Amanda Sobhy Captures Fifth U.S. Title; Brownell Upsets Top Seeds to Win First

World No. 4 Amanda Sobhy won her fifth U.S. Women’s Championship—and first since 2018—while Timmy Brownell upset the top two seeds on his way to a maiden S.L. Green U.S. Men’s Championship title Friday, June 17, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia. The players competed for the winner’s share of the $100,000 tournament prize fund, the highest ever at the event and with full parity for the women’s and men’s divisions.

Amanda Sobhy faced the daunting challenge of playing her younger sister, world No. 22 Sabrina Sobhy, after Sabrina defeated world No. 10 Olivia Fiechter in the semifinals. The final lived up to expectations, with an hour of compelling squash as the two siblings showed their deep knowledge of the other’s game and tactics. With the match tied at 1-1, the turning point came as Sabrina held a 9-2 lead, after which Amanda played a long section of high-pace, consistent squash that won her 10 of the final 11 points to capture the third game 12-10 in a dramatic comeback. Sabrina proved resilient in the fourth game, having her own game balls, though Amanda found a way through to win the title-clinching fourth game 14-12.

“We’ve played so many times in practice, and we know each other’s games inside and out,” said Amanda, “the best part about it is that we can put on a really intense match but make it so entertaining for people to watch and we know it’s always going to be in good spirit.”

Sobhy will depart tomorrow for Egypt to play in the PSA World Tour Finals, the season-capping event featuring the world’s best eight women’s and men’s players.

“Honestly, I’ve been tired and it’s been a really long stretch of tournaments, but once I was in the match I realized how much I wanted [this win]. I am so happy to be able to say this is my fifth national championship, and hopefully not the last.”

On the men’s side, three-time champion Todd Harrity took the court in his native Philadelphia against Brownell, who booked his inaugural appearance in the finals with a win over top-seed Shahjahan Khan from 2-0 games down in the semifinals. Harrity entered as the favorite—not dropping a game through this stage in the tournament—and with experience on his side, but Brownell has achieved the best results of his career this spring and is now at a personal high ranking of world No. 64. If he felt fatigued after his challenging semifinal, the 24-year-old Brownell didn’t show it, winning the first game well into overtime 15-13. He then continued with more strong and steady squash that Harrity did not have an answer for in the end, closing out the final in three hard-fought games.

“I’ve been watching Todd since I was little, and he’s been one of my heroes on court,” said Brownell. “I tip my hat to him as he is a class act. It’s a dream to get to play him on the biggest stage we have.”

The matches were followed by a special reception in the Specter Center’s Ganek Family Champions Deck where all members of the US Squash High Performance Program (HPP) were honored for their accomplishments during the season.

Watch a replay of the finals on the US Squash YouTube channel.

U.S. Women’s Championship Finals:
Amanda Sobhy d. Sabrina Sobhy 6-11, 11-8, 12-10, 14-12

S.L. Green U.S. Men’s Championship Finals:
Timmy Brownell d. Todd Harrity 15-13, 11-9, 11-5