Malaysia’s squash champion Sivasangari Subramaniam delivered a smashing performance at the 2025 Cincinnati Gaynor Cup, defeating top seed and US No.1 Olivia Weaver. She will now face the tournament’s second seed, Amanda Sobhy.
In a thrilling semi finals at the Cincinnati Country Club, Sivasangari raced to a lead 6-2 in the opening game before sealing a crucial first game victory. Despite never having home favorite Olivia Weaver, Sivasangari showed an immense performance edging out a tense match in the second game 11-9.
The third game saw a comeback from Olivia Weaver, who fought her way to a 9-9 before securing two points to claw back into the match. However, Sivasangari came back stronger surging a 9-4 advantage before closing out the game 11-5. The celebration at the match point marked a breakthrough moment in her career as she advanced to her first ever Cincinnati Gaynor Cup final. Speaking after her victory, Sivasangari expressed her joy.
“Happy to be winning. Olivia has been playing really really well these last couple of months. She broke into the top four, she’s challenging the top three girls”.
She also emphasized the importance of consistency and patience, with her past encounters with Olivia have taught her valuable lessons.
“I’d lost to her five times in a row.. But today I just tried to enjoy myself out there, take it point by point. Even when I was 2-0, last time I was 2-0 in World Champs and I lost to her, so this time even though I lost the third, I knew it was close”
‘I just tried to stay as patient as I can. Sometimes I’m just very inconsistent with my game. One rally I’m playing the best, the next one I’m hitting the tin unnecessarily, so today I tried to stay more consistent. I tried to find my length, corners and take her off the T because she loves to control T area”.
Sivasangari will now face US No.2 Amanda Sobhy, who secured her spot in the finals after a hard victory over England’s Jasmine Hutton. Amanda took a close first game with 11-9 and after an intense battle in the second, she managed to win against Jasmine with 11-8 to level the match. Though Jasmine led 8-9 in the third, Amanda gave a comeback by winning the next two games, with 11-9 and 11-4 to seal her spot in the finals.
With Sivasangari’s current form and Amanda’s resilience, the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup finals promises to be an electrifying encounter. The match takes place today 9th February, at 12PM (GMT-5). For live coverage and updates, fans can tune in to SQUASHTV and follow PSA Tour across all social media platforms. X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp or LinkedIn.
