Raneem and Mo top seeds in Oracle NetSuite Open
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

A world-class field will descend on San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza between September 24-30 as stars such as women’s World No.1 Raneem El Welily and men’s World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy battle it out for the prestigious PSA World Tour Gold titles.

This year’s Oracle NetSuite Open features its largest prize fund in its 10-year history, with $242,000 split equally between the men’s and women’s events, while a best-of-three games scoring format will be used up to and including the semi-finals. The final will revert to the traditional best of five scoring used elsewhere on the tour.

The increase in prize money has seen the tournament attract arguably its overall strongest ever draw, with eight of the world’s top nine female players in attendance.

El Welily headlines the draw alongside reigning World Champion Nour El Sherbini, French World No.3 Camille Serme, Egypt’s World No.4 Nour El Tayeb, Kiwi World No.5 Joelle King, defending champion Sarah-Jane Perry, United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy and Welsh World No.9 Tesni Evans.

Triple Pan American Games gold medallist Sobhy – the 2015 Oracle NetSuite Open champion – is joined by fellow Americans Olivia Blatchford Clyne – who won a gold and silver medal at the Pan American Games – Olivia Fiechter and wildcard Haley Mendez.

The 2017 winner, Mohamed ElShorbagy, tops the men’s draw and will compete alongside fellow top 10 players Tarek Momen, Simon Rösner and Miguel Rodriguez.

ElShorbagy’s younger brother, Marwan, also features, while Welshman Joel Makin, England No.1 Declan James and Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly are the other top eight seeded players.

USA’s Todd Harrity, who won two gold medals at the Pan American Games in Lima last week, also appears in San Francisco, with fellow US player Faraz Khan taking the wildcard spot.

“The Oracle NetSuite Open is one of the most highly-anticipated tournaments on the PSA Tour and I’m delighted to see that this year’s event features arguably our strongest ever draw,” said Tournament Promoter John Nimick.

“To have all but one of the world’s top nine women in attendance, in addition to a host of world-class talent in the men’s draw, is indicative of the ever-increasing prestige of the tournament, and I look forward to welcoming all players to San Francisco in September.”

All round one and two matches will be split between the Bay Club San Francisco, SquashZone, the Olympic Club and The University Club. All matches from the quarter-finals onwards will be held on the Squash Engine Court at Embarcadero Plaza.

Tickets start from $25 and are available through the tournament’s official website. Stay up-to-date with news from the Oracle NetSuite Open by following the tournament on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Fixtures from the Squash Engine Court at the Embarcadero Plaza will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour. 

Looking forward to SF this year for their biggest women’s event yet! It’s been amazing to see the evolution of the women’s draw since I first played in the event in 2015. Hats off to everyone who kept pushing for equal prize money! ???????? #ONO2019 https://t.co/TPXe1OtIIa

— Amanda Sobhy (@itssobhytime) August 9, 2019

2019 Oracle NetSuite Open, Embarcadero Drive, San Francisco, USA.

Men’s Entry List:
1) Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
2)Tarek Momen (EGY)
3) Simon Rösner (GER)
4) Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
5) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
6) Joel Makin (WAL)
7) Declan James (ENG)
8) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
9) Cesar Salazar (MEX)
10) Tom Richards (ENG)
11) Raphael Kandra (GER)
12) Mostafa Asal (EGY)
13) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
14) Cameron Pilley (AUS)
15) George Parker (ENG)
16) Arturo Salazar (MEX)
17) Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
18) Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
19) Campbell Grayson (NZL)
20) Karim Ali Fathi (EGY)
21) Todd Harrity (USA)
22) Alan Clyne (SCO)
23) Ramit Tandon (IND)
Wildcard: Faraz Khan (USA)

2019 Oracle NetSuite Open – Women’s Entry List:
1) Raneem El Welily (EGY)
2) Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
3) Camille Serme (FRA)
4) Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
5) Joelle King (NZL)
6) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
7) Amanda Sobhy (USA)
8) Tesni Evans (WAL)
9) Joshna Chinappa (IND)
10) Salma Hany (EGY)
11) Nele Gilis (BEL)
12) Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA)
13) Emily Whitlock (ENG)
14) Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
15) Mariam Metwally (EGY)
16) Rachael Grinham (AUS)
17) Tinne Gilis (BEL)
18) Hollie Naughton (CAN)
19) Milou van der Heijden (NED)
20) Coline Aumard (FRA)
21) Danielle Letourneau (CAN)
22) Lisa Aitken (SCO)
23) Olivia Fiechter (USA)
Wildcard: Haley Mendez (USA)
 

Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA