TORONTO: India’s teenage squash sensation Anahat Singh saw her promising run at the Canadian Women’s Open come to a premature end after she was forced to withdraw from her quarter-final due to injury. The 18-year-old, who had reached the last eight in impressive fashion, pulled out of her scheduled meeting with Egyptian top seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir, handing the world No. 7 a walkover into the semi-finals.
The PSA Squash Tour confirmed the withdrawal, bringing a disappointing conclusion to what had been another encouraging week for the young Indian on the international circuit. Anahat, the world No. 15 and sixth seed at the USD 103,750 PSA Silver event in Toronto, had looked in strong form in her opening match and will now be hoping the setback proves to be a short one rather than anything more serious.
Her quarter-final berth had been secured with a composed four-game victory over England’s Saran Nghiem. After receiving a first-round bye, Anahat won 11-6, 4-11, 11-5, 11-7, recovering well after dropping the second game to take control of the contest. It was the kind of mature performance that has become increasingly familiar from a player still in her teens but already competing with seasoned professionals on the world tour.
The withdrawal means Aboelkheir advances without having to strike a ball in the quarter-finals, a stroke of fortune for the top seed but a frustrating outcome for Anahat, who would have relished the opportunity to test herself against one of the world’s best. No details of the specific injury have been disclosed, and it would be wrong to speculate on its nature or severity until further information is available from the player or her team.
What makes the timing particularly unfortunate is the form Anahat has been in over recent weeks. She arrived in Toronto on the back of a superb run that underlined her status as one of the brightest young talents in world squash. At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, she won silver in the singles event, becoming the first Indian woman to reach a squash singles final at the Asian Games, a landmark achievement for Indian squash.
That was followed by another eye-catching performance at the Silicon Valley Open last week, where she reached the semi-finals. Along the way she recorded a stunning victory over world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini, a result that sent shockwaves through the sport, and also beat Salma Hany before her run was ended by Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam. Back-to-back deep runs at major events had marked her out as a player on a steep upward trajectory.
The Canadian Open was supposed to be the next step in that progression, and reaching the quarter-finals had kept the momentum going. Instead, her campaign has ended in the treatment room rather than on court, a reminder of how fine the margins can be in a physically demanding sport like squash, where the stop-start intensity places enormous strain on the body.
For Indian squash, however, the broader picture remains hugely encouraging. Anahat’s rise to world No. 15 at just 18, combined with her Asian Games silver and her victory over the world No. 1, points to a player capable of challenging for the sport’s biggest honours in the years ahead. The immediate priority now will be recovery and ensuring she returns fully fit, with the long season ahead offering plenty of opportunities to build on what has already been a breakthrough year.
