Comeback Queen Kennedy Gatecrashes ToC Quarters

England's Georgina Kennedy, playing in her first major tournament since September, got the better of world No.7 Rowan Elaraby to make it through to the quarter-finals of the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions at the iconic Grand Central Terminal in New York.

The London-born 25-year-old staged her second five-game comeback win of the tournament, knocking out seventh seed Elaraby 8-11, 3-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-2 in 52 minutes.

"I mean, it's a really great feeling, obviously. My targets coming in to these events was, you know, I wanted to win last week and I wanted to reach at least the quarters. So I'm proud of myself for reaching my goals," said Kennedy.

"I'm not going to be content with that, I'm going to push as far as I can. It feels great to be out there competing this what we train for, we train for moments like. There's a balance of enjoying the occasion but also stepping up to the occasion as well.

"The crowd really helped me get through that. I'm so lucky to be a part of Open Squash. I already feel at home here because I studied here for four years and I love coming back. Now being a part of Open Squash I feel even more at home, maybe I'll have to move to America."

Elsewhere in women's draw, world No.5 Amanda Sobhy reached her fourth career ToC quarter-final, outlasting US compatriot Olivia Blatchford Clyne in a close four-game contest. Egypt's three-time ToC champion Nour El Sherbini and third seed Hania El Hammamy both comfortably progressed in three games.

In the men's event, top five players Diego Elias and Paul Coll took to the court in hopes of getting one step closer to reaching the world No.1 mantle and maiden ToC title.

Peruvian Puma Elias, who reached the 2022 final in May, came through an entertaining encounter with Egypt's world No.30 Mohamed ElSherbini. After dropping the second game, Elias recovered to decisively win in the third and fourth to seal his passage to the quarters where he will face veteran Tarek Momen.

"I knew it would be tough, we played in Hong Kong and I won pretty easy so knew he would come here and try and beat me and do his best," Elias said. "He played a lot better than in Hong Kong and I'm just happy to win. I'll just focus on the next round. I'm excited for the next round, I just want to play better go further in the tournament."

Paul Coll, who would reclaim the world No.1 ranking with his first ToC title, put on a strong performance against France's Sebatien Bonmalais, including a stellar rally where both players were diving on opposite ends of the court. Coll will face Egypt's world No.9 Fares Dessouky who dispatched Qatar's Abdulla Al Tamimi in three games.