KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian squash ace S. Sivasangari clinched her first title of the season in thrilling style by downing second-seeded home favourite Amanda Sobhy 11-7, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 in the 2025 Cincinnati Gaynor Cup final today.
Sivasangari, fresh from her win over top seed and defending champion Olivia Weaver in the semi-finals on Saturday, kept her momentum to lift the Cup in a 48-minute title showdown at the Cleveland Country Club in Ohio.
The Malaysian said the key to winning the title was not putting too much pressure on herself in the final against Sobhy.
“Yesterday, I told myself that the job’s still not done (yet), I still have one more match. I didn’t put any pressure on myself, I know Amanda is a good player.
“I just tried to take it point-by-point, focus on what I need to do out there and that the outcome will come with it and it’s great that it went my way,” she said in an audio clip shared by the Professional Squash Association.
Sivasangari was also thrilled to bits after claiming her first title of the year, having last tasted victory in the London Squash Classic last April.
“I think I’ve had a tough couple of months. Being 2-0 up and losing matches and losing close matches… I think that was all (part of) the learning process that I had to go through to win today.
“It (the victory today) came from the experience that I had over the last couple of months,” she said. – February 10, 2025