Published: March 8, 2026 at 1:16 pm
New Zealand’s No.1 Paul Coll and World No.10 Tinne Gilis have been crowned the 2026 New Zealand Squash Open champions after claiming respective wins over Mohamad Zakaria and Nele Gilis on finals night at a packed-out Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch on Sunday.
World No.2 Coll powered his way through to a third consecutive New Zealand Open title in emphatic style after defeating a physically fatigued Mohamad Zakaria in straight games.
Coll entered the final on the back of flawless wins over Eain Yow Ng and Iker Pajares, and the World No.2 picked up where he left off from those matches, motoring through to the title virtue of an 11-7, 11-2, 11-5 victory.
Zakaria struggled against Coll
Returning to court less than 24 hours after his 125-minute marathon match against Joel Makin, World No.9 Zakaria struggled to match the physical intensity of Coll. After winning a lengthy 17-minute first game, there was no stopping Coll with the finish line in sight. Playing in front of his friends and family, the 33-year-old put the hammer down to secure his 31st PSA Tour title after just 38 minutes of play.
“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Coll said after the match, “I was pretty excited, but also pretty nervous coming into this week. It’s one of the biggest ones for me to win, and when it’s a packed-out theatre in your hometown, there’s always a little bit of nerves.
“Especially those last couple of rounds, I got a lot of goosebumps just walking down (through the theatre), so I had to come on and control myself on court. It really is dreams come true for me.”
Top seed Tinne, who entered the match with just one win from her nine meetings with Nele on the PSA Tour, moved through to lift the Silver-level title by an 11-6, 5-11, 12-10, 11-9 scoreline. Pics: PSA Squash Tour
Tinne overcomes older sister Nele
Meanwhile, in the women’s final, Tinne Gilis overcame older sister Nele in four games to lift her first title on the PSA Squash Tour since October 2024.
Top seed Tinne, who entered the match with just one win from her nine meetings with Nele on the PSA Tour, moved through to lift the Silver-level title by an 11-6, 5-11, 12-10, 11-9 scoreline.
After trading games and moving into the latter stages of a 25-minute third game level-pegging, it was Tinne who produced a high-quality spell of squash in this pressure moment, coming from game ball down to steal the third with three straight points. The two sisters were inseparable throughout the majority of a quality third game, with the scoreboard moving to 8-8 and later 10-10. After saving a game ball, it was Tinne who produced two quality rallies to win the monster 25-minute third game and move within a game of the title.
The Belgian No.1 once again remained calm despite an early 4-1 deficit in the fourth, managing to fight back to bring up one championship ball on her racket. A contentious video referee decision followed, in which a stroke for Nele was overturned to a yes let, with Tinne making no mistake at the second time of asking, clinching the win after 78 minutes of play.
“I can’t find my words right now,” Gilis said after the match. “I’m just trying to let it sink in. I just wanted to fight through the whole match no matter what happened. Obviously, playing against Nele is always the biggest challenge on tour, especially when everyone is behind her as well.”
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The next stop on the PSA Squash Tour is the Squash Australian Open, which will take place between March 10 to 15 at Brisbane’s stunning South Bank Piazza.
Results (finals): Men’s singles: 1-Paul Coll (NZL) beat 3-Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) 3-0 (11-7, 11-2, 11-5).
Women’s singles: 1-Tinne Gilis (BEL) beat 3-Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-1 (11-6, 5-11, 12-10, 11-9).
