In Its Final Round at the DAC, U.S. Open Squash Championships Return to Drexel This Fall

The most prestigious squash tournament on American soil will be contested at Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center one last time this fall. The 2019 FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships will bring the top players in the world to campus from Oct. 5-12. The tournament, which has been held at Drexel’s Kline & Specter Squash Center since 2011 will be moving to its new home, the Arlen Specter Squash Center, in 2020.

The U.S. Open title emerged as one of the most coveted prizes in squash when it became one of the first international tournaments to offer an equal payout to its men’s and women’s champions in 2013. As such, the draws for this year’s U.S. Open feature the world’s top-10 ranked players both the men’s and women’s sides.

The women’s field also includes America’s best squash players, Amanda Sobhy, who is ranked 8th in the world, Olivia Blatchford Clyne (19th); Olivia Fletcher (39th) Haley Mendez (42nd), and Laila Sedky and Sabrina Sobhy, who both qualified as wild cards. And on the men’s side Todd Harrity (47th), and wild-cards Andrew Douglas and Spencer Lovejoy will be representing the stars and stripes.

Taking center stage in the squash world each fall for the last eight years has helped elevate Drexel’s own squash programs, which have become fixtures among the top programs in collegiate squash while annually achieving post-season success. Last season the women’s team finished with a No. 7 ranking after falling in the consolation semifinals of the Howe Cup. And the men’s team finished as a runner-up for the Hoehn Cup and ranked No. 10 in the nation.

Main draw matches will be held in the Daskalakis Athletic Center, as a four-wall glass exhibition court is placed on the Cozen Court to transform it into a world-class squash venue for more than 1,000 spectators. Matches start in the middle of the day October 5-8, and in the evenings for the later rounds, October 9-12. A full match schedule is available at: https://www.usopensquash.com.

Drexel students, faculty, staff and alumni will once again be welcome to attend the tournament free of charge with a valid Drexel ID or Drexel Alumni ID. For more information about ticketing visit: https://www.usopensquash.com/tickets.

While the tournament will no longer be contested in Drexel’s squash facilities in 2020, it won’t be far next year. Renovations are currently underway at the 32nd Street Armory, the future home of the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, which is just across 33rd street from the Daskalakis Athletic Center. As the new epicenter of squash in America, the center will feature 18 singles courts, two all-glass exhibition courts and two doubles courts. It will house a community engagement-focused Learning & Innovation Center, the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame and serve as US Squash’s national headquarters.