108 players from New York’s competitive world of amateur squash and beyond converged on the grand season opener tournament hosted by Open Squash from November 1st to 3rd, with the thundering echo of squash balls and hearty competition resounding through the long weekend at our FiDi location on Pearl Street.
“We had strong representation from players from all over the world, from India, from Mexico, men, women, and of course, also from within the Open Squash community,” said tournament organizer David Hughes, Director of Squash Operations and Assistant Coach at Open Squash. “We saw plenty of fun, plenty of competition, and several friendships form on and off court over three great days and we can’t wait to do it all again next year.”
The women’s 5.0 singles event had strong participation from St. Lawrence College where Open Squash FiDi’s Director of Squash Amr Khalifa went to school as an undergraduate. Botswana’s Angel Otshabeng is a freshman on the squash team there and won the title at her level, beating St. Lawrence’s Assistant Coach Hannah Guthrie 3-0 and India’s Anannya Morey, a senior on the team, 3-0 in their matchups. Congratulations, Angel!
Perhaps the most intriguing story of the tournament, however, was respective victories in the men’s 4.0 and open-level tournaments by Sean Kapoor, 13, and his older brother Max, 17. The two brothers recently took on their dad, Rahul, in an exhibition game for the community’s benefit. Now they were playing against their respective opponents for bragging rights within the family. Sean won his final against Matt Poveromo, 3-0, coming through the second game with a 14-12 victory to put his opponent down.
“It’s never easy losing to a child under half your age, but Sean has been putting in the work and he’s given me a lot to reflect on over the next year. Hopefully by then he’ll be a level up so I can avoid another humiliating loss,” said Poveromo, sportingly.
Sean, meanwhile, coached his older brother Max in the later open final against India’s Raghuvir Reddy, with Reddy taking the first game 11-9 before Kapoor stormed back to win the next three games in a row to take the championship. His retrieval of deep shots by Reddy was marked by strong and powerful movements into the back court that reflect the lengthy hours he’s been putting in on court at Open Squash, and off-court, in the gym, with head of fitness Thaisa Serafini and Assistant Coach Habiba Mohamed. The match included some tricky jostling for position around the ‘T’ and Kapoor kept his composure and showed true resilience to emerge the champion.
The Kapoor brothers with their tournament medals on Sunday, November 3
“I’m happy to get a win,” Max said, posing with his younger brother and their medals, after the game. “Particularly because my younger brother had won his final earlier, so the pressure was on.”
“I feel really great about my own win, of course,” Sean said. “And congratulations to Max.”
Their mother and grandmother were also there to proudly support the victory.
Big congratulations to all our Open Squash Season Opener winners:
· Men’s 3.5 Singles: Will Reed
· Men’s 4.0 Singles: Sean Kapoor
· Men’s 4.5 Singles: Alejandro Grego
· Men’s 5.0 Singles: Alexander Fallone
· Men’s Open Singles: Max Kapoor
· Women’s 3.0 Singles: Alice Cullina
· Women’s 4.5 Singles: Margaret Pruett
· Women’s 5.0 Singles: Angel Otshabeng
New York squash’s popularity is growing by leaps and bounds. Fans and new spectators alike descended on the venue Friday through Sunday, creating an electric atmosphere. As the dust settles on this high-intensity event, players will look to take the momentum they've garnered into the rest of the season. For those who triumphed, it will be about maintaining that high level of performance. For the rest, it’s back to training with a fervent desire to improve and come back even stronger.
A special thanks to the players, organizers, volunteers, and spectators who made this event possible. Squash in New York isn't just a game — it's a community, and each year that community shines more brightly at the Open Squash Season Opener.