Van Niekerk claims BDO PSA Namibian Open title

Squash
Andrew Poolman
  • 13 Hours Ago
At the end of a week filled with dramatic squash action and intense rallies, the PSA BDO Namibian Open men’s title went to the impressive Dewald van Niekerk from South Africa.

Van Niekerk pointed out this triumph as one of the biggest and most satisfying of his PSA career and he made little secret of the fierce determination driving his performance over the last week.

The second seed and 2024 runner-up at the Namibian Open did not drop a single game during the tournament and clinched the final with a tight 11-9, 11-7, 13-11 victory over Egypt’s Aly Tolba.

“Tolba is a very good player; I’ve watched him throughout the whole tournament. He took out the number one seed (Toufik Mekhalfi of France) on day two. But I just really pushed him. Mentally, (the final) was a big battle

The 28-year-old Van Niekerk ranked this win higher than his earlier triumph at the African Games and vowed to be back to defend his Windhoek title next year.

In the semi-final, Van Niekerk eliminated number 5 Mohamed Gohar of Egypt (12-10, 14-12, 11-2). Curiously, the first two sets lasted a tiring 24 and 23 minutes respectively, before the Egyptian crashed out on just five minutes in the third set.

The always impressively composed Tolba overcame a mighty semi-final challenger in Rhys Evans of Wales in five sets (11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 13-11), before some untimely unforced errors in the final against Van Niekerk cost him dearly.



Rising the local game

The 2025 tournament drew a record entry list of 135 players from 14 nations — the largest turnout in the event’s history. From South Africa to Egypt, Germany to the Netherlands, the tournament attracted a diverse field.

Prize money for the men’s PSA Challenger event was set at US$15,000, a marked increase from last year’s US$9 0000 tournament in which Mohamed Nasser of Egypt beat Van Niekerk in the final.

Windhoek’s high altitude and the high bounce on the brand-new Wanderers court floors providing some unique conditions for the players to deal with.

Promising European talent like Sam Gerrits (Netherlands) and rising German star Finn Koch showed their skills among the always strong Egyptian contingent led by Tolba and also containing the likes of Abdullah Amr, Ahmed Elbeshouty, Hazem Hossam and Mohamed Gohar.

Meanwhile, young Namibian players gained valuable exposure — including some spirited showings from Francois Hanekom junior.