Jerome Aw Claims Maiden National Title as Au Yeong Wai Yhann Makes History with Ninth Straight Championship

12 July 2026

Singapore: Singapore has crowned two deserving National Squash Champions, with Jerome Aw winning his maiden men’s title after a sensational comeback, while Au Yeong Wai Yhann etched her name further into the history books by capturing a record ninth consecutive women’s National Championship at the MARIGOLD Singapore Squash Championships.

The men’s final delivered a fitting climax to the championships as the 23-year-old spexPotential athlete battled back from the brink to defeat defending champion Aaron Liang in five games.

After taking the opening game, Aw found himself trailing 1-2 and appeared headed for defeat when Liang surged to a 5-0 lead in the fourth game. Refusing to surrender, Aw drew energy from the packed gallery, encouraging the crowd to raise the volume as he mounted an inspired comeback. From 4-8 down, he reeled off seven of the next eight points to steal the fourth game 11-9 before carrying that momentum into the decider.

Aw raced to a commanding 6-0 lead in the fifth game and never relinquished control, closing out the match 11-5 after 58 minutes to lift his first National Championship title.

Reflecting on the turning point of the match, Aw said, “I wasn’t thinking about the end. I just wanted to stay in the game as long as I could with Aaron, enjoy the struggle and the challenge, and give the crowd a good match. Winning was a bonus for me.”

The victory completed a remarkable turnaround for Aw, who finished runner-up at last year’s championships.

“I feel so thankful and blessed to win my first National Title. Playing Aaron is always so tough. We’re good friends and have so much respect for each other, and I’m glad we had a clean match with a lot of sportsmanship,” he added.

In the women’s final, spexScholar Au Yeong Wai Yhann successfully defended her title with a composed straight-games victory over first-time finalist Vicky Lai.

Lai, who recently completed her first year at Cornell University, matched the defending champion throughout an entertaining opening game before narrowly losing the tie-break. Au Yeong’s experience then proved decisive as she patiently controlled the rallies, capitalised on Lai’s attacking errors, and completed the victory with identical 11-5 scorelines in the second and third games.

“I know all these girls are very attacking-minded. They like to go short quite early, but I told myself to focus on my own game, find my targets and go from there,” said Au Yeong.

She added, “The Nationals is really the one you want to win, and I’m very happy to come through in three games today. It’s been a while since I played Vicky, so it was a bit challenging and I had to adapt to the court, but I’m very happy to come through and win my ninth title.”

The victory sees Au Yeong become the first player in Singapore squash history to win nine consecutive National Championship titles, surpassing the previous record of eight straight titles that she had shared with Joannah Yue, who won from 2002 to 2009. Yue remains the most decorated women’s National Champion overall with 10 titles, having also won in 2012 and 2014.

While both champions enjoyed career-defining moments on court, their celebrations remained modest. Aw headed to his brother’s home for a family dinner, while Au Yeong celebrated with her grandmother and family.

Attention now turns to the international stage. Au Yeong departs tomorrow for Tasmania, Australia, to compete on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour, while Aw will continue his momentum at the Henri Charpentier SGCC PSA Challenger at Serangoon Gardens Country Club from 22 to 26 July 2026.

RESULTS – FINALS AND SEMIS

Men’s Open

FINAL    : [1] Jerome Aw  bt [2] Aaron Liang                        11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5

SEMIS   : [1] Jerome Aw bt [5/8] Rehaan Singh                  11-1, 11-9, 11-5

SEMIS   : [2] Aaron Liang bt [3/4] Samuel Kang                  11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6

Women’s Open

FINAL    : [1] Au Yeong Wai Yhann bt [3/4] Vicky Lai              12-10, 11-5, 11-5

SEMIS   : [1] Au Yeong Wai Yhann bt [3/4] Ong Zhe Sim                11-8, 11-6, 11-5

SEMIS   : [3/4] Vicky Lai bt [2] Au Yeong Wai Iynn              4-11, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10

Full results, draws and information on all other local categories can be found here:https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/tournament/a7a4ec5c-7160-4eee-ac5b-9dda4088507e