Women’s top seed Hannah McGugan and men’s No.3 Alex Smith won Ulster Senior Open titles on Sunday at Belfast Boat Club.
McGugan, the PSA No.221 from Ballynafeigh SC, came into the tournament on the back of recent appearances on the international circuit in Andorra, Switzerland and England. That activity stood to her in her five-player, two-day round-robin event in Northern Ireland.
All four matches were won 3-0, including against second seed Aimee McConnell, the Ballynafeigh player who finished runner-up in an event where Westwood’s Sara Sabry, the recent Connacht Senior Open title winner, placed fifth.
The seven-player men’s A event had Sean Conroy of Leinster CC listed as the No.1 seed but he was picked off 3-1 in the final by Smith, the No.3 from Fitzwilliam who defeated Celtic’s Brian Knox and Oisin Logan, the Sutton player who was this season’s Munster Senior Open title winner.
Ewan Kielty of Sligo won the men’s B title as the fifth seed, defeating the No.2 Nathan Wilkinson of ABC 3-0 in the final of the eight-player event.
Will Rea of Western and Omair Azam of Queens were unbeaten in their men’s C section groups. No.7 seed Joe Kelly of Belfast BC won the eight-player D section, beating No.4 Haris Papavlasopoulos of Windsor 3-0 in the decider.
Breanne Flynn has broken new ground in her squash career, achieving a career-best PSA women’s ranking of No.103 following her run to last Saturday’s Schraglage Open final in Stuttgart.
The Dubliner came into the tournament as the world’s No.109 following her encouraging progress in recent weeks at the Monte Carlo Classic and the 12 Pierre & Vacance in Andorra, and three wins on the bounce qualified her for the final.
A highlight of that run to the decider was her semi-final against Malak Samir of Egypt, as she was 0-2 down before reeling off three games on the bounce to win 3-2.
However, another Egyptian, Nour Megahed, proved just a step too far when it came to clinching the title. Flynn went 2-1 up only for her opponent to finish stronger and take the last two games 6-11 and 4-11.
Victory in the final would have netted Flynn (pictured above by Christian Lortat following the tournament in Germany) a better rankings bounce and taken her into the top 100 – the title win fuelled Megahed’s jump from No.116 to No.101 – but enough points were still secured to move her up six places, climbing from No.109 to a best-ever No.103.
It was October 2022 when Flynn registered her previous best of No.104. That was at a time in her career when she was juggling work as a physio with part-time squash.
Now working full-time in squash, she outlined her ambitions in this candid Squash Ireland interview and has delivered on her intention to achieve like never before.
While the rankings were kind to Flynn, they worked against Hannah Craig despite her enjoyable run to the Indian Open semi-finals where she led the PSA No.33, India’s Anahat Singh, 2-1 on the outdoor glass court.
However, games four and five went against her 6-11 and 4-11, and her exit was followed on Monday by the rankings update that confirmed a drop of two places – from No.67 to No.70 – despite her two wins to reach the last four.
Craig travelled to India following an appearance at the China Open, and her adventure continues this week as she is on court on Tuesday in the Hong Kong FC Open, starting against Lucy Turmel, the No.31 from England.
Switching to the men’s circuit, Sam Buckley has moved from No.99 to No.97 with his run to the London Open quarter-finals. Two wins were followed by a four-game, last-eight encounter with England’s George Parker, the No.56, that finished 1-3.
Conor Moran hasn’t been in action since his Connacht Open win at the start of November, but his body of excellent work over the course of 2025 has stood to him in the latest rankings update as he has moved from No.138 to No.137, another career-best for the player who started the year as the No.345.
Breanne Flynn is on the cusp of achieving a career-best PSA ranking after enjoying a sharp rise of seven places following last week’s Monte Carlo Classic.
The 30-year-old went into the 24-player, $32.5K Copper status tournament ranked No.116, and she scored a deserved 3-0 win over Nadia Pfister, the No.99 from Switzerland, in the round of 32.
That booked a glamour round of 16 tie versus Melissa Alves, the No.19 from France, and while the result was a 0-3 loss, there was solace to be had from the No.1 seed going on to win the title with three more 3-0 wins.
Flynn learned on Monday that her rankings reward for reaching the second round was a jump to No.109, just five places shy of the career-best No.104 registered in October 2022.
The Sutton player is back on court this Wednesday in the round of 16 of the 24-player, $6K Schraglage Open in Germany, where she is seeded No.2. Flynn, who had an opening round bye, will face Tereza Siroka, the No.245 from the Czech Republic, in the round of 16.
Hannah Craig is also in action on Wednesday in the $73.5K Copper status Indian Open in Indore, having moved up one place in the rankings to No.67 following last week’s China Open.
The 26-year-old was beaten 0-3 in the round of 32 by Aifa Azman, the PSA No.32 from Malaysia, but she has travelled to India confident of enjoying a much longer run.
Listed as the No.3 seed in the 24-player event, she opens against Anika Dubey, a local player ranked No.415, after getting an opening round bye on Tuesday.
Victory would secure a quarter-final on Thursday against either Nga Ching Cheng, the No.104 from Hong Kong China, or Rathika Suthanthira Seelan, the No.146 from India.
Switching to the men’s circuit, Sam Buckley will be in action in the opening round of the 24-player, $15K London Open. Having enjoyed a career-best No.95 earlier this month, the 24-year-old is currently positioned No.99.
He will play Heston Malik, the No.201 from England, with a round of 16 fixture against Elijah Thomas, the No.96 from New Zealand, up for grabs.
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
Indian Open: Hannah Craig v Anika Dubey (8am Irish time)
Schraglage Open: Breanne Flynn v Tereza Siroka (2:30pm Irish time)
London Open: Sam Buckley v Heston Malik (8pm Irish time)
Hannah Craig is hoping to fire up her season with participation at this week’s $124.5K China Open.
The PSA women’s No.68 has yet to break the first-round barrier in 2025/26, as she fell at the first hurdle in New York and Toronto.
However, she is now in Shanghai preparing to take on Aifa Azman, the PSA No.32 from Malaysia, on Tuesday.
At stake in the 24-player tournament – where Hania El Hammamy, the PSA No.2 from Egypt, tops the seedings – is qualification for a second-round fixture against Amina Orfi, the PSA No.3 from Egypt.
The trip to China is the start of a busy period for Craig, as she is also entered in the $73.5K Indian Open in Indore and the $6k Fountain Tire Winter Open in Edmonton.
Breanne Flynn is closer to home this week, taking part in the $32.5K Monte Carlo Classic.
The PSA No.116 enjoyed a cracking start on Monday, winning 3-0 against Nadia Pfister, the No.99 from Switzerland, to book a glamour Tuesday meeting with Melissa Alves, the No.19 from France.
Sam Buckley has enjoyed another major bounce up the PSA men’s squash rankings, climbing to No.95 following his run to the Bern Open semi-final.
Buckley had recorded a major milestone when his 5eme Open Lagord quarter-final appearance in France catapulted him into the top 100, the first Irish men’s player to get that high since current head coach Arthur Gaskin was on the circuit a decade ago.
However, there was no resting by Buckley on his laurels following that encouraging campaign in France, and he continued his momentum in Switzerland where he came within a whisker of reaching the tournament final.
Despite leading 1-0 and 2-1, he was ultimately forced to settle for an agonising 2-3 loss to Switzerland’s David Bernet, the eventual title winner, but Buckley’s reward was a four-place rise from No.99 to a new career-best No.95 ranking.
His next assignment will now come at the $15K, 24-player London Open where he takes on England’s Heston Malik, the PSA No.205, in the opening round on November 19th.
Conor Moran also achieved a career-best last week following his run to the Swiss Open quarter-finals with a Connacht Senior Open title win.
PSA listed him at No.138, an incredible rise from No.345 at the start of 2025, but he has slipped back one place in the latest update to No.139 after a week away from the circuit.
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham has paid tribute to Sam Buckley on becoming the first Irish men’s player to break into the PSA top 100 in a decade.
Buckley last week reached the quarter-finals of the 5eme Open Lagord in France after defeating Muhammad Asim Khan of Pakistan, the PSA No.75, 3-1 in the round of 16. That success lifted him five places in the rankings, up from No.104 to No.99.
Breaking into the top 100 is a significant milestone. Not since current Ireland head coach Arthur Gaskin was in his pomp has there been an Irish presence that high up the men’s rankings.
Ahead of Buckley’s next appearance, this Thursday’s round of 16 Bern Open meeting with No.204 Manuel Paquemar of France, chief executive Graham said: “Huge congratulations to Sam Buckley on breaking into the top 100.
“It’s a big milestone, but I know Sam won’t be stopping there, he will be pushing on and he is competing at a really high level. It’s an important stepping stone, but definitely it is only the beginning for Sam.”
Monday’s rankings update also confirmed a career-best rise for Conor Moran. Last weekend’s Connacht Senior Open title winner is now up to No.138, a whopping leap of 207 places from the No.345 he occupied last January.
“We also have Conor coming up behind as well,” continued Graham. “His ranking has improved from the mid-300s up to 138 at the moment.
“He has made huge strides over the last year with the way he is playing and some of the results he has had. He is definitely going to continue climbing the rankings, and no doubt he will have his eyes set on a top 100 world rankings as well.”
It’s not just in the men’s section where Ireland’s top players are gaining impressive traction. “On the women’s side, Hannah Craig has also got a top 100 ranking – No.68 at the moment – and we have Breanne Flynn, who is No.115 and also nearing a career high [her best is No.104].
“After coming back from injury, she is on a good trajectory and I am sure she is going to be pushing for a top 100.”
Giving an overview of the collective progress of Ireland’s leading high-performance players, Graham added: “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had four players ranked inside the top 100 in the months ahead?
“Their performances and results are also going to inspire a lot of the other players who are looking at what the current crop are doing and saying, ‘I can do that as well if I pursue a career in squash playing on the PSA tour’. They definitely have the capability to become top 100 world-ranked players.
“In terms of the team competitions, European and World Championships, we need that strength in depth. We need four men and four women who are playing on the PSA tour, pushing each other on with a really high world ranking. That will improve the seeding at the Championships.”
Graham also thanked the mentors who have assisted the players and the sports organisations that have helped Squash Ireland increase its funding in recent times.
“Things are moving in the right direction in our high-performance programme. I want to thank all of the clubs, personal coaches, family members and so on who have helped the athletes to make it where they are.
“I also want to thank Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland for their investment in our high-performance programme, which is really starting to pay dividends.
“We are still at the early stages of it, but we can see the fruits of that now as we are developing players and pushing on to the next level. That is very exciting for the months and years ahead.”
Sam Buckley has broken into the PSA top 100 rankings following his exploits last week in France, becoming the first Irish men’s player to do so since Arthur Gaskin a decade ago.
A recent second round Czech Open appearance in Brno, where a convincing 3-0 win over Aly Hussein, the No.103 from Egypt, was followed by a 0-3 exit against Yannick Wilhelmi, the PSA No.45, had lifted Buckley to a career-best No.104, but he has now trumped that achievement with a jump of five places to No.99.
Buckley flew out of the traps at the 5eme Open Lagord last Wednesday, winning 3-1 against Muhammad Asim Khan of Pakistan, who was ranked No.75.
His follow-up match against Yassin Elshafei of Egypt, the No.92, ultimately didn’t go to plan but his 1-3 loss only materialised after he very nearly went 2-0 ahead.
More than enough rankings points were secured at the tournament in France to enable him to break into the top 100 ahead of his next assignment, a round two match next Thursday at the Bern Open in Switzerland.
Conor Moran, who won the Connacht Senior Open on Sunday, has also enjoyed another career-best rankings boost in a year where he started at No.345 last January.
A thrilling run to the recent Swiss Open quarter-finals had moved him from No.149 to No.141, but the latest PSA rankings list published on Monday now has him at No.138. Moran’s three-match campaign in Galway culminated in a 3-1 win in the final over Michael Creaven.
Switching to the women’s circuit, Hannah Craig jumped three places and Breanne Flynn four in the latest update.
Craig, whose career-best is No.61, moved from No.71 to No.68 following her appearance at the Toronto Open, while Flynn, who had an opening round win last week in Andorra, is now at No.115, just 11 places off her career-best No.104.
Top seeds Conor Moran and Sara Sabry have won the respective men’s and women’s titles at the Connacht Senior Open.
Sutton player Moran, the 2025 Irish Nationals champion, opted to head to Galway rather than compete at an overseas PSA event this weekend and was rewarded with a three-match run to the title after an opening round bye in the 15-player men’s A event.
Following his recent Swiss Open quarter-final appearance, which only ended when beaten 2-3 (9-11 in the fifth-game decider) by eventual title winner Rowan Damming from the Netherlands, it was confirmed last Monday that Moran had jumped from No.149 to a career best No.141 in the PSA rankings.
That was quite the achievement for a player who came into 2025 listed No.345 on the rankings, and he celebrated impressively out west by initially picking off Belfast BC’s Jack Sterritt [8] 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-2).
Next came another 3-0 success (11-9, 11-5, 16-14) against Sutton’s Oisin Logan, the London-based Galway fourth seed who won last month’s Munster Open.
Moran then faced another Sutton club colleague in the final, the No. 2-ranked Michael Creaven, who defeated Old Belvedere’s Richard Emslie 3-0, Celtic’s Aaron Knox 3-1 and Leinster CC’s Sean Conroy 3-0 to book his place in the decider.
Creaven came out on the attack, winning game one 11-5, and while Moran hit back to win the next three games and take the title, it was by no means easy as the scores were 11-4. 11-9, 11-9.
The eight-player women’s event also went to seeding with No.1 Sabry of Westwood defeating No.2, Rachel McNulty of Galway, in the final.
Sabry began her campaign with a 3-0 win over Loughrea’s Lyndsey Ward (11-2, 11-2, 11-1) and followed with another 3-0 win (11-1, 11-4, 11-6) over Galway’s Noelle McCarron to make the decider that she clinched 3-1 (13-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4).
Brian Lalor [5] of Curragh won the men’s B title, defeating Conor Gleeson [7] of Thurles 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-2) in the final.
The event had an immediate opening round jolt as the No.1-ranked Daniel O’Regan of Limerick was eliminated 3-2 by Conor Plunkett, the No.16 seed from Ennis.
Meanwhile, Michael McKenzie [4] of Ballina defeated Janco Hesse [2] of the Curragh 3-2 (6-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-5, 11-8) in the men’s C final. McKenzie had taken out No.1 seed Kelvin Cummins of Highfield 3-2 in the semi-finals.
Irish women’s No.2 Breanne Flynn returns to the courts this week following a recent training block after a hectic start to her 2025/26 season that took in tournaments in Australia, France, Ireland and the USA.
Looking to eclipse the PSA No.104 career best ranking set in October 2022, Flynn has travelled to the PSA Challenger 12 Pierre & Vacance listed as the current No.119.
She will open her campaign in the 24-player, 12K with a first-round match on Tuesday afternoon against Francesca Whyte, the No.286 from England.
Awaiting the winner is Hayley Ward, the tournament’s No.4 seed. The South African is listed at No.72 on the PSA list.
That is just one place behind Irish No.1 Hannah Craig, who remained at No.71 following her opening round exit at the Canadian Open, a silver status, $96,250, 24-player event. Craig was drawn in Toronto against Torrie Malik, the PSA No.42 from England, and bowed out on a 0-3 scoreline.
Switching back to Andorra, Hannah McGugan will also play in Tuesday’s opening round. She has travelled fresh from making the second round at last week’s Swiss Open, a round that lifted her six places in the rankings to No.227.
That is just 12 places off her career best of No.215 set in March 2023. McGugan has every chance of moving past that mark this season, judging by her display in a 1-3 Swiss exit to Isabel McCullough, the No.142 from England, who reached the semi-finals.
However, McGugan will have her work cut out in Andorra as she has been drawn against India’s Tanvi Khanna, the No.95.
Conor Moran and Sam Buckley have both registered career-high rankings following their latest exploits on the PSA circuit.
2025 National champion Moran has jumped eight places, moving from No.149 to No.141 following his thrilling run to the Swiss Open quarter-finals.
He had recently reached a best mark of No.145 following his early-season progress, but he has now beaten that with his three-match campaign in Geneva.
Moran picked off Lwamba Chileshe, the No.125 from New Zealand, 3-1 in the opening round of the 24-player, $12K Challenger event and he followed up with a 3-2 victory over another New Zealander, Elijah Thomas, who was No.97.
That set up a quarter-final with No.81 Rowan Damming from the Netherlands, and what materialised was a Friday feast of squash in which the defiant Moran was only pipped 2-3 after a 9-11 fifth game decider.
Moran’s effort became all the greater by the end of the week as the relieved Damming went on from that quarter-final escape to win the tournament, defeating Yassin Shohdy of Egypt in the semi-final and David Bernet of Switzerland in the final.
For Moran, his new mark of 141 represents an excellent 10 months as he came into 2025 listed No.345 on the rankings.
Elsewhere, Buckley’s ambition to become the first Irish player in a long while to break into the top 100 took another step forward as his run to the second round of the Czech Open, a $33,500 Copper status event catering for 24 players, lifted him from No.105 to No.104.
Buckley began his campaign in Brno with a convincing 3-0 win over Aly Hussein, the No.103 from Egypt, to book a round two date with Yannick Wilhelmi, the PSA No.45.
While the outcome against the Swiss player was a 0-3 loss, there was a promising consistency to Buckley’s play as he won six points in each of the three games against an opponent who went on to win Monday’s final against Declan James of England.
Buckley will be back on court this Tuesday evening in France, taking on Karim Aguib Michael, the No.158 from Canada, in an opening round match at the 24-player, $15K 5eme Open PSA Challenger event in Lagord.
