Other Sports
Top seed Tinne to meet elder sister Nele in final of New Zealand Open
Top seed Tinne Gilis continued her quest for a first New Zealand Open title as she thumped No.5 seed Marina Stefanoni in straight games in the semifinals. The Belgian No.1 moved through to her first final on the PSA Squash Tour since October 2024 after defeating the World No.21 by an 11-9, 11-5, 13-11 scoreline.
Tinne will now face older sister Nele in the final of the silver-level event. No.3 seed Nele Gilis advanced to the final after her semi-final clash with Torrie Malik was cut short due to an injury to the Englishwoman early in the third game.
I’m just glad I fought as hard as she did and got away with the 3-0 win today, said Tinnie Gilis. Pic: PSA Squash Tour
Tinne came out of the blocks quickly at the start of the match, hitting crisp lines and lengths, and finding her trademark backhand drop into the front left corner on numerous occasions. Despite Stefanoni fighting back from 9-4 down to 10-9, Tinne produced a superb rally to move one game to the good.
The 28-year-old Tinne kept attacking with increasing regularity and putting Stefanoni under severe pressure all across the court. Stefanoni struggled to get a foothold in either the second or the start of the third game, with Tinne racing into a 7-1 lead in the third and sitting within four points of victory.
Tinne regains her accuracy in time
The American refused to go down without a fight, though, winning nine of the next 11 points to send the third to a tie-break and breathe new life into the contest.
Tinne regained her accuracy just in time, though, with a pinpoint lob, seeing her move to match ball, and the top seed moving through to the final when Stefanoni clipped an attempted forehand drop into the tin.
“I thought I started really well. Obviously, Marina, being Marina, does some ridiculous stuff. She made me work so hard to get over the line at the end of the third game there. That’s the fighter she is,” said Tinne after the match.
“I’m just glad I fought as hard as she did and got away with the 3-0 win today.”
Malik retires from game against Nele
Malik has been in inspired form coming into the contest, with back-to-back five-game wins over Salma Hany and Nour Heikal. However, in the latter part of the two matches, Malik had hyperextended her left knee, with the aftereffects of the injury showing during this match with Nele.
I’m very excited to have another final against Tinne, at the New Zealand Open no less, with my family here and I’m really looking forward to it, says Nele Gilis. Pic: PSA Squash Tour
World No.13 Nele worked her way through the opening two games in commanding fashion, securing 11-4 and 11-7 victories. After returning to court for the third game and falling 2-0 down, a visibly upset Malik was forced to retire from the match due to this injury.
“Of course, I’m happy to be in the final. It’s not how I wanted to win, it just doesn’t feel right, but credit to Torrie because she’s had an incredible tournament,” said Nele after the match.
“The final, I’m very excited to have another final against Tinne, at the New Zealand Open no less, with my family here and I’m really looking forward to it. We’ll just do our own thing. We’ve done this a million times before and I’m sure it is going to be a long match,” she said.
Result (semifinals): 3-Nele Gilis (BEL) beat Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 2-0 retd); 1-Tinne Gilis (BEL) beat 5-Marina Stefanoni (USA) 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 13-11).