Sivasangari Stems Orfi Run To Reach Tour Finals Climax

World No.5 Sivasangari Subramaniam has become the first Malaysian since 2012 to reach the title decider at the PSA Squash Tour Finals presented by TWG Global after ending World Champion Amina Orfi's winning run with a superb display at Centquatre-Paris.

Orfi hadn't lost on the PSA Squash Tour since her match at the Grasshopper Cup with Sivasangari in April, racking up 12 successive wins and capturing the World Championship and British Open titles in that time to put her on the cusp of the world No.1 ranking.

However, on a scorching day in the French capital, Sivasangari came up with one of the performances of her career to date to halt the in-form 18-year-old and book her place in the final of the season-ending tournament for the first time. Sivasangari is the first Malaysian to do so since the legendary Nicol David in 2012.

"She's furious, determined and she doesn't give away anything," said Sivasangari.

"I tried to stay positive and as consistent as I can. A year ago it was up and down, there are still errors here and there, but I think I did well in crucial moments.

"It means a lot, this is my second Squash Tour Finals and last year I lost all of my matches. After the British, I was disappointed with my performance and didn't feel like myself. I want to end the season on a good note, I'm happy I beat Amina, but there is another match tomorrow and hopefully I can go all the way."

Sivasangari's final opponent will be world No.1 Hania El Hammamy, who defeated fellow Egyptian Fayrouz Aboelkheir by an 11-10, 11-8, 11-8 scoreline. El Hammamy is also guaranteed to end the season at world No.1 following Orfi's defeat.

Aboelkheir ended the title charge of eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini in the previous round and tested El Hammamy throughout, but the hot conditions - which saw temperatures surpass 30°C - seemed to affect her more as El Hammamy held firm to secure the win.

"It took me a while to find my range and my corners," said 2020 champion El Hammamy.

"Fayrouz likes to chop and change, and she doesn't play in a rhythm, and that made me a bit uncomfortable. It took some time to find my length. With Fayrouz, I wanted to take less risks and not open the court too much because she plays incredible shots out of nowhere. I had to close the court down and wait for my opportunity."

World No.1 Mostafa Asal pulled out his semi-final match with world No.3 Diego Elias as the result of food poisoning, meaning the Peruvian will take on world No.2 Paul Coll in the men's final - ensuring a new name will be etched on the trophy.

Coll battled past World Junior Champion Mohamad Zakaria in his last four match, emerging the victor by an 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-1 margin. Coll and Elias reached the final in 2022 and 2023, respectively, each losing to Asal.

"It took a bit of time to get that high intensity and the focus wasn't quite there yesterday, but I was a lot more clinical with my short stuff today," said Coll.

"I lost a bit of patience in the third there, I saw the finishing line, which was a bit annoying, but I'm very happy with the fourth. I was trying not to leave it too short when the ball was so hot because the ball bounces more, so I had to keep my racket speed up and get the cut on the ball. I was better at that today and I was very happy with the overall performance."