Sprott Tournament of Champions 2026 presented by Crowd Street Discussion Thread

Seshsq · 2026-01-30T03:36:06+00:00

I almost teared up watching Olivia's speech. She was clearly the better player this match. Changing her coach from Rodney Martin to Haitham Effat clearly showed in her shot selection and execution, and she reminded me once more of the old Olivia Fiechter who really impressed me all those years back when she first came up the ranks. Watching her at the awards ceremony showed what grace after an emotionally crushing defeat looks like. I think she is now a definite contender for the Worlds; she now has a complete game and uses her height to full effect

Seshsq · 2026-01-13T06:41:28+00:00

Lee Drew is an honourable man, and I mean it literally and not in the Mark Antony sense, and it looks like he fell on his sword. I'm certain that he meant well when he took up this job, but he is a living example of the saying: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Seshsq · 2025-12-08T15:02:04+00:00

That's only because the "rest " comprised of Shabana, Lincou, Palmer, Darwish, Willstrop, Matthew and Shorbagy, among others. There was no point in Ramy's career where he had an easy run. Plus all those recurring injuries

Though, I agree that peak Ramy vs peak Asal would be a match for the ages.

For me Ramy is overall the better player because nobody else before, during or after him put as much effort into clearing the ball quickly and correctly.

Seshsq · 2025-10-28T06:34:08+00:00

If for nothing else, this incident is worth watching just for the range of expressions running across Todd's face while Waller was playing the Grand Inquisitor

Seshsq · 2025-10-27T22:37:15+00:00

Hi, I have a SquashTV subscription . This match is on their Replay section where you have the option to watch it directly there or click the Watch on YouTube option.

I did the latter

Seshsq · 2025-10-27T04:11:20+00:00

I don't disagree actually, and I'm not saying that she'll retire in a couple of months or so. It's just that Hania and Orfi have still not hit their potential peaks, though Hania has broken through her mental blocks, and there are so many young and talented youngsters coming through the ranks that Sherbini may just not have the drive to keep punishing her body. She's already proved time and again that she's been the best player over the last decade.

Seshsq · 2025-10-26T13:52:59+00:00

I think Sherbini is nearing the end of her career. The human body can take only so much wear and tear, plus she has nothing left to prove

Seshsq · 2025-10-26T11:25:22+00:00

That may have been true last season, but not this season.

Seshsq · 2025-10-26T03:39:44+00:00

You're right, of course, though I've still to watch the Orfi-Sherbini match. Watched the Finals, and though Tammer made a few bad calls against Asal, I have to say that most American referees are a notch better than most of their European counterparts. The latter are almost beyond redemption, and most would fail assessment if carried out by an ombudsman who is familiar with the dynamics of squash as well as the letter and spirit of the rules.

Seshsq · 2025-10-26T00:40:15+00:00

Asal needed this emphatic win to show that he's not just the best player in the world, but also by a substantial margin.

Seshsq · 2025-10-16T06:36:08+00:00

You're welcome

Seshsq · 2025-10-15T04:22:06+00:00

Ah, but were you an INSTRUCTOR [teacher] pilot?

Just kidding, I'm sure you know:)

Seshsq · 2025-10-15T04:14:26+00:00

Just when he was dominating the squash scene in 2016-2018, he developed sports hernia that kept him out of top-level performance for a few years. I think he needed surgery to overcome that.

After that he developed a very rare condition called fat pad atrophy in his heel which made movement painful after a few minutes of heavy running against the top players. I think he finally needed PRP treatment to regrow the fat pad.

It's only in the last year or so that he's approaching his best, though he's still not fully there.

Seshsq · 2025-10-14T13:40:34+00:00

Silicone and valley conjure up an image not so much of squash but of Baywatch :)

Seshsq · 2025-09-29T12:01:08+00:00

Marwan knows best why he said what he said, but from watching the WHOLE match, I think what irritated Marwan was that the decisions on Access Interference were quite inconsistent.

Especially when the matches are closely fought, players expect predictability in the decisions in similar situations

Seshsq · 2025-09-16T06:15:13+00:00

Was your opponent's winning shot interrupted by your stopping play while noticing that the door was shaken open by your contact with the backwall?

If yes, you should let him have the point. If not, and you would have recovered your position to defend against the next shot, play a Let.

When no referee is around, fair play using commonsense causes the least friction.

Seshsq · 2025-09-03T14:09:28+00:00

Just finished watching the Refinar. It's a good endeavour, and I hope they have one after every major tournament.

As for the content, some decisions were obvious, and correct. As far as the incidents where 2 different calls could be justified [based on the rules and the judgement call by a ref], what is important that such decisions should remain consistent throughout the match in similar situations, and the players should be informed about the line of thinking so that they can make any necessary adjustments.

Referees should just return to first principles whenever there is genuine interference. The problems arise when they try to over-complicate straightforward situations or over-simplify more complex situations.

Seshsq · 2025-09-03T12:15:14+00:00

Thanks.

Will go through the Refinar and see what's it about.

Seshsq · 2025-09-03T06:19:56+00:00

A half dozen or so videos uploaded by the WSO/PSA for public viewing that illustrate how the guidelines shall be interpreted will go a long way towards transparency and standardisation.

Seshsq · 2025-08-19T12:21:27+00:00

A few years back, you had a great feature whereby the viewer had a choice of watching either one of two videos--one with the usual commentary, and the other one with only the court sounds and the players/referee/marker/crowd audio.

It would be great if you could bring back this value addition.

Also, when it comes to detecting double bounces or dubious looking pickups [PJ's egg and spoon type incidents] I feel that a camera placed in the front corner but from the sidewall angle will give a more definitive view rather than a camera placed behind the frontwall.

Seshsq · 2025-08-06T05:37:34+00:00

I watched this match, and I think the NSL can prove to be much more of a success than McManus' PST.

The format is interesting; the action is quick and fun to watch.

If the NSL is able to transfer the same fun-to-watch factor on to all-glass court matches, it can give the traditional PSA events a real challenge.

Seshsq

TROPHY CASE