[4] Siva Subramaniam (Mas) 3-1 [1] Amina Orfi (Egy) 8-11, 11-10, 11-8, 11-10 (75m)
[2] Hania El Hammamy (Egy) 3-0 [6] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (Egy) 11-10, 11-8, 11-8 (41m)
[4] Diego Elias (Per) w/o [1] Mostafa Asal (Egy) v Asal w/d injured
[2] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-1 [6] Mohamad Zakaria (Egy) 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-1 (69m)
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Subramaniam ends Orfi’s run as finalists decided in Paris
World No.5 Sivasangari Subramaniam became the first Malaysian since 2012 to reach the title decider at the PSA Squash Tour Finals after she ended World Champion Amina Orfi’s winning run with a superb display at Centquatre-Paris.
Orfi hadn’t lost on the PSA Squash Tour since her match at the Grasshopper Cup with Sivasangari in April, racking up 12 successive wins and capturing the World Championship and British Open titles in that time to put her on the cusp of the World No.1 spot.
However, on a scorching day in France’s capital, Sivasangari came up with one of the performances of her career to date to halt the in-form 18-year-old and book her place in the final of the season-ending tournament for the first time. Sivasangari is the first Malaysian to do so since the legendary Nicol David in 2012.
“She’s furious, determined and she doesn’t give away anything,” said Sivasangari.
“I tried to stay positive and as consistent as I can. A year ago it was up and down, there are still errors here and there, but I think I did well in crucial moments.
“It means a lot, this is my second Squash Tour Finals and last year I lost all of my matches. After the British, I was disappointed with my performance and didn’t feel like myself. I want to end the season on a good note, I’m happy I beat Amina, but there is another match tomorrow and hopefully I can go all the way.”
Sivasangari’s final opponent will be World No.1 Hania El Hammamy, who defeated fellow Egyptian Fayrouz Aboelkheir by an 11-10, 11-8, 11-8 scoreline. El Hammamy is also guaranteed to end the season at World No.1 following Orfi’s defeat.
Aboelkheir ended the title charge of eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini in the previous round and tested El Hammamy throughout, but the hot conditions – which saw temperatures surpass 30°C – seemed to affect her more as El Hammamy held firm to secure the win.
“It took me a while to find my range and my corners,” said 2020 champion El Hammamy.
“Fayrouz likes to chop and change, and she doesn’t play in a rhythm, and that made me a bit uncomfortable. It took some time to find my length. With Fayrouz, I wanted to take less risks and not open the court too much because she plays incredible shots out of nowhere. I had to close the court down and wait for my opportunity.”
World No.1 Mostafa Asal pulled out his semi-final match with World No.3 Diego Elias, meaning the Peruvian will take on World No.2 Paul Coll in the men’s final – ensuring a new name will be on the trophy.
Coll battled past World Junior Champion Mohamad Zakaria in his last four match, emerging the victor by an 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-1 scoreline. Coll and Elias reached the final in 2022 and 2023, respectively, each losing to Asal.
“It took a bit of time to get that high intensity and the focus wasn’t quite there yesterday, but I was a lot more clinical with my short stuff today,” said Coll.
“I lost a bit of patience in the third there, I saw the finishing line, which was a bit annoying, but I’m very happy with the fourth. I was trying not to leave it too short when the ball was so hot because the ball bounces more, so I had to keep my racket speed up and get the cut on the ball. I was better at that today and I was very happy with the overall performance.”
Semi-Final Previews :
Amina Orfi v Sivasangari Subramaniam
Just two wins now stand in the way of World No.2 Amina Orfi becoming the youngest women’s World No.1 in the history of the sport, with the 18-year-old needing to lift the title here to replace Hania El Hammamy at the top of the world rankings.
First up for the current World Champion, though, is a blockbuster matchup with World No.5 Sivasangari Subramaniam, a player who got the better of Orfi the last time they met at the Grasshopper Cup in April.
On that day, Sivasangari managed to get over the line to claim just her second win from nine attempts against Orfi, but since then, Orfi has been a winning machine, currently boasting an 11-match unbeaten streak – including a pair of historic title wins at the World Championships and British Open.
The heat has certainly played a major part in the results so far this week in Paris, and even the usually unflustered Orfi seemed to feel the effects of the conditions during her four-game wins over Tinne Gilis in the opening round.
Sivasangari will look to create attacking opportunities in the middle of the court and force Orfi into some tough movements with her incredible deception, while Orfi will hope her relentless length-hitting will win the day.
Mostafa Asal v Diego Elias
The match-up between World No.1 Mostafa Asal and World No.3 Diego Elias has been the rivalry of the season on the men’s tour, with their latest 115-minute showdown in the British Open semi-finals classed as one of the best matches the event has ever seen.
More widely, Asal and Elias’ head-to-head record stands at 4-1 to Asal so far this season, and 13-8 to the ‘Raging Bull’ throughout their careers to date. Although the 4-1 record looks a dominant one for Asal, the average duration of these encounters this season is a mammoth 92 minutes, with three of these going all the way to five games.
For Asal, the 2026 PSA Squash Tour Finals presents the chance for him to become just the second man after the great Jansher Khan in 1998 to win the Tour Finals on four occasions.
Elias, meanwhile, is looking to become the first South American winner of the tournament this week in Paris.
Fayrouz Aboelkheir v Hania El Hammamy
20-year-old Fayrouz Aboelkheir caused the shock of the event so far in the quarter-finals as she overcame eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini in four games on Thursday night – making it back-to-back wins over the ‘Warrior Princess’.
This form, paired with a tight five-game defeat to World No.1 Hania El Hammamy at the recent British Open, will have the World No.7 full of belief that she can stun her senior compatriot and reach her first-ever major final on the PSA Squash Tour.
El Hammamy, meanwhile, is vying to hold onto her position at World No.1 this week, with the Egyptian needing to better the result of Amina Orfi to do so. Despite having claimed five major titles so far this season, disappointing defeats to Orfi at the World Championships and British Open over the last month will have the 25-year-old firing and ready to hit back this week in Paris.
A four-game win over Gina Kennedy kickstarted El Hammamy’s quest for a second PSA Squash Tour Finals title, with the Egyptian’s title win at the event coming back in 2020.
Mohamad Zakaria v Paul Coll
The final match of the evening looks to be a justified curtain closer, with World No.2 Paul Coll taking on World No.8 Mohamad Zakaria for a spot in the final.
World Junior Champion Zakaria certainly delivered the goods on his PSA Squash Tour Finals debut yesterday, with the 18-year-old stretching his winning run over World No.4 Karim Gawad to three matches, taking down the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ in three games.
Coll, meanwhile, got his campaign underway with a hard-fought four-game victory over defending champion Joel Makin in 77 minutes.
World No.2 Coll has enjoyed a prolific season in terms of silverware, with six titles to his name, including the recent British Open. The Kiwi No.1 will be hoping to close out the season by winning his first-ever PSA Squash Tour Finals title.
The pair have met just once this season in the final of the New Zealand Open, a match which saw a physically ailing Zakaria fall to a three-game defeat. However, with both coming into this one fit and firing, expect fireworks to close out semi-finals night in Paris.
