Crouin & Mohamed Survive Dramatic Five-Game Battles To Reach Silicon Valley Finals

On another dramatic day at the Silicon Valley Open 2026 presented by Oracle NetSuite, world No.6 Victor Crouin and Egypt's Farida Mohamed came through dramatic five-game encounters to upset the seedings and move into the finals - a maiden Gold event final for Mohamed and second successive Silicon Valley final for Crouin.

The final match of the night saw two of the world's best male players go head-to-head for the fourth time this year, Frenchman Crouin looking to score a fourth win over Peru's in-form Diego Elias. The No.3 seed started the better of the two, claiming the first game 11-3 to draw first blood. Elias responded in supreme style, carving the ball around the court and finding outright winners all over the court to move 2/1 up.

The fourth game saw increased referee interaction, resulting in a stop-start match. It was Crouin who managed his emotions best and stuck to his task. After claiming the fourth game, Crouin changed tactics and started to lift the ball away from Elias, which proved crucial. Elias' struggled to keep focus in the deciding game, much to the No.3 seed's delight as he ran through to claim the game 11-3 and move into a second successive Silicon Valley Open final and third final of the season.

"It's good to be in the final again," said Crouin.

"Another tough one, going all the way to the fifth game. It definitely wasn't the best squash from either of us, with a lot of stop-and-start play and arguments with the referee, but as always, I'm happy to find a way to get through.

"I'm glad I had my Dad in my corner today. I vented all my frustrations out to him and helped me keep my focus on court."

Crouin's opponent in the final will be 19-year-old World Junior Champion Mohamad Zakaria. The Egyptian overcame former world No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in straight games to reach a second Gold event final of his career so far.

The women's final will see last year's runner-up Sivasangari Subramaniam take on world No.20 and 2022 Silicon Valley Open finalist Farida Mohamed. Egypt's Mohamed ended home hopes in the event, beating Marina Stefanoni in a five-game clash to earn a spot in the final.

Mohamed's aggressive game style shocked Stefanoni in game one as she raced to a 10-0 lead in the opener. After losing the opener, Stefanoni responded. Spurred on by the home crowd, the USA No.3 came back not once, but twice, winning games two and four to level the tie at 2/2. Despite the home crowd advantage, Stefanoni struggled to gather any momentum in the deciding game. Mohamed surged through to win the game 11-8 and book her spot in a second final in San Francisco.

"It was a very tough one mentally, I would say," admitted Mohamed.

"I'm okay physically but mentally it took a lot. A lot was happening. I tried to stay composed. I lost my mind a little bit but I just reminded myself that staying composed was going to get me the win. So, I'm really proud of myself today."

Mohamed will take on world No.4 Sivasangari Subramaniam in the final after the Malaysian ended the run of Indian teenager Anahat Singh in four games. Singh came flying out the blocks to take the first game on day four but the quality of Sivasangari quickly shone through as she claimed the next three games with relative ease to advance to the final.