2024 Windy City Open: Preview
The Windy City Open 2024 presented by The Walter Family gets underway tomorrow from the University Club of Chicago as players look to capture the sixth Platinum event of the season.
The top two seeds are World No.1s Ali Farag and Nour El Sherbini, who will be looking to add to their Platinum title tallies this week in Chicago. The pair have fond memories of Chicago, as the last time they both competed in the city, they captured the World Championship trophies.
The duo have claimed the Windy City Open title before, both doing so at the 2020 edition of the event. Farag & ElSherbini will be determined to stretch their leads at the summit of the World rankings even further this week in Chicago.
Defending champions Nouran Gohar and Paul Coll return to Chicago hopeful of securing the Platinum title once again. Coll enjoyed a terrific first half of the season, beating Ali Farag twice to claim the U.S Open and Hong Kong Open titles. He’ll be hoping to bounce back from his early exit in New York and final loss in Detroit.
Gohar was injured for the majority of the first half of the season but returned in January and went on to lead 2-0 in the final of the J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions, eventually losing 3-2 to El Sherbini. She then exited early from the DAC Pro Classic to compatriot Rowan Elaraby, a result that she’ll be looking to brush under the carpet and return stronger.
The No.2 seeds in Chicago are Hania El Hammamy and Diego Elias. Both yet to taste success in Chicago, the pair will be fired up for this week after up and down seasons so far. Despite El Hammamy claiming two Platinum titles in the first half of the season, the World No.2 has had chances to take control of this season and severely cut the deficit between herself and Nour El Sherbini but hasn’t taken some chances. A win in one of El Sherbini’s favourite spots would certainly stand her in good stead for the back end of the season.
Diego Elias had to wait until the start of this month to score his first win of the season, as he claimed another Motor City Open title, beating Paul Coll in the final. The Peruvian has been in three Platinum finals this season but lost them all to Ali Farag. The World No.2 will be itching to claim a Platinum title this season to reassert himself amongst the top three and give him the confidence he needs to make a push as the season continues.
Danger is waiting for the top three men’s seeds further down the entry list however as Mostafa Asal, Mohamed Elshorbagy, Mazen Hesham and Karim Abdel Gawad will all be looking to perform well to upset the seedings and claim the latest Platinum title.
In the women’s draw, USA’s Olivia Weaver has been in superb form recently and will be hoping to put it all together in front of her home crowd to record her best finish in Chicago. Weaver is the leading home player across both draws and will be spurred on by the energetic Chicago crowd, which just might give her a crucial edge.