Egyptian Raneem El-Welily, ranked third internationally, won the Women’s Windy City Open 2016, which took place in the University Club of Chicago, USA, from 25 February until 2 March.
In the final match, El-Welily defeated her compatriot, Nour El-Sherbini, ranked fifth internationally, with scores of 9-11, 11-6, 11-3 and 11-6.
This is the second consecutive win for El-Welily in the Women’s Windy City Open, as she succeeded in beating Malaysia’s Nicol David in the finals in 2015.
In this year’s tournament, El-Welily made it to the final thanks to her victory in the semi-finals over France’s Camille Serme, ranked fourth internationally, with the score of 11-9, 13-11, 11-8. Meanwhile, El-Sherbini defeated English Laura Massaro, ranked first internationally, with the score of 11-7, 11-9, 11-9.
El-Welily and El-Sherbini were not the only Egyptian squash players participating in the open, as the tournament included Omneya Abdel Kawy, Nouran Gohar, Heba El-Torky, Salma Hany Ibrahim, Hania El-Hammamy and Mariam Metwally.
Both Egyptians Abdel Kawy and Gohar exited the tournament after being defeated in the quarter-finals to Massaro (7-11, 7-11, 9-11) and El-Welily (8-11, 8-11, 9-11), respectively.
El-Torky, Metwally, Ibrahim, and El-Hammamy, exited the tournament in the first round.
