Hong Kong squash No 1 Ho Tze-lok cracks world’s top 30 with surprise run to Cleveland Classic semis
- ‘No one, not even myself, expected me to make the semi-finals,’ says Ho, who beat world No 8 Sarah-Jane Perry of Britain in the last 16
- The 27-year-old Hongkonger also now among top four Asians in the world rankings, in all-important race for Asian Games singles seedings
Hong Kong’s No 1 squash player Ho Tze-lok had to change her flights back home twice after a surprising run to a first silver-level career semi-final at the Cleveland Classic last weekend.
Ho’s performance at the event moved her up to 28th in the world rankings, which were updated on Monday – the same day she finally arrived back in the city.
“No one, not even myself, expected me to make the semis,” said the 27-year-old Ho, whose previous best at a silver event was the last 16. There are four levels of events on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world tour – platinum, gold, silver, and bronze.
“They expected me to go home after the second round match against Sarah-Jane Perry [the world No 8], but I won, then changed flight to the next day, which was fortunate because there was no flight that day, and I won the next round as well.”
The PSA called it “the biggest shock of round two” AT the Cleveland Classic when Ho, then ranked 36TH, upset the fourth seed and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Perry in the last 16, winning in five sets 11-3, 7-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 in 51 minutes.
Ho’s “amazing journey” continued in the US with a quarter-final victory over world No 14 Tesni Evans of Wales in three sets – 11-9, 11-6, 11-2 – before she fell to the eventual winner Georgina Kennedy 11-3, 11-2, 11-3.
