9/16 seed Abdullah Ali created British Junior Open history after he became the first-ever Kuwait representative to reach the final of the prestigious tournament.
Ali defeated 5/8 seed Farouk Mohamed of Egypt 3-1 to secure a place in tomorrow’s Boys U15s final.
Having been two games to the good, Ali’s lead was halved when Mohamed battled back in the third, stepping up the court as the Egyptian got a foothold back in the contest.
In a closely fought fourth game, Ali edged it 11-8 to progress to the final where he will lock horns with top seed Philopater Saleh of Egypt, who got the better of India’s 5/8 seed Aryaveer Dewan 3-1.
In the Girls U15s, Egyptian 5/8 seed Rama El Naggar downed Malaysia’s second seed Harleein Tan 3-1. Standing in El Naggar’s way of a British Junior Open title is fellow countrywoman and top seed Malika El Karasky, who triumphed 3-0 over 5/8 seed Zeina Abdelaal.
Runners up in the U19s finals last year, Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Jonah Bryant will be hoping to go one better in 2024 after they both prevailed in the last four.
Aboelkheir, who lost out to her Egyptian compatriot Amina Orfi last year, produced a clinical display against Janna Galal. The top seed will battle it out with second seed Caroline Fouts of the USA after she also notched a 3-0 win against Egypt’s 3/4 seed Nour Khagafy.
Bryant – who was beaten by fellow Englishman Finnlay Withington in 2023’s decider – dispatched Switzerland’s 3/4 seed David Bernet 3-0. Bryant meets the No.1 seed Mohamed Zakaria of Egypt, who comprehensively earned a place in the final after a 3-0 win over France’s 3/4 seed Melvil Scianimanico.
Meanwhile in the Girls’ U17s, No.2 seed Naiden Elhammamy of Egypt produced a stunning comeback to advance to tomorrow’s final.
Elhammamy was two games down against France’s 3/4 seed Lauren Baltayan but delivered the perfect riposte to level the match before edging a close, entertaining battle in the fifth where both players traded points throughout. However, it was Elhammamy who was able to give herself match ball, which she converted at the first attempt.
It will be the top seeds squaring off in the Girls U17s final tomorrow following Philopater Saleh of Egypt’s 3-1 triumph against India’s 3/4 seed Barb Sameh.
The Boys’ U17s decider will also be an all-Egyptian affair after Youssef Salem [1] and Marwan Asal [2] got the better of their compatriots Adam Hawal [9/16] and Ahmed Abd Elreheem [17/32], respectively.
Elsewhere, Egypt’s Reem Elmaghraby [3/4] delivered a huge shock as she defeated Vivienne Sze [1] of the United States 3-1 to earn her place in the Girls’ U13s final against fellow Egyptian Layan Moustafa [2].
The Boys U13s final will pit the top two Egyptian seeds against each other after Malek Helmy [1] and Omar Mohamed [2] downed their compatriots Baraa Abdelkarim [3/4] and Hassan Abdelgalil [3/4].
Finals day of the British Junior Open takes place tomorrow, with play getting underway at 9am (UK time). Watch live streaming from the all-glass court at the University of Birmingham Sport at britishjunioropen.com/watch and on SQUASHTV.
View the draws at britishjunioropen.com and follow the action on Instagram, Facebook and X.
Semi Final Results
Boys U19s
- [1] Mohamed Zakaria (Egy) 3-0 [3/4] Melvil Scianimanico (Fra) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3
- [2] Jonah Bryant (Eng) 3-0 [3/4] David Bernet (Sui) 11-3, 11-7, 12-10
Girls U19s
- [1] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (Egy) 3-0 [3/4] Janna Galal (Egy) 11-7, 11-7, 11-6
- [2] Caroline Fouts (Usa) 3-0 [3/4] Nour Khagafy (Egy) 11-5, 11-9, 11-3
Boys U17s
- [1] Youssef Salem (Egy) 3-1 [9/16] Adam Hawal (Egy) 11-8, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4
- [2] Marwan Asal (Egy) 3-0 [17/32] Ahmed Abd Elreheem (Egy) 12-10, 11-9, 11-5
Girls U17s
- [1] Anahat Singh (Ind) 3-0 [3/4] Barb Sameh (Egy) 11-7, 11-9, 12-10
- [2] Nadien Elhammamy (Egy) 3-2 [3/4] Lauren Baltayan (Fra) 5-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9
Boys U15s
- [1] Philopater Saleh (Egy) 3-1 [5/8] Aryaveer Dewan (Ind) 11-6, 3-11, 11-4, 11-6
- [9/16] Abdullah Ali (Kuw) 3-1 [5/8] Farouk Mohamed (Egy) 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8
Girls U15s
- [1] Malika El Karasky (Egy) 3-0 [5/8] Zeina Abdelaal (Egy) 11-5, 11-6, 11-9
- [5/8] Rama El Naggar (Egy) 3-1 [2] Harleein Tan (Mas) 11-7, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7
Boys U13s
- [1] Malek Helmy (Egy) 3-0 [3/4] Baraa Abdelkarim (Egy) 11-3, 11-6, 11-4
- [2] Omar Mohamed (Egy) 3-1 [3/4] Hassan Abdelgalil (Egy) 11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6
Girls U13s
- [3/4] Reem Elmaghraby (Egy) 3-1 [1] Vivienne Sze (Usa) 11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7
- [2] Layan Moustafa (Egy) 3-0 [5/8] Joudy Yousry (Egy) 11-3, 11-8, 11-3
Boys U11s
- [3/4] Yahia Waleed Rayan (Egy) 3-1 [5/8] Tameem Fahmy (Egy) 11-5, 12-10, 10-12, 11-3
- [5/8] Adam Ragab (Egy) 3-2 [9/16] Ali Elmaotasem (Egy) 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 10-12, 11-8
Girls U11s
- [3/4] Fayrouz Elsayad (Egy) 3-0 [1] Kaylee Li (Usa) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6
- [3/4] Serein Mohamed (Egy) 3-0 [5/8] Alya Alaa (Egy) 11-7, 11-3, 11-2
