CHICAGO – Harvard University women's squash alumna Amanda Sobhy '15 reached the semifinals at the 2020-21 Professional Squash Association World Championship this past week at the University Club of Chicago's Cathedral Hall, becoming the first US-born player to ever reach the semifinals of the World Championships.
 
Sobhy reached the semifinals after defeating Egypt's Hania El Hammamy – the No. 5 ranked player in the world – in the quarterfinals, 11-3, 11-8, 11-9. El Hammamy had won the previous four meetings between the two.
 
In the semifinals, Sobhy fell to eventual tournament champion and world No. 1 ranked Nour El Sherbini, 11-3, 11-5, 11-5.
 
A social anthropology concentrator at Harvard, Sobhy won the CSA individual national championship in all four of her seasons and captured Ivy League Player of the Year honors four times. She gained First Team All-America accolades four times and helped the Crimson win the CSA team championship in 2012, 2013, and 2015.
 
The PSA World Squash Championships serve as the individual world championships for squash players. The Professional Squash Association is the governing body for the men's and women's professional squash circuit.