Eleven Egyptian players, out of a total 17 participants, have advanced to the second round of the PSA Women World Championships that kicked off in Egypt on Thursday.

Defending champions Nour El-Sherbini made her first appearance of the 2019/2020 season after beating Rachael Chadwick of England in straight sets of 11-6, 11-5, 11/4. The World number 2 will take on World number 28 Hollie Naughton of Canada on Saturday.

World number one Raneem El-Welily also had an easy test against fellow countrywoman Sana Ibrahim (11-3, 11-5, 11-4). She will face World number 18 Olivia Blatchford Clyne of the US, who beat Egyptian Menna Hamed, on Friday.

The biggest shock of the day was the exit of world number eight Amanda Sobhy of the US against Malaysia’s world number 48 Sivasangari Subramaniam, who beat her 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6) in 51 minutes.

“It's a once in a lifetime experience playing at the Pyramids, but I've got to get through tomorrow. If I can win tomorrow, it would be a really good result. This is definitely my best performance, beating a top 10 player. I just did my best, and I hadn't thought about the possibility of playing in front of the Pyramids. If I get there, it would be my second time playing on an outdoor court, my first time was in Gouna,” Subramaniam said after her triumph.

The PSA Women's World Championship kicks off in Egypt on Thursday and will last until 1 November, with the Great Pyramids of Giza providing a beautiful backdrop as athletes compete for prizes worth a total of $430,000.

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