Day Five of the 2026 World Squash Masters Championships continued to live up to the hype, with exciting matches taking place across all three venues in Perth, Australia.
With Round of 16 and Quarter-Final matches underway, it was a day full of exciting rallies, dramatic comebacks and home crowd victories, with the players leaving nothing behind on court.
Among the matches, Australia’s former World No.49 Matthew Karwalski [1] defeated South Africa’s Jimmy Van Niekerk [17/32] 3-1 to secure his place in the Men’s 40+ semi-finals.
Despite the match being decided in four games, it was played with high intensity throughout, with Van Niekerk refusing to let the Australian escape on the scoreboard.
With the No.1 seed taking the opener, it seemed the match would go one way. However, Van Niekerk had other ideas, claiming the second 12-10, followed by an enormous roar from the supportive South African crowd.
However, despite the reaction from his supporting team, the momentum began to shift back towards Karwalski, with the former World No.49 ramping up the tempo as he closed out the third game 11-6.
From there, Karwalski was able to take a firm grip on the match, closing out the final game 11-8.
“I’m feeling good, Jimmy [Van Niekerk] was a very tough opponent today,” said Karwalski.
“The match was a bit tighter than I thought it was going to be, but he played very well and it feels nice to be able to pick up the victory and move into the semi-finals.
“It felt like there were a lot more South African’s watching and supporting today from the crowd, but it is was a great match and it was so nice to see so many people get behind us in the match today.”
Joining him in the next round will be former World No.60 Zoe Petrovansky, who charged into the semi-finals in front of a home crowd, defeating Mexico’s Blanca Nelly Bonifacio Diaz [9/16] in the Women’s 35+ draw.
Petrovansky’s win wasn’t the only Australian victory in today’s Women’s 35+ draw, with Samantha Foyle [2], Heather Pilley [3/4] and Kasey Bonato [3/4] also scoring victories over compatriot Tracy Kimble [5/8], South Africa’s Gill Van Vlaanderen [5/8] and Hong Kong China’s Hei Ting Leung [9/16], respectively, to confirm an all-Australian semi-final.
Meanwhile, Squashworld Mirrabooka once again delivered plenty of drama and almost saw a seeded upset in the Men’s 70+.
Cayman Islands’ John Macrury [1] narrowly avoided a shock exit after surviving a five-game battle, including three tie-breaks, to defeat South Africa’s Sjors Gouweloos [9/16].
With the battle getting started from the very first point, the No.1 seed was shown exactly what was in store for the rest of the match, as he edged past his opponent to claim the opener 12-10.
Moving into the second, the battle continued, but it was Gouweloos who took control of proceedings, with the South African winning 11-6, 11-8 to take the lead.
With pressure mounting on the No.1 seed, things didn’t ease, with Gouweloos pushing his opponent to a second tie-break. However, despite the pressure, Macrury was able to hold on, winning the fourth 13-11.
Moving into the fifth with the scores tied, it seemed the momentum had begun to shift back in favour of the No.1 seed. Nonetheless, Macrury was pushed to the very end before scoring the victory 12-10 to reach tomorrow’s Men’s 70+ quarter-finals.
On Court One at Squashworld Mirrabooka, spectators were treated to a performance from home crowd favourite and Western Australian native Sue Hillier [1], who impressed once again with a straight-game victory over South Africa’s Janine Maureen Talbot [9/16] as she continues her search for a fourth World Masters title.
Belmont Squash Centre also entertained on Day Five, with Australia’s former World No.45 Steven Finitsis [3/4] knocking out Ukraine’s No.1 Valerii Fedoruk [5/8] in straight games in the Men’s 40+ draw.
In the Women’s 55+ draw, Australia’s Sarah Nelson [3/4] booked her place in tomorrow’s quarter-finals with a victory over compatriot Kathy Conquergood [9/16], coming from behind to beat her 3-1.
Spain’s Guillermo Pedernera [3/4] also powered into the next round, defeating India’s Abishek Laxminarayan [5/8] 11-8, 11-4, 11-7.
The 2026 World Squash Masters Championships will return for Day Six tomorrow, Friday 4 September, with play beginning across all three venues at 10:00am (GMT+8).
Action from the glass court at Karrinyup Shopping Centre, Court 5 at Squashworld Mirrabooka, and Court 2 at the Belmont Squash Centre will be shown live and free on WORLDSQUASH.TV.
Click here to view all the results from Day Five
Click here to view the schedule for Day Six
For the latest World Squash news, follow World Squash on Facebook, Instagram, Threads,TikTok, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) or subscribe to the World Squash Newsletter.