New Zealand Squash Open: Paul Coll triumphs at home, fiancée Nele Gilis takes women’s title

Paul Coll and Nele Gilis won the 2023 New Zealand Open.

The New Zealand Squash Open has seen a fairytale finish with Paul Coll winning the Men’s Open and fiancée Nele Gilis taking the women’s title in Tauranga.

For world number three Coll it was a maiden New Zealand Open title, as he defeated England’s Marwan Elshorbagy in straight games, a New Zealand Festival of Squash media release said.

Contesting the final in front of a pumped-up home crowd at Mercury Arena, the pair played great squash from the outset, moving up the court to play an attacking game.

In the end, Coll was too good at the front of the court taking the pace off the ball to great effect, with the Greymouth local winning in straight games.

“That felt so good, the atmosphere today was wicked, I’ve got so many family and friends here that I didn’t even know were coming,” Coll said.

“I was very happy to do it in three and ecstatic to finally get my name on the NZ Open trophy.

“It’s crazy to have Nele win as well, I really wanted that double win for us. I’m super proud of her, the performance she put in tonight shows real strength of character.

“It’s been a full-on schedule lately but having the support of family and friends here has been amazing so hopefully we can carry this on for another week as we do the World Men’s Teams Championship.”

Coll beat Elshorbagy 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 in 42 minutes.

Nail-biting New Zealand Women’s Open final

Earlier, in the final of the Barfoot and Thompson Women’s Open final, Gilis, from Belgium, took on her sister Tinne.

It was a nail-biting contest early, with the sisters involved in long rallies from the back of court.

Nele was ultimately the more composed of the pair, pulling away after a tight first game to win comfortably in three games.

“This feels absolutely amazing in front of almost a home crowd, I couldn’t have wished for a better event and now I’m really looking forward to enjoying the rest of my time in New Zealand,” she said.

Nele beat Tinne 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 in 51 minutes.

The finals concluded the New Zealand Open, with the WSF Men’s World Teams Championship to begin today.

The championship will be held in Tauranga and features four athletes from each of the 24 competing nations. The draw includes eight of the top ten male athletes in the world.

Commonwealth Games Singles and Mixed Doubles Champion Coll headlines the New Zealand team, joined by brothers Temwa and Lwamba Chileshe, as well as young Auckland athlete Elijah Thomas.