Philadelphia to stage U.S. Open as ElShorbagy and Serme defend titles

The U.S. Open became the first World Series tournament to offer equal prize money across both the men’s and women’s events in 2013 and parity in earnings will be on offer for a fifth successive year in October, where a prize purse of $330,000 – the highest in the tournament’s history – will be up for grabs from October 7-14.

World No.1 Gregory Gaultier – winner in 2006, 2013 and 2015 – will headline the men’s draw, while reigning World Champion and World No.1 Nour El Sherbini, who was a beaten finalist last year, is seeded first in the women’s event.

Gaultier will be joined in a world-class men’s draw by the likes of World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad, defending champion Mohamed ElShorbagy, 2007 champion Nick Matthew and 2012 winner Ramy Ashour.

New York-born World No.64 Christopher Gordon is handed the wildcard spot for the men’s event and he will look to progress beyond the opening round for the first time since 2012.

The Women’s draw also boasts some of the world’s greatest players, with last year’s winner Camille Serme, World No.2 Raneem El Welily, two-time winner Laura Massaro, World No.5 Nouran Gohar and three-time victor Nicol David all vying for honours alongside El Sherbini in Philadelphia.

United States No.2 Olivia Blatchford is the highest ranked American in the women’s draw and she will be joined by World No.53 Haley Mendez – the 23-year-old from Brooklyn – who will make her debut appearance in the U.S. Open main draw after being granted the wildcard position.

The U.S. Open represents the first chance for players to earn points for the World Series Standings as they bid to qualify for the season-ending PSA World Series Finals – with only the top eight players on the men’s and women’s standings earning a coveted berth at the lucrative tournament.

Qualification for the 2017 U.S. Open takes place between October 5-6, while the main draw will be held between October 7-14 inside the Daskalakis Athletic Centre at Drexel University.

Action from the tournament will be shown live on Eurosport Player while tickets start from $25 and can be purchased from www.usopensquash.com/tickets

2017 Men’s U.S. Open – Entry List
1) Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
2) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
3) Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
4) Nick Matthew (ENG)
5) Ali Farag (EGY)
6) James Willstrop (ENG)
7) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
8) Ramy Ashour (EGY)
9) Tarek Momen (EGY)
10) Fares Dessouky (EGY)
11) Simon Rösner (GER)
12) Paul Coll (NZL
13) Daryl Selby (ENG)
14) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
15) Mohamed Abouelghar
16) Max Lee (HKG)
17) Cameron Pilley (AUS)
18) Diego Elias (PER)
19) Cesar Salazar (MEX)
20) Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
21) Gregoire Marche (FRA)
22) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
23) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Wildcard) Christopher Gordon (USA)

2017 Women’s U.S. Open – Entry List
1) Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
2) Raneem El Welily (EGY)
3) Camille Serme (FRA)
4) Laura Massaro (ENG)
5) Nouran Gohar (EGY)
6) Nicol David (MAS)
7) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
8) Alison Waters (ENG)
9) Annie Au (HKG)
10) Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
11) Joelle King (NZL)
12) Emily Whitlock (ENG)
13) Joshna Chinappa (IND)
14) Victoria Lust (ENG)
15) Tesni Evans (WAL)
16) Olivia Blatchford (USA)
17) Donna Urquhart (AUS)
18) Joey Chan (HKG)
19) Salma Hany Ibrahim (EGY)
20) Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)
21) Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
22) Heba El Torky (EGY)
23) Mariam Metwally (ENG)
Wildcard) Haley Mendez (USA)