Singh & Zaman Score Biggest Career Wins To Gatecrash Silicon Valley Quarters

On a day full of shocks and upsets, the quarter-finalists of Silicon Valley Open 2026 presented by Oracle NetSuite were decided in Redwood City.

Indian teenage sensation Anahat Singh downed eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini in straight games whilst Pakistan's Noor Zaman defeated defending champion Karim Gawad to reach his third Gold event quarter final.

In the highly anticipated clash between Singh and ElSherbini, the Indian teenager showed no fear as she took on her childhood idol. Singh took full advantage of the cold court conditions to begin the evening session on day two, consistently firing the ball into the front corners with supreme accuracy.

ElSherbini showed her trademark fighting spirit several times throughout the match but couldn't find enough answers to the Singh onslaught. Singh completed the straight games victory 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 in just 30 minutes.

"It feels unreal to be honest," said Singh after her win.

"I grew up watching every single match of hers. We have the same coach as well and I admire her so much. I want to achieve everything that she has in the game and to share a court with her is such an honour and she's an inspiration to everyone. The game plan ended up working pretty well for me today so I'm just so glad that it went my way.

"I had leads at different parts of the match but I know how many times she has come back in her career so I was just so determined not to throw it away and thankfully I didn't."

Singh's win wasn't the only major upset of the round as earlier in the day, Pakistan's Noor Zaman scored the win of his career so far, defeating world No.4 and defending champion Karim Gawad in four games to advance to the final eight.

Zaman's attacking style of play was perfectly suited to the court conditions at Squash Zone. His deft drops and deceptive flicks were landing that bit shorter than usual, resulting in several tough movements for Gawad to make. After taking a 2/0 lead and looking sure to close out the match in straight games, Gawad fought back. But despite the third game going in the Egyptian's favour, Zaman regrouped strongly to seal the match in four games to reach his third career Gold quarter final.

"I have no words at this moment," said Zaman.

"He's a legend of the sport, the current world No.4 and such a good player so to win feels amazing."

"We played in Chicago last season and he beat me 3/0 but today I felt more prepared mentally and physically and I think I'm ready now to start beating these top guys and that is what I'm aiming for now."

Elsewhere on day two, Egypt's Sana Ibrahim scored an impressive win over No.4 seed Satomi Watanabe in straight games to reach her first quarter final of the season. There were also surprise wins for Rachel Arnold and Baptiste Masotti, who overcame USA's Amanda Sobhy and France's Gregoire Marche, respectively.

Women's No.2 seed Olivia Weaver also returned to competitive action today after last featuring in a PSA event in June. The American confidently defeated England's Saran Nghiem in straight games, much to the home crowd's delight.