ISLAMABAD:The list of entries for the 2022 WSF Women’s World Team Squash Championships to be held from December 10 to 16 at Cairo’s Madinaty Sports Club, has been confirmed.
As many as 17 teams would head to Cairo’s Madinaty Sports Club to compete in the premier international squash tournament in the women’s game, which has not been held since 2018 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Women’s World Team Squash Championships was a biennial international tournament which sees four-player squads from each country battle it out in best-of-three-match clashes.
Hosts and defending champions Egypt would go in as strong favourites. Joining Egypt as a fancied team would be England, beaten finalists in 2018 and winners of this year’s European Team Championship.
Since the 2-0 defeat to Egypt in China, England has added a number of young and dangerous players to the squad, including Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Georgina Kennedy, who took the squash world by storm last year as she rose from World No.185 in May 2021 to World No.8 in July 2022.
Also tipped as a team to watch is the USA. Team USA’s best-ever finish was fifth in 2018, 2016, and 2014. In an exciting addition, Chinese Taipei and Ukraine would make their World Team Championship debut, while former World No.2 Camille Serme – who retired from the PSA World Tour in June 2022 – is set to make a competitive return to the sport for the France team.
Nour El Sherbini, who won the tournament in 2012, 2016 and 2018, said, “The last time the World Championship was in Egypt, I was very young and still living in Alexandria. I came all the way to watch the finals and it was one of my best memories, coming over to watch our team winning the tournament!”
WSF President Zena Wooldridge, OBE, said, “It is very fitting for the WSF Women’s World Team Championships to close off what has been an action-packed 2022 WSF calendar. Championships so far this year have shown how eager and appreciative players and coaches are to be back following a 2-year interruption.
“World Team Championships are a very special experience for players and due to the four-year gap since this event was last played there will be an unusual number of debutantes, which brings a fresh dynamic to the teams and the competition, which is very exciting.”
The list of entries for the Women’s World Team Squash Championships 2022 includes Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Scotland, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, USA and Wales.