Amanda Sobhy Eyeing Windy City Challenge by Nathan Clarke photo squashpics.com
February 22, 2016
- American number one Amanda Sobhy, the 22-year-old who became the
first native-born U.S. citizen to crack the world’s top ten last year,
says she is relishing the prospect of competing at the 2016 Windy City
Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and Equitrust Life Insurance
Company for the first time in her career this week ahead of what
promises to be a fascinating episode on the 2015/16 PSA World Series
schedule.
The Harvard graduate has enjoyed a stellar start
to 2016 so far and reached her first ever PSA World Series final at the
J. P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in January, when the support of a
partizan US crowd carried her to a series of career-defining wins, and
the prospect of competing in front of vocal home support in Chicago
again this week is something she is excited about.
“Reaching
the finals of the Tournament of Champions in January was a huge
confidence booster for me because it made me realise that I have the
ability to beat any player in the rankings,” said Sobhy.
“I’m
looking forward to carrying that momentum with me as I head into the
Windy City Open next week – especially because this is the first time
that I’ll be able to play in Chicago.
“The tournament has
always clashed with the collegiate national championships so I’m
excited to be playing this year and hopefully I can have just as good a
run over there as I did in New York City.
“The support in
New York was amazing and it will be great to play in front of an
American crowd again this week. Hopefully they can help me go all the
way.”
Sobhy will take on Egyptian Salma Hany Ibrahim in the
first round of the tournament, which takes place at the University Club
of Chicago from February 25 – March 02, as she bids to become the first
American player ever to win a prestigious PSA World Series title.
Women’s Windy City Open – First Round Draw:
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Line Hansen (DEN) Heba El Torky (EGY) v [16] Victoria Lust (ENG) [15] Emily Whitlock (ENG) v [Qualifier] [WC] Olivia Blatchford (USA) v [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) [5] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [Qualifier] Tesni Evans (WAL) v [14] Delia Arnold (MAS) [11] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [Qualifier] [Qualifier] v [3] Nicol David (MAS) [4] Camille Serme (FRA) v [Qualifier] Joey Chan (HKG) v [12] Low Wee Wern (MAS) [10] Joelle King (NZL) v Donna Urquhart (AUS) Salma Hany Ibrahim (EGY) v [7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) [8] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [Qualifier] [Q] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) v [13] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) [9] Annie Au (HKG) v [Qualifier] [Qualifier] v [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Tickets
for the 2016 Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company starting at just $20 and can be
purchased at http://www.windycityopen.com
