London Squash Classic 2026: Anahat Singh Cruises Through as Rodriguez Faces Fightback

The opening day of the 2026 London Squash Classic delivered a mixture of dominant performances, hard-fought comebacks and early-season surprises as some of the world's leading squash players took to the courts at Coolhurst Squash Club.

With 48 players arriving in London for the opening Gold-level tournament of the season, the first day immediately provided plenty of drama. India's Anahat Singh produced one of the most commanding performances of the day, while veteran Miguel Rodriguez found himself in a battle against Pakistan's Muhammad Ashab Irfan.

Anahat Singh made an emphatic start to her campaign, defeating Egypt's Mariam Metwally 11-3, 11-2 in just 11 minutes. The Indian barely allowed her opponent any opportunity to settle into the contest, controlling the rallies and consistently finding ways to finish points quickly.

The two-game victory sent Singh into the last 16 and underlined why she remains one of the most exciting young players on the women's squash circuit. Her performance was particularly impressive given the quality of opposition. Metwally has considerable experience at the international level, but Singh never allowed the Egyptian to impose herself on the match.

The Indian's ability to maintain intensity throughout the contest meant the match was effectively over before it had the chance to become a prolonged battle.

The men's draw produced a much closer contest as Colombian veteran Miguel Rodriguez was forced to fight for survival against Pakistan's Muhammad Ashab Irfan. Irfan came out strongly and took the opening game, putting the experienced Rodriguez under immediate pressure.

The match featured several lengthy rallies in front of a packed crowd at Coolhurst, with the lower-ranked Pakistani showing no signs of being intimidated by his more experienced opponent. Rodriguez, now 40, responded in the second game to take the contest into an all-important decider.

The Colombian's experience was proving valuable, but Irfan had already demonstrated that he could match him physically and tactically.

With everything still to play for, the contest became one of the most intriguing battles of the day.

Sam Todd completes a comeback

England's Sam Todd also produced an impressive turnaround after finding himself in serious trouble against Egypt's Moustafa El Sirty. Todd, fresh from reaching his maiden British Nationals final, endured a difficult opening game and lost it 11-2.

El Sirty was the more accurate player early on, while Todd struggled to read the ball and repeatedly left opportunities in the middle of the court. But the Englishman regrouped.

He began constructing longer rallies and moving his opponent around the court, gradually taking control of the contest. After levelling the match, Todd continued his momentum in the deciding game to complete a 2-1 victory, 2-11, 11-7, 11-4 in 41 minutes.

Speaking afterwards, Todd admitted that he had felt flat at the beginning but said the key was getting himself into harder rallies and finding confidence in his length.

The victory sets up a second-round meeting with top seed Paul Coll.

Malaysia's World No. 18 Eain Yow Ng responded to his disappointing Budapest Open campaign in emphatic fashion. Seeded No.1 in Budapest last week, Yow Ng suffered a surprise quarter-final defeat to India's Velavan Senthilkumar. There was no repeat of that disappointment in London.

Yow Ng raced past England's Patrick Rooney 11-3, 11-2 in just 16 minutes, immediately setting the tone with aggressive squash. The Malaysian said he entered the tournament with a clear purpose and was determined to trust the work he had put in during training.

His larger objective is also clear: returning towards the world's top 10. “I’m focused on trying to improve my squash and bring myself back to where I know I can play,” Yow Ng said after the win.

Salma Hany targets return to top eight.

Egypt's Salma Hany also began her campaign in convincing fashion. World No. 13 defeated England's Katie Malliff 11-7, 11-5 in 21 minutes to progress. For Hany, the tournament represents an opportunity to begin a new season strongly and work her way back towardss the ranking position she believes she is capable of reaching.

Hany has previously climbed as high as No.7 in the world and has set her sights on returning to the top eight. She admitted there were nerves at the start of the season but was pleased to close out her opening match in straight games.

The opening day's action also saw Egypt's Farida Mohamed defeat compatriot Zeina Mickawy 12-10, 6-11, 11-3, while Sana Ibrahim overcame Malaysia's Rachel Arnold 11-7, 9-11, 11-6.

Malaysia's Aira Azman also advanced after beating Egypt's Nour Heikal 5-11, 11-4, 11-6. In the men's draw, Pakistan's Noor Zaman defeated Germany's Raphael Kandra 11-3, 11-7.

India also enjoyed another positive result as Ramit Tandon defeated Qatar's Abdulla Al-Tamimi 11-6, 11-7 in just 20 minutes.

With the opening round producing both dominant victories and unexpected battles, the London Squash Classic is already shaping up to be an entertaining start to the new season. For Anahat Singh, the priority will now be maintaining the ruthless form that carried her through her opening match.

For Rodriguez, the challenge is surviving the fight against Irfan. And for players such as Todd, Yow Ng and Hany, the opening victories provide an important foundation for deeper runs.

With the tournament's biggest names still to come and the knockout stages approaching, Coolhurst is already delivering exactly what a season-opening Gold-level event promises: high-quality squash, emerging contenders and plenty of uncertainty.