The 2024-25 SDA season, running September to May, delivered one of the most thrilling and diverse campaigns in recent memory, spanning 28 ranking events across North America and featuring over $660,000 in prize money. The action began at the Cynwyd Club with the Philadelphia Women’s Open, where defending champions Kayley Leonard and Maria Elena Ubina survived a five-game battle against Georgina Stoker and Lauren West to defend their title in front of a packed house.
The men’s season also kicked off with high drama in St. Louis, where a boisterous crowd watched Adam Bews and Matt Henderson pull off a heroic comeback from two games down to edge out Jim Bamber and Ashley Davies in a gripping five-game final. That same weekend, Kush Kumar and Yash Bhargava claimed the season’s first CACHE_SEVEN Challenger Tour title at Westchester Country Club, showcasing the rising depth in the challenger field.
Next, the tour moved on to the Maryland Club, which made a very welcome return to the SDA calendar. Hosting its first major pro event since the pandemic at their fabulous new three-court facility, the tournament featured equal prize money for the men’s and women’s draws. Georgina Stoker and Nikki Todd captured the women’s title, while John White and Dave Letourneau steamrolled top seeds Davies and Munro in the men’s final, having saved multiple match balls against Chris Longman and Sam Fenwick to squeak into the final. The win marked the first of two Challenger victories for Letourneau in the 2024/25 season. The tour then shifted to the Onwentsia Mixed Pro event in Lake Forest, Illinois, where Adam Bews and Suzie Pierrepont took top honors. Pierrepont successfully defended her 2023 title in the process.
In mid-October, the tour looked north to Toronto, where the Kay brothers – Jackson and Josh – lit up the Challenger stage with a dominant run to the title, giving Canadian squash fans something to cheer about in the first SDA event in the country in over five years. The tour then moved down to New York for the season’s first major: the Will Hartigan Memorial Big Apple Open. Recently renamed in honor of SDA player and NYAC member Will Hartigan, who passed away in 2024, the event saw a slightly weakened draw with the absence of James Stout and Chris Callis – Callis attending the wedding of former SDA #1 Manek Mathur. With Stout sidelined, Scott Arnold paired with Ryan Cuskelly in what became Cuskelly’s final SDA event before returning to Australia. Zac Alexander and Jim Bamber looked poised to capitalize on the reconfigured draw but fell to the inspired pairing of Sam Khalifa and Kyle Martino in the final.
That same weekend, the NYC Women’s Open took place at the University Club of New York. This long-running event boasted one of the largest purses on the women’s tour and drew a standout field. Leonard/Ubina again faced Stoker/West in a rematch of the Philadelphia final. The match lived up to expectations, culminating in a dramatic fifth game, with Leonard/Ubina saving two match balls before Stoker/West were able to clinch the title on the third. With eight University Club members competing in the draw, the club’s commitment to women’s squash was on full display. The women’s tour then moved immediately to the Heights Casino Women’s Open, where Stoker and Todd swept Leonard and Ubina in the final to claim a dominant victory and Stoker’s third consecutive title of the season.
In Sleepy Hollow, Alexander and Bamber captured their first title of the year with a flawless run through the draw. Top seeds Khalifa and Callis withdrew due to injury, and unseeded duo Clinton Leeuw and Jaymie Haycocks scored a major upset en route to the semifinals. Alexander and Bamber showcased precision and control in the final, capping off a dominant week.
The year closed with the biggest event on the SDA calendar, the CitySquash Briggs Cup, with $75,000 in combined prize money. The event, benefiting the after-school enrichment program CitySquash, delivered fireworks and high drama. On the men’s side, a packed field saw multiple upsets, including a dramatic semifinal where Mike Ferreira and Apawamis Club Head Pro Cameron Pilley came back from 2–1 down and saved five match balls to defeat top seeds Stout and Arnold. Meanwhile, #2 seeds Alexander and Bamber advanced to the final after an unfortunate injury to Sam Khalifa led to a fifth-game withdrawal. In the final, Alexander and Bamber slowed the tempo and used clever shot selection to overcome Ferreira and Pilley in four games. On the women’s side, Kayley Leonard, a product of the Apawamis Junior Program, and Maria Elena Ubina were untouchable, defeating Pierrepont and Hansen in a straight-games final. Notably absent were Stoker/West due to coaching commitments at the US Junior Open.The Briggs Cup also marked a historic milestone: for the first time a team of two CitySquash alumni, Chris Fernandez and Kevin Guadarrama, competed, losing a competitive first round to Kumar and Wil Hagen.
The new year opened with the Pittsburgh Challenger and the MFS Boston ProAm. Canadians Justin Todd and Cole Osborne impressed with a title run in Pittsburgh, while in Boston, Stout/Arnold finally added the prestigious Leonard Bernheimer Cup to their résumés. Leonard and Ubina continued their dominant form, winning their fourth MFS ProAm title and breaking Stoker’s win streak to solidify their No. 1 ranking.
Both tours then moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, for the North American Open. In the women’s draw, fourth seeds Todd and Minerson stunned the field to win the title, defeating Stoker/West in the semifinals and then #3 seeds Katie Tutrone and Line Hansen in the final. Meanwhile, Stout/Arnold ran the table in the men’s draw, winning back-to-back majors with a commanding win over Alexander/Bamber.
In February, the CACHE_SEVEN Challenger Tour resumed at the University Club. Rising stars Daelum Mawji and Devan McLaughlin dropped just one game en route to their first UCNY Challenger title. Following that event, top players turned their attention to the David C. Johnson Jr. Memorial tournament. In front of the tour’s liveliest crowd, Stout/Arnold delivered one of their best performances, defeating Alexander/Bamber in a five-game final at Heights Casino. The match saw tactical brilliance and shot-making from both teams, with the fourth game swinging back and forth before Alexander/Bamber edged it to force a decider. In the fifth, Stout/Arnold pulled away with relentless pressure and execution, marking Stout’s fifth Johnson title, Arnold’s third straight, and their third consecutive title together. As winter continued, the action moved west to Denver for the Hashim Khan. In a twist to the season, Todd/Osborne upset top seeds Stout/Arnold in a contentious five-game battle. The newly formed team of Sam Khalifa and Cameron Pilley ultimately claimed the trophy, pushing Pilley into the top 7 and returning Khalifa to World No. 1.
With spring approaching, players headed to Cleveland, Ohio, for the Tavern Club Open. Fast-paced 11-point scoring returned, and the event marked a brief comeback for doubles legend Gary Waite, who partnered with Chris Walker for a first-round loss. Top seeds Ashely Davies and Jim Bamber went on to win the title, giving Bamber his third victory of the season. The R&TC Open wrapped up the major calendar with an unforgettable final. With Stout/Arnold absent, Stout awaiting the birth of his second child, Sam Khalifa and Chris Callis were elevated to top seeds and faced #2 seeds Alexander/Bamber in the final. After going up two games, Alexander/Bamber looked set to close it out, but Khalifa/Callis stormed back, winning the third and fourth comfortably. In the fifth, down 10–7, the top seeds reeled off eight outright winners, with Khalifa sealing the match with a flawless trademark backhand drop from deep in the back left. The win was particularly poignant for Callis, who had recently returned to play after undergoing treatment for testicular cancer.
After a quiet February and March for the women, they concluded their season in Los Angeles at the LocalWorld Open, where Meredeth Quick and Suzie Pierrepont finally broke through to win their first title together after two prior final losses. It marked Pierrepont’s fourth LA title and Quick’s first. On the men’s side, Buffalo provided a fitting finale to the regular season in upstate New York. Stout/Arnold overcame another slow start in the final, coming back from two games down to defeat Adam Bews and Matt Henderson. A feisty third game nearly saw Bews/Henderson take the title in three but the #1 team clawed their way back into the back before running out a one sided fifth game win. The victory confirmed Arnold’s year-end World No. 1 ranking.
The CACHE_SEVEN Challenger Tour wrapped up a busy second season with several standout performances. Designed to grow the sport and offer more competitive opportunities, the tour introduced new talent throughout the year. At the Creek Club, Muran and Kumar won the title after a tough final against surprise finalists Max Finkelstein and Nikil Iyer, names to watch in the coming seasons. In NYC, Daelum Mawji and Charles Culhane captured the NYAC Challenger title, while at Philadelphia Country Club, Chris Longman and Sam Fenwick came back from 0–2 down to lift the trophy, capping a great year for the Challenger circuit.
Across the season, Jim Bamber emerged as the most consistent male performer, reaching eight finals, six with Zac Alexander and two with Ashley Davies, and winning three titles. Georgina Stoker led the women’s tour with three SDA titles and two national championships. Kayley Leonard and Maria Elena Ubina, with titles in Boston, Briggs, and Philadelphia, finished tied as World No. 1s while James Stout and Scott Arnold’s four victories makes them the most successful men’s team of the season. With rising stars, thrilling rivalries, and inspiring comebacks, the 2024–25 season will be remembered for its resilience and milestones, and it sets the stage for a landmark 2025–26 campaign.