Amanda_Sobhy

Amanda Sobhy

Amanda Sobhy

American squash player

Amanda Sobhy (born June 29, 1993; Sea Cliff, New York) is an American squash player. A five-time national champion, she was the first U.S.-born player to reach the top five in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world rankings.[1] She reached a career-high world ranking of No. 3 in October 2021 after reaching the semi-finals of the 2021 British Open and the 2021 CIB Egyptian Open, and winning the 2021 Oracle Netsuite Open.[2]

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Early life

Amanda Sobhy was born in Sea Cliff, New York, to an Egyptian father, Khaled Sobhy, and an American mother, Jodie Larson. Both of her parents played squash.[3]

Sobhy is a graduate of North Shore High School[4] where she played volleyball, softball and as left halfback of the school's varsity soccer team during her freshman year. In eighth grade she broke her right ankle and shattered her tibia while playing softball.[5]

In May 2015 she graduated from Harvard University, having majored in Social Anthropology[6] and minored in Global Health and Health Policy.

Career

Pre-college career

During the 2009 world juniors in Chennai, India, Sobhy defeated the third seed Laura Gemmel and following it, lost to Kanzy El Defrawy. During the semifinals, which happened few days later, she participated in a team competition with which she defeated Nour El Sherbini of Egypt who was just crowned junior world champion.[5]

On April 24, 2010, she won the Racquet Club International in St. Louis, Missouri,[7] making her the only player in women's professional squash, at the time, to have won three tournaments before the age of 17.[8]

On June 29, 2010, on her 17th birthday, Sobhy won the World Junior Squash Championships, thus becoming the first, and only, American winner of the prestigious event.[9] In the final she defeated Egyptian Nour El Tayeb with a score of 3–11, 11–7, 11–6, 11–7 in 37 minutes.[9]

College career

After serving a short suspension for issues related to accepting tournament prize money, Sobhy joined the Harvard team as a freshman in January 2012, and two months into the team won her first national title.[10] She won the individual championship, and her Harvard team won the team championship. In 2013, Sobhy finished the 2012-2013 college season undefeated, having lost her first game to Trinity's number 1, Kanzy Emad El Defrawy.[11] The same year, Sobhy won the 2013 World Doubles Championship with Natalie Grainger.[12] She won her second consecutive individual championship and her Harvard team won the team championship. In March 2014, Sobhy won the Granite Open and finished the 2013-2014 college season undefeated with a perfect 17–0 record.[13] She won the individual championship for a third consecutive year. Sobhy finished the 2014-2015 college season with a perfect record and won her fourth individual intercollegiate title, defeating Kanzy El Defrawy 3-1.[14] Sobhy finished her intercollegiate career undefeated in 62 matches, having dropped only two games in her four seasons of college competition.[15]

Professional career

In December 2014, Sobhy led the US Women's Team to its best-ever finish in the World Team Championships, when she defeated world no. 6 Camille Serme in the deciding match to clinch fifth place over France.

In March 2015, Sobhy won her second US National Title, defeating Olivia Blatchford 11–7, 11–2, 11–9 in the final.[16] In April, Sobhy won her first paycheck on the PSA tour at the Texas Open.[17]

In July 2015 in Toronto, Sobhy became the first squash athlete to win three gold medals in a single Pan American Games, winning Women's Singles, Women's Doubles with partner Natalie Grainger, and the Women's Team event with Grainger and Olivia Blatchford.[18] In the final of the Singles event, she beat American, Olivia Blatchford with a score of 11–8, 11–3, 11–3.[19]

She claimed her 14th tour title when she won the NetSuite Open in San Francisco in September 2015, sharing her reward with Ramy Ashour.[20] In 2015, Sobhy won the Richey Award.[clarification needed][citation needed]

In January 2016, Sobhy became the first American to ever reach the finals of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions,[21] [22] which she lost facing Egypt's Nour El Sherbini.[23]

In August 2016, Sobhy reached the finals of the Hong Kong Open, finishing runner-up to Nouran Gohar.[24]

Sobhy tore her Achilles tendon in March 2017 during the semifinals of a tournament in Colombia.[25][26][27] She returned to play after 10 months at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in January 2018.[28]

In 2018, Sobhy won her fourth US National Title at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, defeating Reeham Sedky 11–6, 11–8, 11–4.[29]

Sobhy won the J Warren Young Memorial Texas Open in 2019, beating England's Victoria Lust in the final.[30] In September the same year, she reached the final of the Open de France - Nantes, but lost against Camille Serme of France.[31]

In 2020, Sobhy won the Cincinnati Cup, beating England's Sarah-Jane Perry in the final.[32]

In 2022, she was part of the United States team that reached the final of the 2022 Women's World Team Squash Championships. It was the first time that the United States had reached the final.[33] In May 2023, she reached the quarter final of the 2023 PSA Women's World Squash Championship, before losing to number 3 seed Hania El Hammamy.[34]

Personal life

Sobhy serves on the board of the Squash Education Alliance, and is heavily involved in various urban squash programs. On January 21, 2019, after many years playing for Harrow Sports, Sobhy signed a long-term contract with HEAD, the global sporting brand with a focus on delivering high-performance products across a variety of athletic disciplines.[35] She lives in Philadelphia.

Sobhy's family, including her brother, Omar and sister Sabrina, are all squash players. Before picking up squash, Sobhy played tennis, admiring Venus and Serena Williams. She began playing squash at the age of eleven, winning the first tournament she ever entered.[citation needed]

Major World Series final appearances

Tournament of Champions: 2 finals (0 title, 2 runner-ups)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2016Egypt Nour El Sherbini11–4, 9-11, 12–10, 11-8
Runner-up2022Egypt Nouran Gohar11–7, 11–7, 11-3

Hong Kong Open: 1 final (0 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2016Egypt Nouran Gohar6–11, 12–10, 11–7, 11–8

CIB Black Ball Open: 1 final (0 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2021Egypt Nour El Sherbini13-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7

See also

Official Women's Squash World Ranking

References

  1. [1]
    "Rankings Recalculation Sees Sobhy Become First US-Born Player to Reach Top Five of PSA World Rankings". Professional Squash Association. April 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  2. [2]
    "Sobhy Becomes First US-Born Player to Reach World's Top Three - PSA". psaworldtour.com. October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  3. [3]
    Berg, Aimee (January 13, 2017). "How Amanda Sobhy intends to become the best squash player in the world". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  4. [4]
    Albanese, Laura (July 20, 2015). "LI's Sobhy looks to take on the world in squash". Newsday. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  5. [5]
    Zug, James (June 1, 2011), The Strongest Tree: Amanda Sobhy, retrieved September 24, 2019
  6. [6]
    Kng Zheng Guan (August 19, 2014). "Studies and squash go hand-in-hand for Sobhy". The Toronto Star. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  7. [7]
    "Sobhy takes St. Louis title". Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  8. [8]
    "Squash Week brings pros to Southampton". The East Hampton Press/The Southampton Press. August 17, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  9. [9]
    "Sobhy claims world title in Cologne". Cologne, Germany. June 29, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  10. [10]
    Coppinger, Catherine E. (March 5, 2012). "Sobhy, Farag Win Squash National Championships". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  11. [11]
    Nelsen, Brenna R. (May 30, 2013). "Female Athlete of the Year: Amanda Sobhy". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  12. [12]
    "U.S. victory in World Doubles women's final". US Squash. April 15, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  13. [13]
    "Amanda Sobhy Defends Granite Club Open Title as Top Seed". US Squash. February 17, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  14. [14]
    "Meet the Venus and Serena of squash". The Boston Globe. February 19, 2015.
  15. [15]
    "Former Squash Star Amanda Sobhy '15 Makes History Winning Three Golds at Pan Am Games". The Harvard Crimson. July 22, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  16. [16]
    "Champions Harrity and Sobhy spearhead exciting new era for US Squash". Squash Mad. March 15, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  17. [17]
    "Amanda Sobhy Wins Biggest Title in Texas". US Squash. April 12, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  18. [18]
    "Amanda Sobhy aiming for a third gold". Squash Mad. July 17, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  19. [19]
    Kramer, Daniel (July 14, 2015). "Roommates Sobhy And Blatchford Take Gold, Silver In All-U.S. Squash Final". Team USA. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  20. [20]
    "Amanda Sobhy and Ramy Ashour Win NetSuite Open". US Squash. September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  21. [21]
    Davis, Noah (January 15, 2016). "Rising Squash Star Has Triumphant Week Despite Loss in Tournament Final". The New York Times. p. B9.
  22. [22]
    Burke, Brad (December 6, 2016). "2016 TOC Finalist Amanda Sobhy Will Meet the Media". Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  23. [23]
    Davis, Noah (2016-01-15). "Rising Squash Star Has Triumphant Week Despite Loss in Tournament Final (Published 2016)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  24. [24]
    "Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open 2016 Results - Women". PSA World Tour. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  25. [25]
    "Ciudad de Floridablanca Squash 2017 Colombia". www.squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  26. [26]
    "Amanda Sobhy Undergoes Successful Achilles Surgery". USA Squash. March 21, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  27. [27]
    "Sports Injuries: Squash's Amanda Sobhy reveals how she found happiness after Achilles surgery". Excelle Sports. April 25, 2017. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  28. [28]
    "Former USA No1 Amanda Sobhy returns to squash in New York after 10-month injury absence". Eurosport. January 18, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  29. [29]
    "Amanda Sobhy Claims Fourth National Title on One Year Anniversary of Injury". US Squash. March 10, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  30. [30]
    "Sobhy Wins Fifteenth and Largest PSA Title in Texas | US Squash". US Squash. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  31. [31]
    "France's Serme and New Zealand's Coll Reign Supreme At Open de France - Nantes - Professional Squash Association". PSA World Tour. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  32. [32]
    "Amanda Sobhy Tops World No. 7 Perry in Cincinnati Cup Final | Team USA Squash". US Squash. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  33. [33]
    "Egypt defeat USA in thriller to retain WSF Women's World Team Championship". World Squash. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  34. [34]
    "2023 World Championship draws". PSA. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  35. [35]
    "Head signs Amanda Sobhy, the great hope of American Squash". HEAD. January 21, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
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