ElShorbagy Returns to World No.1 in Men’s March World
Rankings
Egyptian World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy has overtaken Frenchman
Gregory Gaultier at the summit of the PSA Men’s World Rankings today
(March 1) to claim the World No.1 spot for the first time in 12 months.
The Bristol-based 27-year-old first rose to World No.1 in November 2014
and spent 15 consecutive months atop the rankings between January 2016 -
March 2017 before a loss of form and motivation saw him concede top spot
to 35-year-old Gaultier.
However, ElShorbagy has returned to his best this season and, speaking
after last night’s win over younger brother Marwan in the final of the
Windy City Open, the Egyptian put his improvement down to hard work.
"It’s been an incredible season,” said ElShorbagy, who has now lifted
six PSA World Tour titles this season.
“After last season, I worked really hard, set new goals that I wanted to
achieve, and it just shows that nothing can stop anyone achieving their
dream if they work hard for it."
Gaultier, who missed out on defending his Windy City Open and Swedish
Open titles this month due to injury, drops down to World No.2, while
Ali Farag, Marwan ElShorbagy and Karim Abdel Gawad complete the top
five.
A semi-final finish in Chicago is enough to see Tarek Momen swap places
with Tournament of Champions winner Simon Rösner to go up to a
joint-career high No.6 ranking, with Rösner dropping down to No.7.
Three-time World Champion Nick Matthew and Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar
stay at No.8 and No.9, respectively, while Ramy Ashour returns to the
top 10 for the first time since August 2017.
Ashour’s rise comes courtesy of a three-place drop for Peruvian Diego
Elias, who moves down to No.13, while New Zealand’s Paul Coll also
benefits from the 20-year-old’s drop, with the Kiwi moving up to No.11.
Former World No.1 James Willstrop is also a riser, moving up a place to
No.15 and he is followed by Colombia’s Miguel Angel Rodriguez in No.16
as the 32-year-old South American ends a year-long hiatus from the top
20.
Swtizerland’s Nicolas Mueller also enjoys a strong move up the rankings,
rising six places to No.18 to mark the first time since December 2014
that he has featured amongst the world’s top 20.
Australian duo Ryan Cuskelly and Cameron Pilley close out the top 20.