Coll and Orfi Capture London Squash Classic Trophies

New Zealand’s Paul Coll and Egypt’s Amina Orfi captured silverware at the London Squash Classic presented by Bassim Haidar after beating Welshman Joel Makin and Belgium’s Nele Gilis on a thrilling finals night at Alexandra Palace.

Coll overcame Makin by a 13-11, 11-7, 11-8 victory to earn the 29th PSA Squash Tour title of his career. The World No.3, who would have been overtaken in the rankings by Makin had he won, retains his title after also winning the event in April 2024.

Coll came close to exiting the tournament at the second round stage – facing three match balls against Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar – but has ended the week in fine form, culminating in lifting his first Gold-level trophy since he beat World No.1 Mostafa Asal to win this very title 17 months ago.

Coll’s wife – World No.14 Gilis – lost out to Egyptian teenager Orfi, with the 18-year-old winning 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 to win her eighth PSA Squash Tour title.

“I’m stoked, I could have lost in the second round, I was down some match balls, but I knew the type of squash I was playing and I had faith in that,” said Coll, who was cheered on by compatriot and four-time World Champion Susan Devoy.

“We’ve [Coll and Gilis] been here before, it’s quite tough but I try and keep my emotions in check. I’m very proud of her, I thought she played really well, but Amina was relentless out there today. I had to try not to get too excited or too down.

“It’s pretty surreal [to have Devoy watching on]. She’s like a super fan, which for me is quite weird because she is one of my idols and a New Zealand legend. It’s so cool to have her in my corner, and she’s such an amazing person.”

Orfi and Gilis were meeting for the fourth time on the PSA Squash Tour and Orfi made it three wins in a row over the Belgian after following up an impressive semi-final victory over defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam.

It’s Orfi’s second Gold-level triumph and first since the Singapore Open in November 2024.

“I’m over the moon to capture my second Gold title and the first one of this season,” said Orfi afterwards.

“I think in the beginning, I was just trying to settle, and she was playing long rallies as well, and I knew that in the mid stages that I could attack more once I had a lead.

“I’m flying today to Cairo [for the CIB Egyptian Open], so hopefully I’ll get a chance to celebrate with my family and friends. It always feels great to be going into a tournament when you’ve won the previous one. I’m looking forward to next week in Egypt.”

The next stop on the PSA Squash Tour will be the CIB Egyptian Open, which will be held in front of the spectacular Great Pyramid of Giza. The Diamond-level tournament will be held between September 12-19, with a qualifying event being staged between September 8-10. The action will be shown live on SQUASHTV.

For more on the PSA Squash Tour, visit the PSA website follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.

Results – Men’s Final: 2025 London Squash Classic presented by Bassim Haidar

[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [3] Joel Makin (WAL) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 11-8 (75m)

Results – Women’s Final: 2025 London Squash Classic presented by Bassim Haidar

[2] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [8] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (49m)