India’s teenage squash star and world no. 31 Anahat Singh stunned the top-seeded player to secure her maiden World Events and PSA Bronze title at the 2026 Squash On Fire Open, held in Washington, US.
The 17-year-old defeated world No. 10 Georgina Kennedy of England by sets of 12-10, 11-5, 11-7. With the win, she entered the top 20 of the world rankings and, in doing so, became the youngest Asian squash player to hold that record. Additionally, she won her 15th PSA Tour title while competing in 26 tournaments.
The Indian youngster defeated the reigning Commonwealth Games champion in straight sets, dominating and controlling throughout the 26-minute match. In the opening set, Anahat initially struggled after going down 8-10, but she went on to win four straight points to take over the lead from Kennedy by 12-10. The next two sets that followed saw Anahat successfully restricting her opponent at a single digit score and secured decisive victory in both by 11-5, 11-7.
After the finals, Anahat shared her excitement on winning the title against a top-seeded player despite a disappointing campaign ahead. She said, “I’m extremely happy. Coming into this event, I played the British Junior Open a few weeks back and I didn’t play too well.”
Having improved her game and got herself a spot in the world top 20 rankings, Anahat’s hard work and training had resulted in a positive end at the Squash On Fire Open 2026.
“I knew in between these events I had some time to train and I did as much as I possibly could to get the best out of my game. I knew I wanted to do well in these events, get my ranking up and also put on a performance, and I’m glad I was able to do that this time,” she added.
Meanwhile, in the men’s final of the Squash on Fire Open, England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy defeated Declan James by sets of 11-4, 11-6, 11-8. The victory got Mohamed his 52nd PSA Tour title.
The 17-year-old World Junior Squash Championships bronze medallist had an outstanding season with the Indian team. She was part of the historic title win in the WSF Squash World Cup Championship 2025 in Chennai alongside Joshna Chinappa and Abhay Singh who defeated top seeds Hong Kong, China.
In addition to that, she won two PSA Player of the Season honours, including the Women’s Challenger Player of the Season award and the Women’s Young Player of the Season title. Earlier this season, she made it to the semi-finals of the Canadian Women’s Open, which is a PSA Silver-level event.
