It’s semi-finals day of the WSF Women’s World Team Championship at the Madinaty Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt.
Tonight’s semi-finals, which will see four-player squads from each country battle it out in best-of-three-match ties, will be played on Madinaty’s outdoor court, with Vanessa Atkinson and Simon Parke providing expert commentary.
The quarter-finals begin at 17:30 (GMT+2) and will be streamed live and free on WORLDSQUASH.TV, the WSF’s new streaming platform, while fans can attend in person for free (click here to buy tickets).
WORLDSQUASH.TV will also be streaming the 12:00 5/8 place playoff semi-final tie between Scotland and Hong Kong, China and the 17:30 5/8 place playoff semi-final tie between France and Canada.
In addition, viewers in Egypt can watch the action live on ON Sport, with the PSA’s squash.tv and the Olympic Channel also streaming play.
Egypt v Malaysia
Defending champions and top seeds Egypt have been in imperious form all week on home turf. A fearsome team comprised of World No.1, Nouran Gohar, World No.2 Nour El Sherbini, World No.3 Hania El Hammamy and World No.6 Nour El Tayeb have swept all before them so far, with Switzerland, Wales, Canada, and Scotland failing to take a game from Egypt, let alone a match or tie.
5/6 seeds Malaysia, meanwhile, may feel they are peaking at just the right time, with last night’s 3-0 victory over Hong Kong, China – in which they avenged last month’s Asian Team Championship final defeat – the high point of their 2022 campaign so far.
If the 2014 finalists – who have a 2-5 losing record to Egypt in the championships – are to spring an upset, it will require career best performances from their team, which is comprised of World No.25 Rachel Arnold, World No.32 Aifa Azman, World No.75 Yiwen Chan and World No.78 Xin Ying Yee.
England v USA
In what promises to be an epic, seven-time champions England face first-time semi-finalists USA at 19:30.
Despite their inexperience at this level of the competition and a 0-3 record against England at the World Teams, USA go in as the favourites. The No.2 seeds boast a deep squad of World No.5 Amanda Sobhy, World No.10 Olivia Fiechter, World No.15 – and younger sister to Amanda – Sabrina Sobhy and World No.20 Olivia Clyne and have only dropped one game from the 28 they have played so far.
England, meanwhile, may look to their quarter-final performance against No.4 seeds France yesterday for inspiration. Despite England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry losing the first match against Melissa Alves, 23-year-old duo Lucy Turmel and Jasmine Hutton dug deep to turn the tie on its head with wins over Coline Aumard and former World No.2 Camille Serme, with England coach David Campion later praising Hutton’s performance as “the best of her career, by a country mile!”
Elsewhere, plate ties to determine the final places of teams who didn’t qualify from the groups resume today from 12:00 (GMT+2). You can follow the progress of teams through the plate competition here. Watch the action live and free on WORLDSQUASH.TV.
Squad Information | Draws and Results
Keep up with the event by following the World Squash Federation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, WORLDSQUASH.TV, and the official tournament website.