Quarters : Perry downs two time Champion Mohamed as Herbert denies all-Malik semi

Quarter-Finals day at the 2026 British National Championships started with a walkover, witnessed one seismic upset and concluded with the semi-finalists decided.

The big upset came as sixth seed Perry Malik overcame second seed and two-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy. Hopes of an all-Malik semi-final were dashed though as fifth seed Simon Herbert downed third seed Curtis Malik to conclude the round, both victories coming in five games.

Against Perry, Mohamed seemed to be enjoying himself in the first game, hitting the ball hard at every opportunity and taking a run of points at the end to take the lead 11-6. He may have paid for the effort involved as Perry worked his way back into the match, levelling 11-7 and then levelling again at the end of a close fourth game to set up a decider.

Helped by errors from Mohamed Perry established a 7-3 lead, and there was no way back for the three-time finalist, the match ending on a stroke to Perry for a memorable win.

“No words!” he said. “Just to play against him is big, to beat him, it’s just massive. I remember watching him in the Optasia final when I was 17, he beat Ali Farag and gave his trophy to Sumner, he’s just special.

“I thought I was in it in the first game than he just reeled off six points, I managed to stay in it in the second and felt I played pretty well after that. We’ve been working on a lot of things over the summer and hopefully it’s starting to pay off.”

Hopes of an all-Malik men’s semi-final were dashed when fifth seed Simon Herbert rounded off the day with a scintillating win over third seed Curtis. Herbert dominated the first two games with Malik giving away stroke after stroke with loose play. Malik dug in in the third – “squash went out of the window as he just had to fight for each point” said SquashTV commentator Simon Parke – and saved three match balls to keep the match alive.

Herbert was back in control in the fourth tough, finishing it 11-3 to reach the semis having never before got past the first round.

“Curtis is moving much better than last time we played, so that was hard,” he said. “It’s a massive win for me, really pleased – someone had to take a Malik down in this tournament!”

Earlier top seed Marwan ElShorbagy despatched young Welshman Rhys Evans in straight games, while fourth seed Sam Todd also won in straight games, ending Scottish interest as he beat unseeded John Meehan.

In the women’s draw the opening match didn’t happen after sixth seed Grace Gear, having survived a five-game tussle yesterday, withdrew injured mid-morning giving top seed Gina Kennedy a walkover into the semi-finals. Gina – who had won all twelve previous meetings against Grace – stays on track for a potential second title as she advances to the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals she’ll meet fourth seed Torrie Malik, last year’s finalist who overcame sixth seed Saran Nghiem in four games. Malik took the lead 11-7 but Nghiem struck back to level 11-7 before Malik took control of the final two games, closing out the win 11-5, 11-4 in 40 minutes.

“It’s great to have Saran back playing full time after her time at University in the states,” said Malik, “we had some great battles in juniors and I’m sure we’ll have some more. It will be tough against Gina tomorrow, but I’m glad I’ve had a couple of matches on this court now, and there will be no pressure on me, I’ll just try to put the things we’ve been working on in training into practice.”

The other women’s semi-final will be between second and third seeds Jasmine Hutton and Lucy Turmel. Both enjoyed comfortable wins, beating Millie Tomlinson – appearing in her 15th Nationals – and Alicia Meade in straight games, both in just over 20 minutes.