[2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-0 Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 11-4, 16-14, 11-6 (33m)
Nour
Overall, I think I played well, but in the first game I was not adapting to the court too well. I was not comfortable on there and it was my first time playing her, I was struggling a bit how to handle her.
I started to settle down in the middle of the first game, and I managed to take the lead in the second. I was sticking to my plan and executing it well. I think my problem is the fact I didn’t really believe in myself, I didn’t believe I could do it. And when I started to really I could win, I lost my focus. She won that crucial game because she has so much more experience.
In the third, I faced the same problem, when we were neck to neck scorewise, I starting thinking again about the score, about points to not lose, I should have been more patient, and trust my game more.
I’m already working with someone on the mental side of things, but I didn’t play that many matches at that level. Step by step, I’m going to know myself better thanks to that type of matches. I truly enjoyed the match, I gave it my all, looking forward to the next tournament now…
Out of the skies…and straight into the nick 💥
🙌 Pin-point accuracy here from @ginakennedyy #OptasiaChampionships pic.twitter.com/6x8eCOjjWa
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) March 27, 2025
Gina
“It was really hard out there today. Especially with the all-glass floor, we’re used to the traditional wooden floors, and I haven’t had much court time on here. It really does bounce different here, you have to move differently on here. The court conditions are so different here, and it’s so severe.
“I felt quite flat out there today. I was literally warming up for two hours before the match, because of the two big battles beforehand. Nour came out firing and I think I got lucky to win that tie-break.
“As one of the top seeds, it’s hard, because you do look through the draw to see who you would play, and obviously my quarter-final opponents had a big battle today. I was definitely keen to watch that and see what was happening.
“It’s really nice playing in London this week. My coach Ben [Ford] comes this week, my mum comes, I’ve got a few friends who should be coming later in the week, so it’s great to have some home support.”
