KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 8 S. Sivasangari will be out to retain her London Squash Classic title at the season-opening PSA Tour tournament starting Tuesday.
The 26-year-old won the Gold-level tournament last year after toppling world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini and world No. 2 Hania El Hammamy, both from Egypt, as well as world No. 4 Nele Gilis of Belgium.
Sivasangari, the fifth seed, has a first-round bye and will face either Hong Kong’s Tomato Ho or England’s Torrie Malik in the second round.
Also in the same half of the draw are Belgium’s world No. 7 Tinnes Gilis and Egypt’s world No. 5 Amina Orfi.
“Winning the London Classic last year was an amazing experience, it is definitely one of the highlights of my career so far,” Sivasangari told the PSA Tour.
“But what made it truly special was the personal journey I’d been through. Just two years before, I was in a serious car accident, and the road back to feeling like myself again on court was long and challenging.
“It really wasn’t until the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 that I started feeling physically and mentally back to where I was. So to come full circle and win such a prestigious title in that iconic venue, it was emotional and incredibly rewarding.”
Sivasangari, who is training under former world No. 1 Gregory Gaultier in Prague, said pre-season had been really good.
“I spent the summer training period in Prague with Gaultier, alongside a few other players,” she said.
“It is my first summer spending time with Gaultier and it was a really great block of training. I’ve also been paying close attention to my recovery and staying injury-free.
“For me, I’m taking each tournament as it comes and trying to be as consistent as possible in each match.
“I’d love to break into the top 5 this season, but more than anything, I want to keep improving, keep enjoying the game, and see where that takes me.”
A best-of-three games scoring format will be used in every round up to and including the quarter-finals, before reverting to a traditional best-of-five scoring for the semi-finals and final.
Meanwhile, world No. 19 Rachel Arnold will face world No. 38 Lucy Beecroft of England in the first round on Tuesday.
In the men’s competition, world No. 12 Ng Eain Yow, who received a first-round bye, will face Qatar’s world No. 22 Abdullah Al Tamimi or England’s world No. 30 Curtis Malik in the second round.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
