Follow LIVE: London Classic Semi-Finals Under Way

September 5, 2026 2026, HOME, NEWS, PSA

Overview

Semi-Finals begin at Alexandra Palace
Watch LIVE on SQUASHTV. Live scores available here
Kennedy Takes Out World No.1 El Hammamy

19:55 (GMT+1)

Crouin Reacts to Win

“It’s one of my most mature performances so far.

“It’s great to put on such a performance in the semi-final against Marwan, who has been playing such tremendous squash this week. I knew he was a threat, we haven’t played for a long time, so I was looking forward to that battle.

“I want to work on the physicality because I know I can stay on court for longer and I know I’m going to hurt him. At the same time, I don’t want to stay in the back corners and wait for his errors. I had to tire him out by playing in the front corners too.

“On the volley sometimes I punched it into the back to hurt him and then I went shorter. There were a few times when I played a drop shot from the middle of the court and he was just waiting in the back for the straight drive.

“I was trying to be mindful of when to attack, he’s such a good counter attacker with his trickle boast and his straight lines, so it’s a tricky balance, but I did that pretty well today.

“If you look at the head-to-head I was 6-3 down. I had to prove I was the higher ranked player and every time you step on the squash court you have to put in the work. Against Cardenas yesterday I would have been out if I didn’t pick myself up in the third game.

“The tour is as dense as it could be.”

19:35 (GMT+1)

Crouin Halts ElShorbagy

An impressive performance from No.2 seed Victor Crouin as he sends England No.1 Marwan ElShorbagy out of the event following a trio of 11-7 victories to bring semi-finals day to a close.

He’ll be looking to end a four-game losing run against top seed Coll if he is to prevent the Kiwi from taking a third consecutive London Classic trophy.

Result

[2] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [3] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (36m)

19:00 (GMT+1)

Coll on beating Yow Ng

“He’s always trying to analyse and come up with something new, but I’m pretty clear in my game plan.

“I was confident but in the first set I had to work out what patterns he was going to try and throw at me. I mainly had to focus on my game, execute it well and I was confident I would get the win.

“I’m controlling the pace well and I’m moving at a different pace to what I’m hitting at which adds a bit of deception. I’ve struggled with that in the past, but it’s all clicking at the moment. I’m seeing the ball like a million dollars out there.

“I’m clear on how I want to play, how I want to attack, and I’m really happy with that.”

18:40 (GMT+1)

Coll into Third Straight London Classic Final

Top seed Paul Coll makes it 11 wins on the bounce at this tournament and will now add to his final appearances in 2024 and 2025 at the London Classic.

Eain Yow battled hard but Coll put him under severe pressure and the scoreline reflected the control that the Kiwi had throughout as he made it 11 straight wins over the Malaysian, with all of those being in straight games.

It’s either England No.1 Marwan ElShorbagy or Frenchman Victor Crouin in tomorrow’s final for Coll.

Result

[1] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-1, 11-3 (44m)

18:20 (GMT+1)

Coll Motors On

Reigning men’s champion Paul Coll is two games ahead against Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng here and shows no signs of letting up.

The first game was competitive as they engaged in some attritional rallies up and down the walls, but the second was one-way traffic as the World No.2 dropped just one point.

Coll beat Yow Ng 3-0 at the same stage of last season’s London Classic and is on the verge of doing so again.

17:55 (GMT+1)

Reaction from Orfi

“I lost to her the last two times, so coming here I knew the pressure would have been on her.

“I just tried to focus and I’m really happy with the win today. I wanted to get the ball to the back at the beginning, she was slowing the pace down a bit and I could sense that, so that’s why I was trying to take it as early as possible. I didn’t want to overdo it though because she is very skilful at the front of the court.

“I’m just focused on this event and I’m trying to take it step by step. It’s a long season with so many important tournaments. Hopefully tomorrow I can win.”

17:35 (GMT+1)

Orfi through to back-to-back London classic finals

World No.2 Amina Orfi is through to the title decider here for the second year in succession after an imperious performance against Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam.

Sivasangari had beaten Orfi in their two most recent matches but was put to the sword by the Egyptian today in a rampant display of accuracy and vicious hitting.

Next up for Orfi is a clash with Kennedy – the Londoner will have the crowd behind her and given the performance by both players today, we could be in for an absolute cracker of a finals day at Alexandra Palace.

Result

[2] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [3] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 (46m)

17:10 (GMT+1)

Reaction From Kennedy After a Huge Win

“It was so enjoyable.

“So many of the most important people in my life are here today and that helped. I feel I’m in a good place with my squash and I can go out and enjoy myself. Hania is such a class act and playing her is so enjoyable, I feel like we’re both very physical and we like those long rallies, so I was excited just for the challenge.

“To get a win over the World No.1, that’s a career highlight.

“It hasn’t sunk in. My family don’t travel much with me and my boyfriend never comes, he’s a busy guy with his football, so being able to experience this moment with all of those people is so special. My relationship with Ben [Ford, Kennedy’s coach] is more than coach and player, he’s like family to me, so it’s special to work together for so long and experience that together.

“Having someone like Rod [Martin] in your corner, I’m so lucky to have that. The performance is a by product of the work that Rod and I have put in this summer. The angles that I’m hitting, the way I’m volleying, I wasn’t able to do that before I started working with him.

“He’s given my the belief that I can go on there and challenge anyone. His insight and his game plans, it makes me feel like I can do this and I can feel I’m hitting the ball so much better than I was and that’s a credit to him.”

16:35 (GMT+1)

Kennedy Sends the Crowd Wild

Kennedy has the biggest win of her career in incredible scenes at Alexandra Palace.

It was a sublime performance from the 29-year-old who has started the season on fire after also winning the British Nationals last week.

In 25 matches against the top three – El Hammamy, Amina Orfi and Nour ElSherbini – Kennedy had never ended the match on the winning side despite coming close on multiple occasions.

That record is no more – Kennedy is now one win away from her biggest PSA title.

Either reigning champion Amina Orfi or Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam will await her in tomorrow’s title decider.

Result

[5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 14-12, 7-11, 11-8 (71m)

16:05 (GMT+1)

El Hammamy Halves the Deficit

El Hammamy fights on as she halves the deficit to a solitary game here at Alexandra Palace.

It’s blistering squash out there, this time going in the Egyptian’s favour by an 11-7 margin.

Nail-biting stuff here.

15:45 (GMT+1)

Kennedy Goes 2-0 Up

Kennedy has taken the roof off here at Alexandra Palace.

The England No.1 is taking the match to El Hammamy here – the intensity and aggression in her hitting and the deception of her attacking volleys have put her in a commanding position against the World No.1.

El Hammamy had a 10-6 lead and 12-11 advantage, but Kennedy produced every time the Egyptian asked questions off her.

The noise at Alexandra Palace is deafening here as they support the local favourite – expect that volume to rise a few decibels if Kennedy can close out what would be her first win over one of the world’s top three.

15:25 (GMT+1)

Kennedy Storms out of the Traps

What a start this is from Georgina Kennedy.

The Londoner takes the first game 11-6 to send her home crowd wild.

She’s been incredibly accurate and has outplayed the World No.1 so far.

15:05 (GMT+1)

Under Way at Ally Pally

Our first players are onto court as World No.1 Hania El Hammamy and Georgina Kennedy warm the ball up ahead of their match.

With El Hammamy winning all nine of their previous matches, Kennedy will hope that her summer training pays off if she is to cause an upset out there.