Ingledew and Eissa take squash titles at annual Boston Open

South African women's champion Savannah Ingledew and former British Junior Open winner AbdAllah Eissa won the 26th annual Boston Open at Boston Squash and Racketball Club last weekend.
By Sports Reporter
Published 18th Dec 2023, 08:08 BST
Boston Open 2023 champions AbdAllah Eissa and Savannah Ingledew.Boston Open 2023 champions AbdAllah Eissa and Savannah Ingledew.
Boston Open 2023 champions AbdAllah Eissa and Savannah Ingledew.

Ingledew beat Lincolnshire's own Katie Wells in Sunday's final - which was a rematch of the previous year's quarter-final in which Katie had come from 2-0 down to win 3-2. This time around the 18-year-old South African didn't let her 2-0 lead slip, instead edging a close third set on a tiebreak to win the match and the tournament 11/3, 11/5, 12/10 in 40 minutes.

The men's final was of a similar length and was won by the top seed AbdAllah Eissa, who stepped up to lead the men's draw following the withdrawal of original #1 seed Lewis Doughty. He raced into an 8/0 lead in the first set before even losing a point, and although his fellow 17-year-old opponent Heston Malik got going in the third game, it was too little too late as Eissa secured his first Boston Open title - 11/2, 11/4, 9/11, 11/8.

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The finals were the culmination of another successful tournament. Highlights included Friday night's last match, in which 5/8 seed Michael Tallentire recovered from a first set defeat to lead 2-1 before being pegged back in the fourth, eventually overcoming his opponent Sam Henden in the fifth set to progress from the round of 16.

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14-year-old Mariam Eissa knocked out a 3/4 seed in a five-set quarter-final that proved to be the closest women's match. And both men's semi-finals were competitive four-setters between well-matched opponents. This included AbdAllah Eissa's victory over Yusuf Sheikh, where although a fifth set wasn't required, two of the four games went to a tiebreak. This resulted in it being the longest match of the tournament, at just three minutes shy of an hour.

Reflecting on this year's competition, tournament director Mark Hildred said: "Although entry numbers were down this year, we have still been treated to a great weekend of squash featuring a number of stars of the future.

"We are pleased to be able to continue supporting professional squash players at the start of their careers, and we are thankful to our sponsors without whom none of this could happen."