The stunning Egyptian Red Sea resort Soho Square at Sharm El Sheikh will host The Soho Square Women’s World Open Squash Championship from 15-22 September 2010.
Soho Square debuted as a WISPA World Tour event in 2009, but this is the first time Egypt will host the Women’s World Open, the most prestigious WISPA event featuring a ground-breaking prize money fund of $US147,000.
This is by far the biggest prize fund ever for a WISPA Tour event - and sends a powerful message that women’s squash is a valuable entertainment property and that the Tour is enjoying steady growth around the world.
The tournament will be staged at Soho Square Sharm El Sheikh, which is part of the premier resort in Sharm El Sheikh’s shopping and entertainment complex, where the first round of the main draw onwards will be competed on an all-glass show court. On the back of the previous, successful Soho Square WISPA Tour event held in 2009, the high-end destination resort decided to build permanent squash courts and the three rounds of qualification will be competed on these newly-constructed courts.
Welcoming the new partnership, WISPA President and Principal Natalie Grainger said: "WISPA is extremely excited about staging the biggest ever Women’s World Open Squash Championship to be held in Soho Square, Sharm El Sheikh. I would like to thank and congratulate Mr Emad Aziz for his vision in creating this fabulous opportunity.
"It is the first time that the Women’s World Open will be competed in Egypt. With Egypt currently holding the Women’s World Team title, backed up by a current crop of highly world-ranked junior players coming through, it is the right time to host this most prestigious event in a country that has such a rich tradition of producing talented squash champions. I look forward to visiting Soho Square in Sharm El Sheikh, taking part in this grand event as well as enjoying the fine dining and other entertainment!’
Savoy-Sharm General Manager Ramy Rizkallah was equally enthusiastic about the substantial elevation of Soho Square Sharm El Sheikh’s partnership with WISPA: "We achieve our popularity and success by offering not only top quality accommodation and catering, but also so much more besides for our guests. I am certain that the opportunity to watch the top players in the world competing for the Soho Square World Open trophy will be thrilling for everybody."
The Egyptian Squash Federation President Assem Khalifa expressed delight too: "We are very pleased to hold this tournament in our country as it fits our government policy to encourage women's sport. We have hosted the Women's World Team Championships, the Women’s Junior World Championships and now, under the direction of Dr Ahmed Said, we are delighted to be part of this very important event."