The 2025 Optasia Championships get underway in less than 24 hours, with 48 of the world’s best players descending upon the English capital of London in search of the Gold-level titles.
A year after the introduction of the women’s draw as a Bronze-level event, the event will now offer up two Gold-level titles, with the $236,000 prize pot split equally between men’s and women’s draws.
Defending champions World #4 Paul Coll and World #11 Satomi Watanabe return, with both in top form since the turn of the calendar year.
Coll, the second seed in the men’s event behind World #2 Mostafa Asal, has hit some strong form after a hit-and-miss first half of the season. Since the turn of the calendar year Coll has picked up titles at the Motor City Open and his home event, the New Zealand Open – as well as most recently finishing runner-up to Karim Abdel Gawad at the Australian Open.
The New Zealander isn’t likely to have it entirely his own way in his bid for a third Optasia crown, though, with ‘The Raging Bull’ Asal topping the men’s draw and likely to have his eyes firmly set on ascending to the top of the world rankings this week. If Asal were to lift the title in London, he would surpass compatriot Ali Farag and return to World #.1 in the world rankings – a position which he last held in April 2023.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, the local crowd will have plenty of home players to cheer on, with Mohamed and Marwan ElShorbagy as the fourth and sixth seeds. 2017 champion Mohamed arrives on the back of a title victory at the Men’s Canadian Open, while Marwan has already picked up a pair of titles at the Open Squash Classic and Squash in the Land so far this season.
The stacked seedings are filled out in the men’s draw with some box-office names: Former World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad, current World #.5 Joel Makin, former British Open champion Miguel Rodriguez and Egypt’s World #15 Youssef Ibrahim.
Meanwhile in the women’s draw, World #3 Hania El Hammamy will be hoping to continue her red-hot start to the 2025 calendar year with a strong run in London. The top seed was in sublime form in January as she defeated both World Teams winning teammates Nour El Sherbini and Nouran Gohar – who both withdrew from the tournament with a few days to go – on her way to the Platinum-level J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions title before finishing runner-up at the Texas Open – a run which included a career-first straight games win over El Sherbini.
Elsewhere England #1 Gina Kennedy is the second seed and will be looking to build upon her runner-up finish at the German Open. World #8 Kennedy has endured an injury-riddled 24/25 campaign but will be a crowd favourite this week and is never a player to rule out of the running.
Another player who will have strong support will be third seed and defending champion Satomi Watanabe, who studied in England at the University of Roehampton and made the most of the support last year to storm to the title, defeating then World #4 Nele Gilis-Coll in the final. The Japanese #1 finds herself in the same half of the draw as El Hammamy and opens her account against England’s Alicia Mead or Egypt’s Kenzy Ayman.
Further back in the seedings, a trio of players will arrive full of confidence after recent title victories. sixth seed Amanda Sobhy captured the German Open title last week – her first piece of silverware since rupturing her Achilles in December 2023 – home hope and seventh seed Jasmine Hutton won the Calgary CFO Consulting Services PSA Women’s Squash Week under a fortnight ago, and France’s eighth seed Melissa Alves claimed the Richardson Wealth trophy at the beginning of March.
All the action available to watch live on SQUASHTV. The evening session of day one will also be available to watch for FREE on the SQUASHTV YouTube Channel.
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