PNG junior squash star retains Belgian U115 title

Papua New Guinea's top junior squash player, Timonaliz Alarcos-Kriebisch, has successfully defended her Belgian Junior U15 title after three days of competition at the Belgian Junior Open 2026 in Liege, Belgium.

The 14-year-old defeated France's Ambre Fontan 3-0 in the Girls U15 final yesterday, winning 11-6, 11-8 and 11-9 to retain the title she claimed last year.

Her latest victory has also lifted her to third place in the European U15 girls' rankings.

The Belgian Junior Open is a Silver-level tournament sanctioned by the European Squash Federation. This year's competition attracted 183 entries from across Europe and was played at Squash 22 in Liege.

Alarcos-Kriebisch entered the competition determined to defend her title and produced a strong performance throughout the tournament.

In the group stage, she defeated France's Leonie Masset and Belgium's Sarah Mathieu before facing Dutch player Lara Berntsen. She maintained her winning form to progress to the final, where she overcame Fontan in straight games.

Timonaliz and her family moved from Papua New Guinea to Australia before settling in Denmark several years ago. She continues to compete in European squash tournaments while representing PNG.

Her preparations will now shift to the Canadian and United States junior tournaments next month, followed by the Scottish Juniors and the British Junior Open in January 2027.

PNG Squash Racquets Federation President Lady Anna Togolo said 2027 would be an important year for the young player as she works towards selection for Team PNG at the Pacific Games in Tahiti in July and the Commonwealth Youth Games in Malta in October.

“We acknowledge the continued support of her Danish squash coaching team and coach Thomas, along with her family in Denmark and Port Moresby,” Lady Anna said.

“The goal is Tahiti 2027 and PNG Squash has invested since 2022 in building our juniors for future representation.

“Timonaliz is part of this and we are very pleased to see more juniors developing into future Team PNG representatives,” she said.