Weaver Retains Chestnut Hill Title

US No.1 Olivia Weaver defended her title at the Chestnut Hill Classic after defeating US teammate Marina Stefanoni in the final of the PSA Squash Tour Bronze event in Philadelphia.

The world No.4, who grew up playing at the Philadelphia Cricket Club as a junior, completed a faultless week of squash with an 11-5, 11-7, 11-2 victory over Stefanoni, ranked 44 in the world.

Eighteen months on from her prior success at the 2023 Chestnut Hill Classic, a title victory which at the time was the biggest of Weaver's career, the Philadelphia-born player replicated this feat in dominant style, not dropping a single game all week long.

Top seed Weaver and No.7 seed Stefanoni, who will be teammates at next month's WSF World Team Championships, were meeting for the first time on the PSA Tour, but it took no time for Weaver to assert her dominance as she raced into a 5-0 lead in the first and later converted it by an 11-5 scoreline.

Stefanoni began to find her feet in the second game, attempting to push Weaver into the back two corners whenever possible, but it was Weaver's relentless lines and lengths which never allowed Stefanoni the opportunity to pull together a sustained period of pressure. Despite the 21-year-old saving three game balls, it was Weaver who doubled her advantage in the match.

Cheered on by the Philadelphia Cricket Club home crowd, Weaver only moved from strength to strength in the third game, closing out the match with an inch-perfect cross-court nick and taking home the title after just 26 minutes of action.

"It means everything to me," Weaver said after the match. "This is the club where I learned to play squash. I would not be the person or the player that I am without this amazing club and community. To defend my title, to come through and to perform despite the pressure of being the top seed, I'm so happy.

"I think a big thing I have been focusing on is my consistency. Obviously, being at world No.4, I want to scalp a win off one of those top three players, but another part of that is about constantly raising my level and elevating my game. Coming to a week like this and not dropping a game only adds to my confidence heading to Hong Kong, which I hope I can perform really well in."

The win marks Weaver's ninth career PSA Squash Tour title success and her second of the 2024/25 season, after capturing the Gold-level Silicon Valley Open trophy last month.