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Australia drops opening WTTC match against strong USA team

Published Sun 11 Dec 2022

Australia started its WSF Women's World Team Championships campaign with a loss overnight in Cairo. In what was expected to be a tough opening match against the tournament seed no.2, Australia was defeated 3-0 (3-0, 3-0, 3-0) by the USA.

Jess Turnbull was the first player on the glass court for Australia, taking on world no. 5 Amanda Sobhy in her first ever Women's World Team Championships match. Sobhy was dominant on the court and took the win in straight games, but Turnbull was happy to have made her debut in the event.

"It felt really good," Turnbull said after the match. "Obviously not the best start of the tournament for me, but it felt awesome to don the green and gold and I can't wait for the rest of the week."

In the other two matches, Sarah Cardwell and Alex Haydon were defeated in straight games by Olivia Clyne and Olivia Fiechter respectively, as a very strong team USA showed why they are considered one of the favourites for the title.

Players had to navigate changing conditions in Cairo, with night games held in cold temperatures after the glass court had been very hot during the day for training.

"I am a bit disappointed not to get a game or two for the team," said Cardwell after her loss. "But I think under the conditions we did really well, considering that we trained in that glass court only twice in the middle of the day, and playing the quality of players that we did."

The Aussies will have a rest day before taking on Scotland on Tuesday afternoon (local time). All the action from the Madinaty Sports Club's two glass courts will be streamed live on WorldSquash.TV, the World Squash Federation's streaming platform.

Results - POOL B, ROUND ONE

USA 3-0 AUSTRALIA

  • Amanda Sobhy 3-0 Jess Turnbull 11-4 , 11-6 , 11-7 (21m)
  • Olivia Blatchford Clyne 3-0 Sarah Cardwell 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (22m)
  • Olivia Fiechter 3-0 Alex Haydon (AUS): 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 (22m)

Australia's schedule - Pool stage:

  • Monday, 12 December, 5.30pm local: Australia v Scotland (Tuesday, 2.30am AEDT)
  • Tuesday, 13 December, 7.30pm local: Australia v Germany (Wednesday, 4.30am AEDT)
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