Tesni Defeats top seed to Claim 2024 Monte Carlo Classic Title

Karakal's Tesni Murphy claimed her second career title on the PSA Squash Tour yesterday, beating top seed Sarah-Jane Perry in straight games at the Monte Carlo Classic final.

Although good friends off-court and room-mates for the event, the two players are staunch adversaries when match-day comes around, and the rivalry ramps up a notch when there is a PSA title up for grabs in Monaco this week.

Both former finalists in Monaco, the pair put their frenship to one side and treated the crown to three close games, before the Welsh No.1 managed to come out on top 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 12-10) and get her hands on the silverware.

Only once in the first two games had there been more than two points between the players, but Tesni took them both 11-9, and wrestled control of game three, racing to a 6-2 lead. 6-2 became 8-4, but Sarah-Jane was not about to throw in the towel, and it took 3 game balls of battling, hard squash for Tesni to close out the match 12-10.

Addressing the crowd after collecting her trophy, Tesni revealed how much it meant to end the week on top. “It means a lot,” she said. “I think it’s pretty well-known that I've only won one title in my career, so I think this week I was really looking for a title. It’s never been the most important thing to win loads of titles for me, but at the same time it feels very special.

“Big smile on my face, I've really enjoyed this week. I'm just trying to enjoy my squash again. It makes me play better so I was pretty happy with how it went.

She continued, “SJ is obviously a great player, we've had some insane battles over the years so I was expecting a big one today and that’s what it was, so yeah, really happy.”

Congratulations Tesni. Great result!