3 min readUpdated: Oct 24, 2026 09:52 AM ISTAnahat played the match with a strapping in her right knee, most likely due to an awkward fall in the quarterfinal against Hany. (PSA Photo)It was a bridge too far in the end. Anahat Singh took down eight-time world champion Nour El Sherbeni and her fellow Egyptian Salma Hany to get to the semi-finals, but Sivasangari Subramaniam was always going to be a different kettle of fish.The Malaysian, who has become Anahat’s nemesis on tour, brought up her fourth consecutive win against the 18-year-old to ease into the Silicon Valley Open final. She brushed off a sluggish opening game to win 5-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 in 37 minutes flat.Anahat played the match with a strapping in her right knee, most likely due to an awkward fall in the quarterfinal against Hany. That did not appear to have any bearing on her court movement, however. She made a rollicking start to the match.With Sivasangari lacking the structure that she usually brings to her strokes, the Indian made her pay via a series of venomous drops and boasts. In a far departure from how their Asian Games final meeting panned out, Anahat dictated terms to create six game balls. She converted the second one to take the first game with ease.Sivasangari set her house in order in Game 2, opening up the court with more measured and all-round strokeplay. Anahat hung back far more than she would have liked to. As a result, she was forced to be more inventive with her shots and ended up tinning a fair few. The Malaysian needed no second invitation and wrapped up the game at the first opportunity.Game 3 saw more of the same. Anahat gave glimpses of her sublime use of angles but they were sparse as the world No. 4 continued to peg her back and not allow any room for front-of-court attacking.Anahat has forged comebacks from such positions against top-10 players in the past, but not against Sivasangari, who was just too organised by then to let it happen.Story continues below this adThe third seed kept up the consistency from the back court in the fourth game and her teenaged opponent, though a lot more in the contest in the rallies now, was not threatening enough to spark a turnaround. Facing three match balls, Anahat attempted a low shot off the side wall but only managed to tin it.Nevertheless, the junior world champion bowed out with her best-ever finish at a PSA Gold-level tournament. Sivasangari, meanwhile, made her second straight final in California.“Anahat is very talented, very attacking, very dangerous. She has beaten a lot of the top girls already,” the victor said of world No. 15 Anahat moments after the match.“I started a bit slow, she started strong. But I’m very happy with the way I backed up the first set and finished it in four sets,” Sivasangari added.