In the final of the Women's Wildcard Playoff, who was played on the 1st of July at the Stade Français, Ella Galova overcame Kara Lincou after a huge battle.
They are typically the kind of things we love to see in professional sport: for almost an hour, Ella Galova and Kara Lincou gave each other a tough time on court - and we did not expect anything else given what was at stake, a spot in the main draw of the Paris Squash 2023, first Platinum event of the 2023/2024 season. After Ella's win, 11-9 in the fifth game, the two young ladies stretched next to each other and talked for a long time. We took part in the conversation for a few minutes ...
KARA LINCOU, when we told her she did not seem too down despite a crual ending: "I'm happy for Ella, we both have the same sponsor, Libre Court. There's a bit of frustration on my side of course, I had a good lead in the fifth game and from then on I didn't play as well as I was before. That's pretty much what happened against Élise Romba a couple of days earlier, maybe I need to look into for next season (laughters)! Neverthless, I don't have huge regrets and I think I played a good match, and anyway you need to know how to accept a tough loss. I went through so many emotions this week, I thought I was out after losing to Élise, and I ended up being very close to making the main draw of a Platinum tournament. Now, I'm going to spend some time with my family and I will support my little sister and my cousin who are competing in the Dutch Junior Open next weekend. Then I will go back to Reunion Island for a few weeks and train with my father before going back to the States (author's note: a few months ago, Kara joined Trinity College). I'd like to play some PSA tournaments next season, but it's not easy when you're studying in the US so I'll see what's possible."
ELLA GALOVA, whom we asked if she realized what had just happened: “Yes, I think so! I did everything I could not to think too much about what was at stake, it was not easy because the match was scheduled at 3pm and the day was very long... I am not sure whether the match was great to watch, but for sure there was some tension and we both expressed ourselves a lot, there was a lot of shouting... I don't want to talk about my gameplan too much (laughters). Let's say I played a lot of crosscourts and boasts, probably too many, I should have played straighter. In the end, I think I got through because I fought, having said that Kara also gave everything she had. Of course it's going to be amazing to play in a Platinum event, even more so if I am on the glass court. We'll see who my opponent is, but anyway she'll be a much stronger player than me on paper so it'll be a great experience. Immediately after the tournament, I will fly to the US to start a 4-year course at Harvard University. It's something I had in mind for some time, and I worked a lot in high school to make it happen. Kind of like Kara, I'll see if it's possible to play PSA tournaments. The ranking points that I'll get in Paris at the end of August will boost my rankin, but as I said I did not want to think about it at all this during the wildcard tournament.”
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