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03:54I'm Vanessa Atkinson and joining me in the studio, the very familiar voice of Lisa Hedgen.
03:59I feel like we'll be watching that video another 20 times, at least, over the next few months, Lisa.
04:03Yes.
04:04Sorry about that.
04:05Hopefully it's not too boring and hopefully by then you can understand what's actually going on.
04:08going on well we'll chat more about the olympic qualification system later this week but for now
04:13great to be back in chicago we obviously had the year off with the world champs last year
04:17but great to be back in cathedral hall it's a great event well established popular with the
04:22players you know we're right in the heart of chicago yeah very popular i think particularly
04:25when it's in may actually with the weather it's really cool here in the summer but it's a brilliant
04:30place this venue has been a staple now on the calendar the players love it we get really well
04:35looked after here and it's good to be back as the windy city open obviously 2024 was the last time
04:40that we were here it's been the world championship for a couple of times so yeah it's good to be back
04:45yeah the defending champion was obviously ali farag he's not here anymore uh norah shabini here to
04:50defend her title two years later yeah she will be she's won that event twice first against
04:55ranima willy in 2020 and then 2024 against gohar so particularly off the back of the tournament
05:01champions just a couple of weeks ago she obviously didn't get that title haniel hamami that world
05:05number one did so yeah i can imagine she's out for revenge here in chicago and looking good earlier
05:09this afternoon as well i know she was immaculate wasn't she everything was firing well let's have
05:13a look at our order of play for this evening uh four matches already played this afternoon so
05:19four quarter finalists have already taken their place in sunday's quarter finals four more coming
05:24up so if we look at those first two matches first up lisa uh both world number ones uh taking to
05:29the court uh sort of the heavyweights of the tournament you can you see any obstacles standing
05:34in their way for this first match in particular i don't really see lucy beecroft providing too much
05:40of a challenge for haniel hamami i'll be saying really looking forward to that actually obviously
05:45as you know he's been playing really well he's got some scalps on the tour now working his way up
05:49nicely in the rankings i think this will be a really good test for him against the world number one
05:53i think it's going to go in favor of the seedings for those two though and just a quick look at that
05:57last match joan o'briant up against joel macon uh macon's been injured you think he's going to play
06:02well he's going to be a little bit short on match play yeah he's certainly not short of court time
06:07though he has still been on court i train in the same place as him in birmingham at edgbaston friday and
06:11he's definitely been modifying his training keep an eye on on that knee but he's come here so he must be
06:16ready for battle so it's going to be a big one big physical one but yeah joel macon must be ready
06:21well first up world number one hanyar elhamami taking on lucy beecroft of england players are
06:27ready so let's hand over to our mc bill buckingham good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to
06:35continuing second round action here at the 2026 windy city open presented by the walter family
06:44let's get our first women's match out onto court please welcome the 37th ranked player in the world
06:53from england lucy beecroft
07:03lucy's opponent is our number one seed here in chicago and she is the number one player in the world
07:09from egypt hanyar elhamami is world number one hanyar elhamami from egypt taking on lucy beecroft of
07:31hanyar elhamami the number one seed here the world number one has had the best season of her career so
07:50far by a million miles this was a couple of weeks ago grand central station the semi-final against her big
07:56time rival eight-time world champion newral shabini massive massive match saw her through to the final
08:03and it was home crowd hero you could say olivia weaver who got herself up to a fantastic 9-3 lead in
08:11that fifth and final game and from then on hanyar elhamami unleashed some of the best squash that she's
08:17pretty much ever produced and managed to turn that massive deficit around
08:21and joining me is ashley blake good evening now ashley yeah it is evening time by now i mean if we ever
08:31want a proof positive of world number one quality world champion quality it is how she performed last
08:38week in new york absolutely stunning play the didn't play her best squash olivia weaver played so so well
08:48but it was this young woman who was in charge mentally in the fifth game there she's number one in the
08:56world right now and she's holding tight she's grabbing holding that tight to that little spot isn't she
09:02lisa oh she is and holding tight are those bandages on the knees we've seen hanyar elhamami dive all over the
09:08court and she's got so many cuts and scrapes on them and because of that she's had to strap them quite
09:16significantly at the start of this match because if any blood is to drop on the court from the
09:22scabs if you like that are already there she will have to concede the game actually so she is well
09:27equipped strapped up and ready to go and that's laura mazzaro a former world number one world champion
09:34herself flown in from england works very closely with hanyar elhamami alongside her husband danny mazzaro
09:42and nick taylor the u.s national coach on the left hand side lucy beecroft
09:51residing here in america from england 29 years of age
09:58three titles from nine finals has been up as high as 20 ashlyn currently sitting at 37 in the world
10:04yeah prolific player on the tour she's up on 18 events for a 12-month period
10:15one of the highest um
10:20playing uh match plays i suppose event plays in the top 50 the second highest after that is 19 events
10:27hannah motors is after that but a whopping 10 of those events she's played in since september um
10:36very firmly based in the u.s i would say
10:39stuart crawford the scottish england national coach next to grace gear
10:46head to head they're one in favor of the world number one back in october 2025 at the u.s open
10:58and a pretty straightforward three games to love
11:03relatively the same amount of time on court this tournament so far
11:06beecroft losing a game to up and coming uh us star carline fouts
11:18currently at harvard she lost the third game to caroline fights yesterday
11:21transitioning from time the traditional courts to the glass court
11:39who's serving thank you lucy b called to serve start this match
11:44well daniel greco taking charge of this one with andrea santa maria in the vr seat
12:01fresh off a plane laura mazzaro straight into the coaching corner
12:08no smiles on the face of honey i think this was a surprise actually i don't think she was supposed
12:12to be here this early play will start in 30 seconds kareem darwish not at this event
12:20canny alamami's coach in egypt
12:28boy will start in 15 seconds
12:30win the city open 2026 presented by the walter family women's round of 16 match lucy b craft of
12:48england to serve hany alhamami of egypt to receive best of five games of all
12:53and we're in lucy b croft of england with the serve in all black
13:12hany alhamami playing her 387th match in the psa sports tour with probably just as many of to come
13:22given the age that she's at one love yeah that put that in context of her opponent
13:30nearly double the matches played
13:33with not a huge difference between events played hany alhamami's only played 20 more events than b
13:40croft yet that match total is much much higher obviously because she's getting to the finals and
13:47a lot of those events
13:50so experience and out one all i think is with a big the first big defining factor
14:09of the fact that she's getting to the finals and out two one usually takes me about 40 minutes to
14:30dial in my touch into a match but that was fine she definitely does not have 40 minutes in this match
14:38i would say
14:41going out in the limb she got she's she's got to get going but um
14:45briefly i was chatting to caroline farts yesterday after her match with b croft and for someone who
14:53likes to volley b croft doesn't give you much she likes to take it short she likes to use the bottom
14:58third of that court and that backhand drop is kind of um a good example of that however hany alamami is
15:05so physical that it's it won't quite cause her quite the three issues that it caused a lower much
15:12lower ranked player and this was well tidied up and it's a dream start for b croft but
15:19come back to your point it's gonna have to be a bit careful as to why she's taking that ball in short
15:24down four one
15:41doing some work now with sarijan perry
15:43obviously fairly remotely given the geographical situation perry being based in five one
15:57left side yeah it's different times lisa i mean you could not i'd say back in the day my year at
16:13least you could not have played on the tour successfully and been based in the united states
16:19and now she's like looking at her last 10 tournaments they've all been u.s based b croft
16:25doesn't need to travel just a really successful u.s tour every single event
16:32two five has been in america in the last since september
16:38i'm gonna count texas and pittsburgh because she's on the
16:40that's in america yeah
16:44because they're both also she hasn't played them yet they're coming up this is number eight
16:56there's no other country that you'd be able to base yourself in and not leave
17:00playing on the bsa squash tour
17:03doing on the flip side of that is there anything in it in terms of the next push like say her highest
17:09world ranking was 20 that you have to be looking at the asian swing say pre-christmas maybe a hong
17:14car are in there i think looking at the events she's played i don't think there's anything wrong with
17:20the selection of them it's how well she's doing five because the us has enough variance in terms of
17:285k's 10s 15s all the way up right through to platinum's
17:31so there's nothing that she's not been able to access here and kind of
17:39not getting into the inside the top 20 if she's to win them yeah i mean
17:44only have to look to the anna hat sing to the young ladies coming up next
17:497 pm tonight she's
17:51five top 20 now because she's on the back of a couple of wins
17:54well yeah she's she's played a lot elsewhere though yeah she has getting her first world
18:02tour title last week at the squash on fire
18:16oh that's a lovely shot there from beecroft flopping itself in the corner not coming back out
18:35one way to defend
18:45really bright start here from the english woman
18:59that's nice chopping it around isn't she she's not scared at all to take on the front
19:04seven corners against honey el hamami not at all
19:18yeah she's getting there's a little area back deep
19:37six seven she's not really getting the ball back with interest in that area she's hitting a little loose
19:45so some opportunities coming from far el hamami out of there
19:54very nice
19:59oh that's an awkward one for el hamami just missed the dress
20:12and out eight six
20:17she didn't mean that at all it was a pure reaction
20:19good point cushion
20:36down tell you what it's getting the cobwebs off
20:39well hand out seven eight
20:41into the front two corners no fear front versus back at times
20:55to serve onto the forehand over there after hand out that was an unusual paid off though
21:01eight all loves that backhand drop from the back of the court beecroft
21:16this is where the world number one steps up knows how to play the business end of the game
21:29okay
21:37sorry
21:38just let's nine eight
21:51Kicking off the sidewall, she was just getting that ball behind her on the backhand.
22:17And out 9-0.
22:27Dealt with appropriately.
22:29Just taken advantage of.
22:32Beautiful swing, knuckles up at the end.
22:359-0.
22:47Oh wow, that is quick.
23:00The feet going like the clappers from El Hamami.
23:04The first, the initial attack was so nice.
23:07It's this little cross court.
23:09Once it, if it bounces and hits that second wall, you get two chances.
23:15Game ball for the Leopard.
23:25Just one required.
23:27Very tight first game, but we need to shake it ahead from El Hamami.
23:33Incredibly attacking from Beecroft with quite a low error count as well.
23:42Eleven minutes for the first game and it's the world number one that leads one game to love.
23:47More or less a dream start for Beecroft here.
23:56She's obviously learned a lot from her last outing with Hamiel Hamami earlier this season.
24:01She's really taken the game to Hamami.
24:05She's not being influenced by how her opponent is so physical around the court.
24:09She's quite happy to attack.
24:11It's just the follow-up sometimes here gets her in a little bit of trouble.
24:19It would be interesting to see in the second game how much that has taken out of her.
24:22But a really good first game from Beecroft.
24:25Gnarly losing out 11-9.
24:30Play will resume in 62nd.
24:32Played quite well at the squash on fire, Lucy Beecroft just last week.
24:38Lost out to Melissa Alves in a very tight five-set battle.
24:43Definitely taking that momentum here with her to Chicago.
24:48Play will resume in 32nd.
25:00Play will resume in 32nd.
25:09Aniel Hamami getting her first title as the world number one at the Tournament of Champions.
25:1415 seconds.
25:17Unplugged by Igor Alves,
25:44Second game underway. Hamami with the one love advantage.
25:50One love.
26:14The draw setting up another Cherbini Elamami semi-final potentially.
26:20Too long.
26:21Yeah and they rarely fail to deliver those two.
26:25Of course this title is the one that has eluded Elamami and her bogey person when she's,
26:30when it's been the Windy City Open edition she's lost to Gohar both in the semis and the finals.
26:37But with Gohar not in the draw.
26:40Maybe it's time for her to take this one too.
26:45Really is doing it the hard way though isn't she?
26:49Gohar leaves the tour due to pregnancy and then she's had Cherbini in her semi.
27:01Hand out one two.
27:07Very deceptive backhand.
27:11Hamami came charging in.
27:22Oh that's nice.
27:26Tough change of direction there from Hamami.
27:31She's got her so unsettled here doesn't she?
27:34It's not a phrase we use often against Hamami.
27:38No let.
27:40Just a little bit too deep there.
27:43And out three one.
27:45I felt you got yourself stranded behind your opponent.
27:52Needed really to come up and round Hamami.
27:54Down.
27:55Lovely sir.
27:56Four one.
28:00Down.
28:02Lovely sir.
28:03Four one.
28:04Down.
28:05Just about to say Aisling that...
28:19Five one.
28:20One thing that's quite apparent from Lucy Beecroft say three years ago is the error count.
28:25She used to go for a lot of shots.
28:27We used to talk about the error count being quite high but
28:30just managed to solidify...
28:31get the good balance between solidifying and keeping all that flair.
28:36Getting quite stuck behind Al Hamami now.
28:37Getting quite stuck behind Al Hamami now.
28:38Six one.
28:39Six one.
28:40Oh yes.
28:41Seven.
28:42He had a goal for a lot of shots.
28:43We used to talk about the error count being quite high but
28:46he managed to solidify...
28:47get the good balance between solidifying and keeping all that flair.
29:03Getting quite stuck behind Al Hamami now.
29:056-1.
29:20Down.
29:24And out 2-6.
29:35Again, seeing the back of her opponent.
29:53And out 7-2.
29:54That's all she can do is look at the plot of Hani Alamami
29:58as the ball goes the other way.
30:04Down.
30:068-2.
30:15Oh, my word.
30:21And out 3-8.
30:25Look at this.
30:26The back wall sets up, cut right through it, right into the nick.
30:30Zero margin.
30:31I've got a bit of a strut about her as well now that I like B-Cross.
30:424-8.
30:43She's an incredibly lovely person off the court.
30:46And sometimes I think she was too nice at times on court.
30:49But I like the strut that she's got now getting stuck in.
30:53Bit more belief behind her.
30:55She's incredibly talented.
30:56With her racket.
30:58With her racket.
30:59Ha-ha-ha.
31:00She got it.
31:10Yeah, it's excellent widths.
31:115-8.
31:13And it extra wide getting past the volley.
31:14Val Hamami.
31:15Val Hamami.
31:16Serves.
31:17I've just...
31:18I've just...
31:19I've just...
31:20I've seen it in Siva it as much as well.
31:21The female service.
31:22I'm just gonna...
31:23Out.
31:24I think they're just better.
31:26it's excellent with eight an extra wide getting past the volley
31:34well for mommy serves I've seen it see but as well the female serves I'm just
31:45gonna don't think they're just better six for attention detail yeah well
31:53obviously but I think they sir this court takes a great serve I wonder is it the
32:01lights as well as that ball goes up it's there you see very few volleys like that
32:07seems like it's quite hard to read up there in the lights that's how you cross
32:15our job I know it's nine six oh that is what you call an ace right into the neck
32:37just on cue ten six people serve chat for game balls to love lead for the world
32:47number one
32:54down the pressure there of Beecroft getting every ball back
33:18ten game ball
33:19King Elhamami play another one
33:25down eleven seven game to Elhamami Elhamami leads two games to love not comfortable by any means for Elhamami out here with Lucy Beecroft
33:46in her unique style doesn't look two-faced though eight minute second game 21 minutes in total so far and it's Elhamami that has a two game to love lead
34:06by far a better game in terms of targets from Elhamami she played a more traditional form of squash there getting the deep backcourt target set up and then just giving or not giving rather Lucy Beecroft the opportunity to attack the front corners and then we can see some mistakes come from the racket of Beecroft only inevitable really as a result of the playoff
34:087-7 game to Elhamami
34:11down the game to Elhamami
34:15amami she played a more traditional form of squash they're getting the deep backcourt targets set up
34:22and then just giving or not giving rather lucy beecroft the opportunity to attack the front
34:28corners and then we can see some mistakes coming from the racket of beecroft only inevitable really
34:35as a result the pressure seven game more comfortable game for the number one seed
34:40the world and play we're presuming 60 seconds
34:51likely some electrolytes in the water bottle there of alhamami
34:55quite unique isn't it what the players prefer in terms of fuel and hydration in between games
35:12play we're assuming 30 seconds bit of banana no no i wouldn't like any food
35:19sometimes i used to think that the electrolyte drinks were psychosomatic you know you just
35:27think that they gave you a bit of a lift could have been drinking milk for all the effect it had
35:35not sure i'll try that money needs two games to love
35:49to love lead for honey alhamami
36:03by no means of bad performance from lucy beecroft so far
36:07no a good one lisa like much better stroke to the mommy much better i think in the first in the us
36:13open she was just pleased to get on court with a mommy and you know enjoyed the experience this one
36:21she's we see more of beecroft in it and we see it a mommy having to adapt to beecroft
36:31that's kind of what you want if you're 35 in the world playing the number one you want to see a bit
36:35of progress in your own game and not be so concerned about how your opponent's playing
36:43physicality is always improving as well for beecroft the skill the touch the flair you know the talent
36:52the rawness of all has never been a question about whether it's good enough to be at the top of the
36:58game physicality though i doubt is playing catch up but it is coming certainly a big difference in these
37:07last couple of years
37:18it's all finding well chucking in a ball into the front two corners but you have to back it up yep
37:22down you could see the speed at which that ball was coming on to the forehand
37:36that pace beecroft just couldn't quite control it to get it above the tin
37:40the winner of that will face the winner of this in the quarterfinal
38:10two days time
38:17five one head nod
38:26absolute brilliant shoulder rotation
38:30it's great torque on that shot
38:40great position held that low stable position for a long time making sure she got right underneath it
38:59very different game this one to the previous two
39:04and a big battle a potential big battle in the first round
39:31and the alhamami taking on sabrina soby
39:34she managed to get that done in three maybe a potential banana skip for her
39:41eight one
39:51it's a near perfect third game for her mommy yeah there's a lot of pressure here
40:02coming from the egyptian
40:05down
40:05and i don't tell that was coming you know with an angle like that with the ball coming around the sidewall
40:13i could tell that drop was coming in
40:27so
40:31nice play oh that was nice and out nine two all coming together here for alhamami
40:37definitely something that was spoken about in between games smiling out to Laura Mazzaro there
40:50do like it when El-Hamani smiles
40:5710-2
41:07match ball
41:08eight match balls the number one seed
41:37oh she's absolutely came to the towel box
41:45good performance in the first two a lot for Lucy Beacroft to look back and learn from
41:56definitely had to bring the best out of Hania El-Hamani at the end there
42:02and a wallop of the towel box just for good measure
42:07and we're going to hear from Hania El-Hamani with our MC Bill
42:16ladies and gentlemen advancing to the quarterfinals here in Chicago from Egypt our number one seed Hania El-Hamani
42:25congratulations Hania a tough one against Sabrina yesterday Lucy came flying out of the gates in games one and two you played the key points better and you're on to the quarterfinal here in Chicago you must be very pleased with the result tonight
42:44yeah well definitely pleased to get through she's Lucy's very very handful she likes to go short from any loose shot and the moment I was slightly loose and loose and I started to lose my accuracy she's just five shots to the front so I was really covering most of the shots so yeah very pleased obviously that I managed to to get the third the momentum in the third and get a better performance in that third
43:08I see in your corner tonight you have former world number one Laura Massaro I've listened to a lot of interviews you've done talking about the positive impact she has on your mental game talk about Laura's impact and her being here tonight for you
43:19yeah well definitely she just came off her flight and ubered straight to the club so very very grateful for her obviously having her this week it's going to be a massive motive for me and a massive push she's been she's been definitely a very good mentor for me and learning from her experiences and definitely I'm very very grateful for her
43:37a well-deserved day off tomorrow you'll be back here on Sunday in a quarterfinal ladies and gentlemen a big round of applause for our number one seed Egypt's Hanya El Hamami
43:48for Hanya El Hamami
43:50the winning streak continues
43:53the best season to date she's through to the quarterfinals in two days time
43:58Hanya El Hamami was under no illusion as to how this game would play out she knew that she was going to be taken into the front
44:07a lot
44:08and Lucy Beacroft delivered in that respect certainly in the first two games a really positive first two games possibly the first being the best for Lucy Beacroft
44:18but nonetheless I hope she's tried with that performance it's not easy going up against the most informed player of the tournament and season so far
44:2729 minutes in duration Hanya El Hamami the number one seed takes down Lucy Beacroft three games to love
44:38well next on court moving over to the men's draw it's the number one seed and world number one Mustafa Sal of Egypt taken on Abbe Singh of India
44:51ladies and gentlemen I have your attention please for a special commonwealth presentation the Whitney city opens with women's leadership award was launched in 2016
45:08celebrate and recognize women leaders in the sports and or businesses in the Chicago area here to present the award this year is the 2024 honoree Jenae Meyer the CEO of Metro Squash
45:26I have the honor and privilege of presenting the 2026 Windy City Open Women's Leadership Award to Dr. Leslie Cameron
45:46of the 2026 Windy City Open Women's Leadership Award
45:50to Dr. Leslie Cameron.
45:58Leslie most recently completed her two-year term
46:01as president of the Illinois Squash.
46:04She has served on U.S. Squash's National Women's Committee.
46:08I know this by heart.
46:12Where she helped to grow the sport,
46:16grow and expand women in the sport.
46:20She's a former national champion
46:22and is ranked number two in the women's 60 plus division in the U.S.
46:32And to ask about the future of Squash and women in Squash,
46:36Leslie's response was,
46:38hands down, more girls than women playing the sport full step.
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