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CIB PSA World Tour Finals |
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CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2023
Men's Finals
20 - 25 Jun
Cairo, Egypt, $202,500 |
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POOL STAGE
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CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2023
Women's Finals
20 - 25 Jun
Cairo, Egypt, $202,500 |
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POOL STAGE
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Day 6:
Gohar And Asal Make History With CIB PSA World Tour
Finals Victories
Egypt’s Nouran Gohar and Mostafa Asal were victorious on finals day at
the CIB PSA World Tour Finals, with the pair both making history in
their own way as the 2022-2023 PSA World Tour season came to a close at
the EDNC SODIC in Cairo, Egypt.
Gohar secured her second CIB PSA World Tour Finals crown, after winning
the event back in 2020-2021 as well. She defeated World No.3 and bitter
rival Hania El Hammamy in a record-breaking contest, which lasted for
130 minutes.
The match enters the history books as the longest ever recorded women’s
match on the PSA World Tour, eclipsing the previous record - held by
Mexico’s Samantha Teran and USA’s Latasha Khan in the 2008 Liberty Bell
Open - by 10 minutes.
Matches between Gohar and El Hammamy now account for three of the top 10
after a 107-minute epic at the El Gouna International and a 105-minute
battle at the PSA World Championships, all within the past two months.
The opening game of this contest went to sudden death, with the World
No.3 holding the early advantage as she took it 11-10. The pair then
shared the next two games, with El Hammamy in the lead again after
three.
However, ‘the Terminator’ would not be denied her second CIB PSA World
Tour Finals crown. She won the fourth game comfortably, before the fifth
game went on for almost 45 minutes. On several occasions on match ball,
Gohar thought she had got the job done, celebrating windy, albeit
prematurely, as the video referee to give a ‘Yes Let’. In the end,
though, she managed to secure the victory, winning 12-10 in the fifth
after a monumental 130 minutes of action.
“It was so hard out there,” said Gohar.
“All credit to Hania, she always gives it a fight and if it wasn’t her,
I don’t think we could play a match like this. A big match requires two
big players and two fighters and she is one.
“I couldn’t have done it without my family and my team here. They were
incredible, all of them had a heart attack during that! The crowd also
really pushed me really hard today, so thank you so much to them.”
In the men’s final, World No.4 Mostafa Asal has become only the second
man after Peter Nicol in 1999, 2000 and 2001 to win three CIB PSA World
Tour Finals trophies on the bounce after he took out top seed Diego
Elias by an 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 scoreline.
It was a scrappy match which gave the referees plenty to do, with a
number of decisions throughout. Elias had succumbed to Asal in their
Group A clash earlier this week, in what was also a match played out
under controversial circumstances.
The final was no different, and it was the ‘Peruvian Puma’ who took the
opening game as he looked to become the first South American to get his
hands on the prestigious trophy. But he cut an increasingly frustrated
figure as the match wore on, with Asal eventually grinding out the win
in four games to secure his 12th PSA title and his fourth of the season.
“It means a lot, you know. Without them, without my fans, my team, my
partners.. Thank you guys for coming today,” Asal said.
“It is unreal [matching Peter Nicol’s achievement]. I couldn’t talk
straight away after. It was tough today. Diego is a fantastic player and
it was tough in all the situations today. He is one of the best players
in the world.
“For sure, my father, mother and coach, Mohamed Elkeiy, they have been
through all of it. Since El Gouna, I want to thank him a lot! After the
ban, it was so tough for me, I am proud of everyone who has my back!”
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2022-2023 brings the curtain down on the
PSA World Tour campaign, with the 2023-2024 PSA World Tour season set to
begin in August.
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Day 5
Elias Becomes First South American to Reach CIB PSA
World Tour Finals Title Decider
World No.2 Diego Elias has become the first South American to reach the
title decider of the season-ending CIB PSA World Tour Finals after the
Peruvian got the better of two-time winner Mohamed ElShorbagy earlier
tonight at Cairo’s EDNC SODIC.
Elias, who finished top of Group A in the men’s event, took a
comfortable first game against the World No.3, hitting with purpose into
the front corners and cutting the ball in effectively to nullify
ElShorbagy.
ElShorbagy was equal to his opponent for much of the game as his attacks
began to pay off, but Elias showed a masterful defence game when
required, lifting the ball away from the reach of the Englishman to
alleviate the pressure. He was able to pull away from the mid-way stage,
sealing an 11-5, 11-6 win to reach the 28th PSA final of his career and
his eighth of the season.
“I’m very happy with my performance today after a tough week and a tough
season,” Elias said afterwards.
“I’m happy I can be in another final. It’s always tough playing Mohamed,
we’re very good friends and I think the last five or six times it’s been
one win each. Today was my turn.
“I’ve played this tournament four or five times and I’m always tired
after a long season. It’s very tough playing against the best players in
the world day after day and I’ve never been past the groups. I’m happy I
was mentally strong this week and hopefully I can keep going tomorrow.”
Elias’s opponent will be defending champion Mostafa Asal, who outclassed
World No.1 Ali Farag to bring an end to Farag’s 22-match unbeaten run,
which had seen him win four tournaments in a row.
Asal - who beat Elias in a scrappy Group A contest earlier in the week -
ultimately finished second in the group, ensuring he would take on Farag
in a repeat of the El Gouna International final earlier this month,
which Farag won. But the World No.4 was sensational tonight against
Farag, dominating proceedings and overpowering his fellow Egyptian in
one of the finest performances of his career to date to win 11-2, 11-5.
“It feels amazing to play in front of this crowd,” said Asal, who is
aiming to become the first man since Peter Nicol in 2001 to win the
World Tour Finals three seasons in a row.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow for sure against Diego. He’s one of the
best players on tour, I think it’s a good final for everyone, a spicy
final. I’m super proud. I have no fear about anyone on tour. I’m just
playing my squash, I’m believing in myself that I am one of the best, if
not the best, players in the world.”
World No.1 Nouran Gohar and World No.3 Hania El Hammamy will renew their
rivalry in the women’s final following respective wins against World
Champion Nour El Sherbini and World No.6 Nour El Tayeb.
Gohar hadn’t beaten El Sherbini in her three previous attempts,
including in the final of the PSA World Championships last month, but
fought back from 8-5 down in the third game to win a captivating
contest, booking a place in her 42nd PSA final and her 10th of a
trophy-laden season.
“Usually they say I show little emotion on court, but I was very
emotional today,” said Gohar, who won the 2020-21 World Tour Finals.
“Firstly, I want to say how great Nour is as a competitor. She shocked
me completely the last two times and she is one of the main reasons I
keep coming back to improve and work on my weaknesses. Sometimes it’s
not so great to compete against her, but I enjoyed this one for sure.”
As the final match of the women’s PSA World Tour season, it is fitting
that Gohar and El Hammamy will contest the final here in Cairo. The pair
have met seven times already during the campaign, with three wins
apiece.
Two of their last three matches have lasted over 100 minutes, while they
have already played in the group stage of this season’s World Tour
Finals, with El Hammamy winning 2-1 on that occasion. El Hammamy earned
her spot in the title decider after beating El Tayeb in a repeat of the
2019-20 edition, in which El Hammamy triumphed.
“Nour has been playing this week with an injury that she’s been carrying
for some time,” said El Hammamy.
“I admire her and she inspires me in so many ways, from giving birth to
coming back and reaching the top, facing all the injuries she’s been
facing and finding courage and motivation to come on court and play this
way. I have huge respect for her.”
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals will take place on June 25 and play starts
at 21:00 (GMT+3). The action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV and the channels of PSA’s
broadcast partners.
The format will revert to best of five scoring used at most other
tournaments on the PSA World Tour.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament website or
follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter or Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
and
SQUASHTV.
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Day 4
El Tayeb Battles Through Injury to Reach Semis of CIB
PSA World Tour Finals
Nour El Tayeb (Left)
Egypt’s World No.6 Nour El Tayeb has reached the last four of the CIB
PSA World Tour Finals for the first time in three years after she put in
a gutsy performance to overcome New Zealand’s Joelle King in their Group
B clash tonight at Cairo’s EDNC SODIC.
El Tayeb - a runner-up at the 2019-20 edition of the season-ending
tournament - has been struggling with a hamstring injury during this
event and has sported heavy strapping on her leg throughout all three of
her matches so far.
The 30-year-old began the day at the bottom of Group B, but following an
11-10, 11-8 victory over World No.4 King, who was nursing an ankle
problem of her own, she has taken second place in the group to book her
place in the semi-finals.
“This whole tournament means so much, I want to play well here to finish
the season well,” said El Tayeb.
“Everyone in this group is probably feeling something, so it [her leg]
didn’t make me feel bad. Joelle wasn’t moving well because of her ankle.
I’m happy to be in the semi-finals of this tournament again, it’s very
special.
“I tried to use all of my brain since I couldn’t use all of my body. I
tried to focus and trusted my skill.”
El Tayeb will take on Group A winner Hania El Hammamy in the next round
after the World No.3 recovered from a nervy start to beat Belgium’s Nele
Gilis, winning 11-9, 11-8.
Their match will be a repeat of the 2019-20 tournament, with El Hammamy
prevailing 3-2 in that fixture. El Hammamy’s win saw her finish on 11
points, two ahead of second placed Nouran Gohar, who had already
qualified for the semis following her win over USA’s Olivia Fiechter
last night.
“I had a bad start, I was playing shots into the floor, so I tried to
push myself mentally and to be sharper,” said El Hammamy.
Hania El Hammamy
“I wanted to make it tough for her in the end even if I lost it. Gladly,
I was able to come back from being down in the first and win it. I tried
to tell myself to dig in and not try to force things.”
World Champion Nour El Sherbini took top spot in Group B following her
11-3, 11-4 win against England’s Georgina Kennedy and will take on Gohar
next. It will be the first time since the 2020-21 World Tour Finals that
El Sherbini and Gohar have played each other in a match that isn’t a
title decider - ending a run of 10 straight final meetings between the
pair.
In the men’s event, World No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy took second place in
Group B after overcoming World No.5 Paul Coll in a straight shootout for
semi-final qualification.
ElShorbagy, who had been struggling with an adductor injury during
yesterday’s match against World No.1 Ali Farag, came out with an
attacking game plan which saw him go for the kill every time the
opportunity presented itself.
Mohamed ElShorbagy
ElShorbagy utilised two successful Power Plays - a new rule bring
trialled at this season’s tournament which gives the winner of the rally
two points if they called for the Power Play - at the back end of each
game to take an 11-8, 11-10 win.
“Any time you play Paul it’s going to be tough,” said ElShorbagy.
“You could see after the first game he came back very well, but I kept
myself interested and I was always two points behind. I felt if I stayed
like this I could sneak in a Power Play. If I lost it I would have had
no Power Plays in the third game and he still had two, so it was risky.”
ElShorbagy will go up against top seed Diego Elias in the semi-finals,
with the Peruvian taking first place in Group A following Mostafa Asal’s
defeat to fellow Egyptian tonight.
Asal knew he only required a single game to qualify for the semis and
took that with relative ease. From there, Asal took his foot off the gas
and went for an array of spectacular winners with mixed success as
Hesham came back to take the win.
“In the first game I put too much pressure on myself,” said Hesham.
Mazen Hesham
“I’m looking forward to next season and hopefully I can stay injury free
and push the way I want and get to the final of these events. I think my
body has been my biggest weakness and now my head, so I’m working on
both.”
Top spot in Group B was already confirmed following No.8 seed Tarek
Momen’s withdrawal through injury, which handed Farag first place in the
group. Farag will take on Asal in the last four, a repeat of the El
Gouna International final from earlier this month, which Farag won.
The semi-finals of the CIB PSA World Tour Finals will take place
tomorrow (June 24) and play starts at 20:00 (GMT+3). The action will be
shown live on
SQUASHTV and the channels of PSA’s
broadcast partners.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament website or
follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter or Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
and
SQUASHTV.
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Day 3
Top Seeds Elias and Gohar Qualify for Semis of CIB PSA
World Tour Finals
No.1 seeds Diego Elias and Nouran Gohar have booked their places in the
last four of the CIB PSA World Tour Finals after they defeated Frenchman
Victor Crouin and USA’s Olivia Fiechter, respectively, at the EDNC SODIC
in Cairo tonight.
World No.2 Elias moved to the summit of Group A in the men’s event
following an 11-9, 11-7 win over World No.7 Crouin. It was only their
second match on the PSA Tour following a 76-minute epic during May’s
British Open, which went the way of Elias.
That display from the Peruvian means he sits on nine points, two ahead
of No.4 seed Mostafa Asal despite his defeat to the Egyptian last night.
Elias will finish top of Group A if Asal loses out to No.6 seed Mazen
Hesham tomorrow, a result which would see Hesham join Elias in the last
four.
“He’s [Crouin] very tough and is improving in every tournament and
playing great squash." said Elias, who has qualified for the semi-finals
here for the first time.
"I'm just happy to win in two games here because we played a very tough
one at the British Open.
“Today was very different. Yesterday was very tough - it's always very
tough against Mostafa. He's such a good squash player but has another
side that's very tough to play against when there's a lot of contact.”
World No.1 Ali Farag has also secured his place in the semi-finals after
he came back from a game down to beat two-time winner Mohamed ElShorbagy.
It was their 28th meeting on the PSA Tour, with ElShorbagy holding a
narrow 14-13 lead in their head-to-head record coming into the match,
but Farag was able to level that up courtesy of a 9-11, 11-5, 11-3
victory.
“I hate playing against Mohamed,” said Farag, who has now won 22 matches
in a row as well as four tournaments on the bounce.
“From the first game we were playing long rallies like we were at the
back end of a crucial game. I could see him breathing hard and he kept
on pushing. I was playing the rallies well but he was the one coming out
the winner. Thankfully, I had my brother in my corner and we agreed to
cut down the angles, especially on the forehand side because he is
lethal on the volley."
ElShorbagy was struggling with an adductor injury that has plagued him
since March and he will hope to recover in time for his clash with No.5
seed Paul Coll tomorrow. The Englishman and the Kiwi will face off for
the chance to join Farag in the semi-finals, with Coll going second in
Group B following an 11-6, 11-3 win over No.8 seed Tarek Momen.
In the women’s event, Gohar sealed her place in the last four for a
third season in a row, beating World No.9 Fiechter by an 11-3, 11-5
scoreline, and she sits at the summit of Group A on nine points.
Top spot in the group will be hers if arch-rival Hania El Hammamy -
currently second in the group - slips up against Belgium’s Nele Gilis
tomorrow.
“I’m obviously very happy to qualify for the semis and it’s good that I
get a rest day tomorrow as well,” said World No.1 Gohar.
“It’s a good feeling when you win at the end. I’m very happy, Olivia is
a very tricky player and we play together in the US sometimes. It’s
tricky to play with someone you train with, but I’m happy with the way I
played today.”
Gohar will be joined in the semi-finals by World Champion Nour El
Sherbini, who defeated New Zealand’s Joelle King in a comfortable 11-3,
11-4 victory. King was playing with an ankle injury and El Sherbini took
full advantage as she dominated the match.
El Sherbini’s next opponent will be England’s Georgina Kennedy, who
squeezed past Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb - who sported heavy strapping around
her right thigh - to go second in the group. El Sherbini only needs to
win a solitary game against the World No.8 to secure top spot.
“It’s very obvious that Joelle is struggling with her movement and she
is not playing near her best,” said El Sherbini afterwards.
“I was trying not to think about it because it’s hard to play any player
who has an injury, you don’t know if they’re going to stop or keep
going. I didn’t want to give her any cheap points. I wanted to keep my
momentum going and I’m happy to win this match 2-0 without dropping a
game.”
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals continues tomorrow (June 23) and play
starts at 19:30 (GMT+3). The action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament website or
follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter or Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
and
SQUASHTV.
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Day 2
El Hammamy Beats World No.1 Gohar on Day Two of CIB PSA
World Tour Finals
World No.3 Hania El Hammamy ended a three-match losing run against World
No.1 Nouran Gohar on day two of the CIB PSA World Tour Finals to move to
the summit of Group A in the women’s event.
Held at Cairo’s EDNC SODIC, the CIB PSA World Tour Finals features the
top eight male and female players on the CIB Road to Egypt Standings,
with points for the standings on offer at all PSA World Tour events
throughout the 2022-23 season. The group stage uses a round robin,
best-of-three games format as players bid to qualify for the knockout
stages.
El Hammamy – the 2019-20 World Tour Finals champion – is on the verge of
qualification for the last four after she came back from a game down to
defeat Gohar by a 10-11, 11-10, 11-4 scoreline.
“I think I should be disappointed that I haven’t been able to get more
wins against her since January,” said El Hammamy.
“But I’m definitely trying to end this season on a high with some good
performances like tonight, hopefully I can keep playing like this for
the rest of the tournament. I want to start with a new head to head
[record] against her next season.
“If I want to win the tournament it doesn’t matter if I’m first or
second in the group. I have to be able to win every match against every
player, so I’m just focused on playing my best squash and trying to
satisfy myself a little bit before the end of the season.”
The other match in Group A saw Belgium’s Nele Gilis claim her first win
at the World Tour Finals courtesy of an 11-10, 4-11, 11-6 win against
USA’s Olivia Fiechter.
“It was really tough, I didn’t know when to start warming up,” said
Gilis, whose match ended close to one o’clock in the morning.
“I was definitely feeling it, I was a bit tired and my legs were on
survival mode. I’m very happy to get my first win at the World Tour
Finals.”
It’s all to play for in terms of qualification, with all four players
still able to reach the semi-finals. El Hammamy is currently in the
driving seat though as she tops the group with seven points, meaning a
win over Gilis in her final group match will see her qualify. Gohar is
second with five points.
New Zealand’s World No.4 Joelle King won her opening match in Group B,
navigating the discomfort of an ankle injury as she came from behind to
beat England’s Georgina Kennedy 5-11, 11-8, 11-9. King is second in
Group B behind World No.1 Nour El Sherbini, who tops the group due to
having a higher percentage of points won.
In the men’s event, defending champion Mostafa Asal ended the day top of
Group B following a 90-minute contest with World No.2 Diego Elias, which
he won 10-11, 11-7, 12-10.
It was their first meeting since December’s Hong Kong Open final, where
Asal came back from two games down to take the trophy, and it was a
scrappy encounter with a number of traffic issues throughout.
Asal, who received two conduct strokes for impeding Elias’s movement
unfairly, said: “It’s always controversial between me and Diego. It was
a little bit unfair towards me today, I got a conduct stroke for
grabbing the racket and I didn’t do that at all.
“There were a few mistakes but I’m happy to go through it, I’m learning
from all of this. I was in a situation today which was harsh and there
were similar decisions towards him. I’m trying to deal better with the
referees, you can’t continue squash like this.”
Meanwhile, Egypt’s World No.8 Mazen Hesham got his first win at this
event, beating Frenchman Victor Crouin 11-7, 11-6. Asal tops the group
on seven points, with Elias second on five and Hesham behind him on
four.
It’s a battle between Asal, Elias and Hesham for the semi-final spots,
with Crouin’s attempts to qualify for the last four coming to an end. A
2-0 win for Hesham over Asal and a victory for Elias over Crouin would
see Asal miss out on a spot in the semis, meaning he will have to be on
his mettle despite his current position at the summit of the group.
“I’m very happy with the way I performed today,” Hesham said.
“Yesterday I wasn’t very happy with the errors I made at the crucial
points. I’m trying to evolve and get better, but it’s going to take some
time. I’m very happy to get my first win here and who knows, maybe I can
win the next one and be in the semi-finals.”
In Group B, two-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy began his campaign with
a comfortable 11-6, 11-4 win over World No.9 Tarek Momen, who was a late
call-up to the event following the withdrawal of ElShorbagy’s brother,
Marwan, due to injury.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament website or
follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter or Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
and
SQUASHTV.
|
Day 1
El Sherbini and Farag Claim Opening Day Wins at CIB
PSA World Tour Finals
Nour El Sherbini
World Champions Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag claimed opening day wins
at the CIB PSA World Tour Finals as they came from behind to beat World
No.6 Nour El Tayeb and World No.5 Paul Coll to ensure that they moved to
the summit of Group B.
Held on an all-glass show court at the brand-new EDNC SODIC venue in
Cairo, the CIB PSA World Tour Finals features the top eight male and
female players on the CIB Road to Egypt Standings, with points for the
standings on offer at all PSA World Tour events throughout the 2022-23
season. The group stage uses a round robin, best-of-three games format
as players bid to qualify for the knockout stages.
This season’s event is trialling two new rules, with Power Plays giving
players the opportunity to win two points if they win the corresponding
rally, while sudden death deciders are used at 10-10. El Sherbini fell
foul of this in the opening game as El Tayeb took a one-game lead, but
she soon saw the new rule go in her favour in the second, overturning a
match ball opportunity for El Tayeb into a 1-1 scoreline.
El Tayeb was struggling with a leg injury and pushed El Sherbini hard,
but the two-time World Tour Finals champion was able to close out the
win by a 10-11, 11-10, 11-7 scoreline.
“I haven’t played Nour the whole season and it was tough playing the
first match of a tournament against a top six player,” said El Sherbini.
“I’m very happy I won this one and with the way I dealt with it after
the first game. It’s always tough playing her, but I never look at the
last time, whether I won or lost. I just study their game and try to
focus on my game plan.
“Today I wasn’t a fan [of the sudden death]. It was a bit distracting
for me, the whole match I was thinking about the Power Plays and sudden
death and I was one point away from losing the match. I’m still not used
to it, but it might be exciting for the people watching. I’ll see this
week how it’s going to go and then I will decide if it will be a good or
bad thing.”
Nouran Gohar
El Sherbini sits at the top of Group B with three points, while World
No.1 Nouran Gohar tops Group A following her comfortable 11-6, 11-0 win
against Belgium’s Nele Gilis in a rematch of the El Gouna International
final. World No.3 Hania El Hammamy is second in Group A after her 2-0
win against World Tour Finals debutant Olivia Fiechter.
Gohar said: “It is always tricky to start first. You can’t give her
anything loose or cheap in the middle. Obviously, with someone in that
form, she can chop anyone on her day.
“The first few rallies were long, but I just wanted to show that I was
tough, and I wasn't going to give away anything cheap.”
In the men’s event, World No.1 Ali Farag tops Group B after he came back
from a game down to beat New Zealand’s Coll.
Ali Farag
Coll used the Power Play at 9-9 to win the opening game, but Farag
assumed control from the second game onwards to complete a 9-11, 11-3,
11-7 victory.
“I didn’t start off well necessarily, but I got into the groove mid-game
and then I was getting better as the game went on,” Farag said.
“But Paul played really well in the last three rallies and he played the
Power Play really smartly. I wasn’t disheartened, I knew I had to do
more of the same and attack a little bit more. Once I did that I think I
had control of the second and the third.”
Defending champion Mostafa Asal tops Group A after taking the maximum
four points on offer courtesy of a 2-0 win against Frenchman Victor
Crouin, who was making his debut at the event. World No.1 Diego Elias
sits second after he beat Egypt’s Mazen Hesham. Elias is also on four
points, but sits below Asal due to Asal having a higher percentage of
points won.
“We played in a good spirit in the beginning and my speech [on court
with Crouin at the end] was about stopping this right now,” said Asal,
who has been involved in a social media spat with Crouin in the past.
“It was maybe something immature from me, I was also speaking about him
after matches and it wasn’t that good. We’re the same generation and
we’re going to lead this sport in the future. All respect to Victor,
it’s his first ever World Tour Finals this year and it’s something he
should be proud of.”
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals continues tomorrow (June 21) and play
starts at 19:30 (GMT+3). The action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament website or
follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter or Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
and
SQUASHTV. |
Previews
The Race to Qualify For the World Tour Finals
The 2022-2023 PSA World Tour season is almost at its end, with the
last Platinum tournament of the season, the El Gouna International,
beginning on Friday.
The event, which will take place at the El Gouna Squash Complex and
the El Gouna Conference and Culture Center, will see 96 players
descend on the Egyptian resort. All the action will be streamed
live, with glass court action being shown on SQUASHTV, while the PSA
World Tour website will be the place to watch all the side court
action.
Hania El Hammamy and Mostafa Asal will be back to defend the titles
they won at this event last year. El Hammamy will have to deal with
the challenges of compatriots Nour El Sherbini and Nouran Gohar if
she is to defend her crown and to win a first trophy in 2023.
Meanwhile, Asal is looking get the World No.1 spot back. A win this
week would certainly help that cause, but anything else and he could
lose ground on the rest of the contenders. Egypt’s Ali Farag is the
favourite this week having won his last three tournaments, the
British Open, World Championships and Manchester Open, while World
No.1 Diego Elias and England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy will also be in
contention.
Who Qualifies For The CIB PSA World Tour Finals?
The last Platinum event of the season also provides the last chance
for players to qualify for the season-ending CIB PSA World Tour
Finals, which takes place three weeks after the El Gouna
International.
There is still scope for some changes in the top eight in both the
men’s and women’s Road to Egypt standings. Of course, if someone
outside the top eight was to take the victory in El Gouna this week,
they would automatically qualify for the CIB PSA World Tour Finals.
If that was the case, then the player in 8th place would miss out on
the tournament.
There is only one woman that can mathematically make it into the top
eight without winning the tournament this week. The USA’s Olivia
Fiechter would have been another to have a chance, but she withdrew
from the El Gouna International yesterday.
Instead, the race for 8th spot will be between Belgium’s Nele Gilis
and Egypt’s Salma Hany. Gilis has a couple of titles to her name
this season, and she currently has 7,752.5 points this season.
Egypt’s Hany is currently 10th in the Road to Egypt standings, with
6,217.5 points meaning she has to reach the final in El Gouna to
have a chance.
For Hany To Make The Top Eight & Qualify
– Hany wins El Gouna
OR
– Hany reaches the final AND Gilis fails to reach RD3
For Gilis To Stay In The Top Eight
– Gilis reached RD3 in El Gouna
OR
– Hany fails to reach the final
The Road to Egypt standings following the Manchester Open
Like the women’s, there is only the one man who currently occupies a
place outside the top eight that can make it into the top eight
following the El Gouna International, apart from a possible winner
of the event.
2019 World Champion Tarek Momen sits in 9th prior to the tournament,
with 8,757.5 points. He could mathematically overtake both Mazen
Hesham and Victor Crouin to secure his place at the CIB PSA World
Tour Finals, but he would need to reach the final in El Gouna and
hope the others fail to reach a certain stage of the competition.
For Momen To Make The Top Eight & Qualify
– Momen wins El Gouna
OR
– Momen reaches the final AND Victor Crouin fails to reach the
semi-finals
OR
– Momen reaches the final AND Mazen Hesham fails to reach the
quarter finals
For Hesham To Stay In The Top Eight
– Hesham reaches the quarter finals
OR
– Hesham matches Crouin’s result
OR
– Momen fails to reach the final
For Crouin To Stay In The Top Eight
– Crouin reaches the semi-finals
OR
– Momen fails to reach the final
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or follow
on
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok.
|
ElShorbagy First Player to Qualify for World Tour 2023
Finals
Mohamed ElShorbagy (right) and Victor Crouin
(left)
England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy is the first player to qualify for the 2022
CIB World Tour Finals following his impressive campaign in Doha, where
he won the first Platinum-level tournament of the season, the QTerminals
Qatar Classic, for the fourth time.
In the women’s Road to Egypt standings, Nour El Tayeb remains top after
beginning her season with a win at the Bronze-level CIB Zed Squash Open
and a runner-up finish at the South Western Women’s Open.
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals are scheduled to take place in Cairo in
June 2023 and the event includes both a men’s and women’s tournament
featuring eight players each, bringing together all Platinum title
winners as well as the reigning PSA World Champions. Any remaining
places are allocated to the highest ranked players on the CIB Road to
Egypt Standings, with points on offer at all PSA World Tour events
during the season.
Thanks to his win over France’s Victor Crouin at the opening Platinum
event of the season, England’s ElShorbagy climbed one place in the World
Rankings, leapfrogging Peru’s Diego Elias to fourth.
Crouin, who reached the finals of both the CIB Zed Squash Open and the
Qatar Classic, remains in second place after a blistering start to the
season. Following their early exits in Qatar, neither of the World’s top
two male players – Ali Farag and Paul Coll – are in the top eight,
though they will hope to change that at the Platinum-level CIB Egyptian
Open, which begins on September 19th.
The Egyptian Open, which features a men’s and women’s draw, will see the
first woman guaranteed a spot at the World Tour Finals. While El Tayeb
holds a slender lead at the top of the leaderboard, the likes of World
No.1 Nouran Gohar and World No.2 Nour El Sherbini will be targeting a
win at the Pyramids to pick up the first women’s Platinum-level title of
the season.
Although the upcoming Egyptian Open is the next Platinum-level event of
the season, points are also up for grabs at the Bronze-level Open de
France de Squash in Nantes, which is currently underway.
Group Draw 2021-22 CIB PSA World Tour Finals |
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For more information on the event, visit the tournament website or
follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter or Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
and
SQUASHTV. |
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