Debutants line up for World Championships
Published Wed 08 May 2024
Three Australian athletes are in Egypt this week, contesting their first-ever PSA World Championships in Cairo.
Jess Turnbull (QLD) qualified for the World Championships via her world ranking, while Joseph White (NT) and Alex Haydon (SA) won their way through to the tournament courtesy of victory at Oceania qualifier on the Gold Coast last month.
White is the first Australian to contest the men's draw since Ryan Cuskelly in 2019, while Turnbull and Haydon are the first Australian women to contest the event since Donna Lobban in 2021.
Ahead of a first-round clash with top seed and seven-time champion Nour El Sherbini, Turnbull that while she has represented her country on numerous occasions, stepping onto the biggest stage in squash will be a unqiue experience.
"The World Championships are the pinnacle in our sport so being able to compete this year is very exciting," said Turnbull. "It's very different as the previous representative events were teams events. This one being individuals puts a different kind of pressure on, but it is also the same as any other PSA event. Just a very big one."
Turnbull did not need to participate in the Oceania qualifiers as she had already qualified for Cairo, which she believes is the result of a more concerted approach to selecting which tournaments would continue her climb up the world rankings.
"It was definitely a relief to not have to play yet another event to qualify," she said. "I'm more glad that the things I am doing with regards to my tournament selection are working which is reflected in my ranking.
"I'm just excited to be here and to be involved in an event this big. Im going to give it my all and soak it all in."
Haydon and White come into the even on the back of impressive results at last week's PSA Challenger 12 Hyder Trophy in New York.
White made it through to the quarter-finals, while Haydon took her run all the way to the final.
The South Australian led two games to one, however top seed Chan Sin Suk from Hong Kong eventually prevailed after the decider went the distance.
The 2023-2024 CIB PSA World Championships can be streamed live on Squash TV, including Jess Turnbull's opening match on the glass court on day one.
2023-2024 CIB PSA World Championships
9-18 May | Cairo Egypt
Thursday 9 May - 8:30pm AEST
Hana Ramadan (EGY) v Alex Haydon (AUS)
Friday 10 May - 3:30am AEST
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v Jess Turnbull (QLD)
Friday 10 May - 7:45pm AEST
Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) v Joseph White (NT)
