Egyptian squash prodigy Amina Orfi, 17, eyes more record-breaking feats

SINGAPORE – Amina Orfi appears like many other adolescents her age, her favourite pastimes include going to the mall and watching movies with friends and family.

But the 17-year-old rarely has the opportunity to enjoy these activities, as most of her time is dedicated to competing on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour.

She is no ordinary player. Despite playing in just her second full season, she has established herself as one of the world’s best.

On Nov 22, the world No. 10 underlined her credentials by defeating another higher-ranked player in Belgium’s seventh-ranked Nele Coll 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 at the Vitagen Singapore Squash Open.

After ousting the defending champion, Amina said: “I told myself to play like how I would during training and not think too much about the pressure. It paid off very well today.”

She will meet Malaysia’s world No. 9 Sivasangari Subramaniam in the semi-finals at the OCBC Arena on Nov 23.

In September, she became the second-youngest female to break into the top 10 of the world rankings after compatriot Nour El Sherbini, the current world No. 1, achieved the feat at 16.

Amina said: “My friends are fascinated by what I do, they can’t believe that I’m always travelling and competing at this high level. But they support me and they think that it’s so cool.”

Her friends may be in awe of her squash career, but Amina has always believed that she can be among the world’s best.

She was exposed to a variety of sports from young, also dabbling in gymnastics, swimming and tennis.

But it was squash, introduced by her father when she was five, that appealed most to the Cairo-born athlete, who displayed a flair for the racket sport, before showcasing her talent at national tournaments three years later.

Her parents spared no effort in helping their daughter realise her full potential. Besides hiring trainers for her, her father also relocated his business to be near her club.

In a 2018 interview with CGTN Africa, her father Mohamed Orfi said: “When she started training, we had no intention of raising a champion, but many people drew our attention to her unique talent.

“We immediately focused on her emerging skills and I had to relocate my business once or twice to be near her club. We’d clear our schedules well ahead of her competitions.”

Their efforts were not in vain. After clinching her first world junior championship title in 2022, Amina retained it for the next two years to become the first player to claim the crown in three consecutive editions.

In February, the teen prodigy won her first PSA World Tour event by defeating current world No. 5 Tinne Gilis of Belgium at the Squash On Fire Open in Washington.

Last week, she bagged another title at the Malaysia Squash Cup in Kuala Lumpur, where she beat home favourite Sivasangari, adding to her list of top-10 scalps that also includes England’s world No. 6 Georgina Kennedy, who fell to Amina at the Silicon Valley Open in October.

Looking back on the year, Amina said: “2024 has been amazing because I’ve got so many wins over top-10 players and I was able to win two World Tour titles... I’m so happy I was able to break into the top 10 before the year ends.”

Her composure belies her tender age. At the Malaysia Squash Cup final on Nov 17, she was leading 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 and needed just one game to seal victory. But Sivasangari won the fourth game 11-8 to force a decider.

While other players may have panicked, Amina focused on the next game, which she won 11-6 to upset the tournament’s top seed.

Her achievements have led to comparisons to seven-time world champion El Sherbini, whom she hopes to emulate as she also aims for success on the global stage, with an eye on the 2028 Los Angeles Games, where squash will make its Olympic debut.

She said: “(El Sherbini) has done amazing things in the squash world and she’s broken so many records. I feel honoured to be compared to her.

“So far, the only thing I’ve matched with her is that we’ve both won the world junior champs three times. Maybe it’s a good sign for me to keep pushing, so that one day I can break all those records.”

In the other women’s semi-final of the Singapore Squash Open on Nov 23, Gilis will meet top seed and world No. 3 Hania El Hammamy of Egypt.

The men’s semi-finals will see Egypt’s defending champion and world No. 1 Ali Farag facing Malaysia’s 14th-ranked Ng Eain Yow, with Peru’s world No. 3 Diego Elias meeting New Zealander Paul Coll, who is just a rung below him.