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India’s Anahat Singh produced one of the biggest results of her young squash career by defeating defending champion Tinne Gilis of Belgium in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open in Toronto on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. The 17-year-old won 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 in 36 minutes to reach the women’s semifinals and register her first victory over a top-10 opponent.
Gilis entered the contest as the defending champion and was ranked world No. 7 at the time. Despite the gap in ranking and experience, Anahat held her nerve in a close opening game, edging it 12-10 before taking the next two games 11-9 and 11-9 to complete a straight-games victory.
The scoreline reflected a match in which Anahat did not need a fourth game to finish the job. The opening game was particularly important: taking it gave the Indian teenager a lead against a player accustomed to the late stages of the tournament. She then maintained the pressure to close out the second and third games by the same margin.
Reports described the result as the biggest win of Anahat’s career to that point. It was also her first win against an opponent ranked inside the world’s top 10, a notable milestone for a player still establishing herself on the professional circuit.
Anahat’s quarterfinal performance followed another strong result in Toronto. She had beaten France’s Melissa Alves, who was ranked world No. 20 at the time, in the pre-quarterfinal round. The back-to-back wins showed that her run was built on victories over established international opposition rather than a single favourable draw.
The 2025 Canadian Open was a PSA Tour Silver-level event, with contemporary reports listing a prize purse of US$96,250. Anahat entered the tournament outside the top tier of the rankings, while Gilis was the second seed and defending champion. The result therefore carried significance beyond simply advancing one round: it gave the Indian player a breakthrough win against a leading opponent on a professional tour stage.
Anahat’s progress offered Indian squash followers a clear marker of her development. Winning a three-game match against a top-10 player requires both technical execution and the composure to finish tight games. Her 12-10 opening-game win, followed by two 11-9 finishes, illustrated the importance of converting close moments rather than allowing a higher-ranked opponent to regain control.
The performance also added to the profile of a young player already competing in national and international events. Results of this kind can provide valuable experience against elite opposition and help build confidence for subsequent PSA Tour tournaments. The quarterfinal win did not guarantee a title, but it put Anahat within one match of the final and gave her an opportunity to test herself again against a top-level opponent.
Anahat was scheduled to face England’s Gina Kennedy in the semifinals. Kennedy was ranked world No. 10 and seeded fourth, setting up another demanding test after the win over Gilis. The semifinal would determine whether Anahat could extend her breakthrough run into the championship match.
Whatever the outcome of the next match, the quarterfinal result had already delivered a career milestone: a straight-games win over the defending champion and her first victory against a top-10 player. For Indian squash, it was an encouraging performance from a teenager showing she could compete with some of the sport’s leading names.
