2026 PSA Gibraltar Open Provides important platform for Gibraltar players

The 2026 PSA Gibraltar Open delivered another competitive week of squash at the Europa Sports Park, with a strong mix of international players and local entrants testing themselves on the professional stage. The event provided an important platform for Gibraltar’s players to gain exposure against higher-ranked opposition and measure their progress, while also giving up-and-coming players on the professional PSA Challenger Tour a high-quality tournament and venue to improve their world rankings. Running alongside this event was the lower-ranked Satellite event, open to amateurs as well as professionals.
Three club players started in the main event, but all faced tough draws. Ivan Flores faced the number nine seed and eventual finalist, Dylan Roberts. Roberts, who has been climbing the world rankings, was too strong for Flores, beating him despite some outstanding moments of excellence that the crowd has come to expect from Flores. Declan Christie, fresh from his victory in the Gibraltar Padel Open, switched rackets to face Scottish professional Finlay Scott. Christie had beaten Scott last year in a lower-ranked Satellite event and was looking to repeat that victory. He started strongly, taking the first game, but Scott clearly wanted revenge and took the next two. Christie mounted a spirited comeback in the fourth, but was ultimately denied, losing 3–1.
There was a notable milestone in the women’s draw, with club member Sienna Hall Rogers recording her first win on the PSA Tour. Playing against Spaniard Estela Martin, Hall Rogers delivered a commanding performance, beating the Andalusian player 3–0 and progressing to the next round. She then faced number one seed and eventual winner Christina Tartarone, who proved too strong, winning 3–0.
In the women’s draw, Tartarone, made short work of reaching the final without dropping a single game. Her opponent in the final, fourth seed Amelie Haworth (ENG), had to work harder, including a particularly tight semi-final against second seed Karolina Sramkova (CZE), where she fought back from 1–0 and 2–1 down before clinching her place in the final 3–2.
Tartarone took a strong lead in the final, going 2–0 up. Haworth recovered well to win the third 11–9, but Tartarone proved too strong, securing the title 3–1 (11–8, 11–6, 8–11, 11–6).
In the men’s draw, top seed and world top-100 player Rhys Evans, a regular Gibraltar visitor, justified his seeding by reaching the final without dropping a game. Mirroring the women’s draw, his opponent Dylan Roberts also had to weather a tough semi-final, defeating Abdallah Eissa 3–2, with the final game ending in a nail-biting 16–14 tie-break.
The final was characterised by long, exhausting rallies, with Evans resisting a Roberts comeback to take the first game 11–9. He then took a commanding lead in the second at 8–1, converting it 11–3 to go 2–0 up. In the third, Evans again built a strong advantage with punishing rallies, sealing the victory in straight games.
In the Satellite event, both Declan Christie and Sienna Hall Rogers progressed to the semi-finals, where they lost to the brother-and-sister pairing of Ignacio and Montse Fajardo. However, the Fajardos both fell at the final hurdle, with Ona Blasco (ESP) winning the women’s Satellite title and Alasdair Prott (SCO) taking the men’s.