark in her first taste of a best of three PSA event. Orfi has risen to World No.5 this season after several impressive performances, including claiming a win over Hania El Hammamy to win the Singapore Open Gold event and beating Nour El Sherbini on route to her first Platinum event final in El Gouna. Orfi reached the semi finals of the recent British Open and will be hopeful of progressing out of the groups before putting together a strong showing in the semi-finals.

Due to the absence of ElSherbini and El Hammamy, Belgium’s Tinne Gilis is the No.4 seed for the event next week in what will be just her second appearance in the competition. Gilis failed to advance out of the groups last season and with Watanabe and Kennedy sitting behind her in her group this year, she will need to reach her top level if she is to make the semi-finals for the first time.

Siva Subramaniam & Satomi Watanabe

Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam and Japan’s Satomi Watanabe are making their debuts in the PSA Squash Tour Finals this year and have fully deserved their spots in the season finale.

Subramaniam has constantly threatened the top players in the world this season and has shown that she can be a consitent fixture in the latter stages of major events. Subramaniam has also shown how good she can be in the best of three format. Her win at the London Classic is one of the standout moments in the sport’s recent history and a fantastic run at the Grasshopper Cup a few months ago show how comfortable she is playing in that format.

Satomi Watanabe was ranked 16th in the Road to Tour Finals standings in January but a brilliant 2025 has seen her catapult inside the top eight in emphatic fashion. The Japanese No.2 reached three finals in the second half of the season, winning the Squash in the Land 2025 title and finishing runner up in New Zealand and Palm Hills. She also became the first Japanese player to ever reach a World Championships quarter final and is the first Japanese player to feature in the Tour Finals.

Amanda Sobhy & Georgina Kennedy

Neither Amanda Sobhy or Georgina Kennedy finished inside the top eight in the Road to Tour Finals standings but the withdraws of ElSherbini and El Hammamy have meant that the season isn’t quite over for the World No.9 and 10.

This will be Sobhy’s fifth appearance in the competition, with her best finish coming in 2022 where she lost out to eventual champion Nour ElSherbini in the semi-finals. Sobhy only returned to competitive action at the start of this season after recovering from a second Achilles rupture, therefore to be getting ready for the PSA Squash Tour Finals is a position I’m sure Sobhy wouldn’t have thought possible 9 months ago. She will feature in the same group as compatriot Weaver, Orfi and Subramaniam.

No.8 seed Kennedy will see next week in Toronto as a massive bonus after understandably thinking that her season was over. She is in Group A, alongside Nouran Gohar, Tinne Gilis and Satomi Watanabe. A free, unstressed Kennedy is a danger for any player in the world and with no pressure on the shoulders of the English No.1, she could cause upsets and reach the final four.

All matches will be held at Toronto’s Revival Film Studios and matches will be streamed live on SQUASHTV. The semi-finals and finals will also be shown live by PSA’s broadcast partners. Tickets can be purchased here.

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