The inaugural night of the Optasia Squash Super League got underway in thrilling fashion, as the Coolhurst Cavaliers and St George’s Hill Knights clinched respective victories over the Leamington Royals and Bexley Ballers.
Eight action-packed matches awaited fans at the Bexley Lawn Tennis, Squash & Racketball Club and the Coolhurst Tennis & Squash Club, with the likes of World No.5 Mazen Hesham, former World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad, British No.1 Georgina Kennedy and Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe all claiming victories for their teams.
Both ties finished with a 2-2 scoreline, but given both the Knights won more games across the four matches, and the Cavaliers won on points countback, they will walk away with the additional bonus point attached to the victory.
Read below to see the individual fixture reports, while you can keep up to date with all the latest information by following the Squash Super League on X, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.
Bexley Ballers v St George’s Hill Knights
The Bexley Ballers against the St George’s Hill Knights was a fixture of two halves, with the Knights racing out of the blocks and taking a quickfire 2-0 lead thanks to victories from Club Hero Miles Jenkins and U25s star Bailey Malik, and the Ballers fighting back through wins from Georgina Kennedy and Mazen Hesham.
Jenkins, head coach at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club, held off a Jack Mitterer comeback to eventually seal an 11-7, 8-11, 11-8 in the first match of the evening, while Malik, the recent winner of the U19 British Junior Championship title, eased through to an 11-7, 11-4 victory over Dylan Roberts.
However, despite the 2-0 deficit, the Ballers refused to go down without a fight, with Georgina Kennedy coming through a thrilling all-England battle with Jasmine Hutton in a third-game sudden death tie-break.
After Kennedy moved through a high-quality first game 11-9, Hutton bounced back with a flurry of attacking winners to level proceedings at one game apiece.
At 10-8 up in the third, Hutton looked home and dry, but Kennedy drew on her wealth of experience in the latter stages of major events in recent years to reel off three straight points and claim victory, squeezing Hutton out down the backhand side in the 10-10 sudden death tie-break.
The last match of the fixture saw Mazen Hesham and Joel Makin take to court in what was a repeat of their U.S. Open Championships last-16 tie – a match which Hesham clinched after three brutally fought games.
‘The Black Falcon’ got the better of the Welshman once again in a match which thrilled the crowd inside the Bexley Lawn Tennis, Squash & Racketball Club from the first point until the last.
After Makin flew out of the blocks to take the first game 11-4 with some incredibly accurate squash, Hesham began to find his range at the front of the court, with his unpredictability and attacking prowess testing the movement of Makin to the extreme.
The Egyptian forced a third game by an 11-8 scoreline, before getting the better of Makin 11-9 in a dramatic finish to the night’s play.
Due to Malik’s victory in the U25 match, the St George’s Hill Knights picked up three points compared to the Bexley Ballers’ two points.
Results:
Men’s: Mazen Hesham [BB] bt Joel Makin [SGK] 2-1: 4-11, 11-8, 11-9
Women’s: Georgina Kennedy [BB] bt Jasmine Hutton [SGK] 2-1: 11-9, 5-11, 11-10
U25’s: Bailey Malik [SGK] bt Dylan Roberts [BB] 2-0: 11-7, 11-4
Club Hero: Miles Jenkins [SGK] bt Jack Mitterer [BB] 2-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-8
Coolhurst Cavaliers v Leamington Royals
In what proved to be a see-saw battle, it was former World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad who clinched a narrow win in the last tie of the night to help the Coolhurst Cavaliers to victory over the Leamington Royals.
Former World No.1 Gawad fought off the threat of dangerous Englishman Declan James to record an 11-4, 8-11, 11-7 win to the delight of the home support within the Coolhurst Tennis & Squash Club.
Despite James more than playing his part by pushing the Egyptian all the way down to the wire in the 34-minute encounter, it was Gawad who ultimately reigned supreme, always holding a significant buffer as the third game drew to its conclusion.
Earlier in the tie, Sam Cross had got the visiting Leamington Royals off to the perfect start as he recovered from a one-game deficit to defeat Damian Duckett by a 7-11, 11-9, 11-7 scoreline in the Club Heroes match.
Soon after though, the Leamington Royals had drawn themselves back level after a gutsy victory by Kiera Marshall over 15-year-old Mariam Eissa.
After falling 9-2 down in the first game, Marshall looked to be potentially feeling the pressure of the occasion, but remarkably turned things around in a flash, winning nine straight points to move a game up, and soon after clinching the victory in a one-sided second game.
Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe was the other winner for the Royals team, sealing a comfortable victory over rising star Hana Ismail by an 11-6, 11-4 scoreline.
Watanabe, who boasted a 71-place superior ranking to Ismail, showed her experience to move away in the latter stages of an even first game and soon after seal victory after 15 minutes of play.
However, it was Marshall’s victory in the U25 match which helped the Cavaliers to the full three points and the matchday victory, with the Royals heading home with two points to their name.
Results:
Men’s: Karim Abdel Gawad [CC] bt Declan James [LR] 2-1: 11-4, 8-11, 11-7
Women’s: Satomi Watanabe [LR] bt Hana Ismail [CC] 2-0: 11-6, 11-4
U25’s: Kiera Marshall [CC] bt Mariam Eissa [LR] 2-0: 11-9, 11-4
Club Hero: Sam Cross [LR] bt Damien Duckett [CC] 2-1: 7-11, 11-9, 11-7
