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CIB PSA World Tour Finals |
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CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2022
Men's Finals
21 - 26 Jun
Cairo, Egypt |
Final:
[4] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [2] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0: 13-11,
11-8, 11-7 (76m)
Semi-Finals:
[4] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [1] Ali Farag (EGY) 2-0: 11-4, 11-6 (37m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [5] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 2-0: 11-6, 11-5
(31m)
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CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2022
Men's Pool Rounds |
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CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2022
Women's Finals
21 - 26 Jun
Cairo, Egypt |
Final:
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 3-0:
11-6, 11-8, 11-5 (43m)Semi-Finals:
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 2-0: 11-9,
12-10 (42m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [4] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 2-0: 11-2, 11-5
(14m)
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CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2022
Women's Pool Rounds |
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El Sherbini and Asal Crowned 2021-22 CIB PSA World
Tour Finals Champions
Egyptian duo Nour El Sherbini and Mostafa Asal have been crowned the
2021-22 CIB PSA World Tour Finals champions following respective wins
over women’s World No.1 Nouran Gohar and men’s World No.2 Paul Coll
earlier tonight at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia.
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals is the season finale for the 2021-22 PSA
World Tour season and El Sherbini ensured that she closed out the
campaign having won two of the biggest titles on the tour.
The women’s title decider was a repeat of May’s CIB PSA World
Championship final and once again El Sherbini got the better of her
compatriot after a masterclass of a performance saw her win 11-6, 11-8,
11-5 in 43 minutes.
World No.2 El Sherbini had already beaten the World No.3 – Hania El
Hammamy – and World No.4 Amanda Sobhy en route to the final, despite
suffering with an ankle injury throughout the event.
Gohar, meanwhile, was recently crowned the PSA Female Player of the Year
after an incredible season which has seen her win seven PSA titles,
while she was the defending champion going into today’s final. But she
was put to the sword by a dominant El Sherbini, who has won this event
for the first time since 2018, while she has now won her 30th PSA title.
“I’m really happy with my performance, I think this was my best
performance of the whole season, so I'm glad I'm ending on a win,” said
El Sherbini.
“I’ve been struggling the whole season, but it’s a credit to all the
other players who have been playing really well. I’ve been trying to
push every match and I’m glad that I stopped in the middle of the
season, it helped me a lot to regroup. I’m really happy with the last
three tournaments I played and now I can rest and come back stronger.
“She [Nouran Gohar] took the No.1 spot from me and has been winning all
the Platinum events, so that shows how on form she has been. It’s always
challenging and tough, she didn’t lose a game all tournament. I’m happy
with the rivalry and the challenge we have and I’m looking forward to
the challenge next season.”
World No.4 Mostafa Asal has retained the men’s title following a 13-11,
11-8, 11-7 victory over New Zealand’s Coll in 76 minutes, ensuring he
has now captured the eighth PSA title of his burgeoning career.
The 21-year-old – who has now won four major PSA titles after also
capturing the U.S. Open and El Gouna International trophies this season
– was meeting Coll for the second final in a row after he dismantled the
former World No.1 in the El Gouna title decider earlier this month.
He was made to work hard for his win in a tightly-contested fixture, but
had the extra quality at the crucial moments to close out the victory,
winning his third PSA title of the season.
“It’s unbelievable for me, having two trophies for the same tournament
and defending my title is unreal,” said Asal.
“Thanks to this crowd, Karim Darwish for organising this amazing
tournament, Lee Beachill and all of PSA for helping me. All credit to
Paul, he’s an unbelievable player and one of the most honest players on
tour, thanks to him for a great battle and I’m looking forward to more
battles with him for sure.
“After the first game, I looked at the screen and it was 40 minutes and
I thought I couldn’t continue like this. I managed to win the third and
to win the match is something unbelievable for me and I’m looking
forward to playing here again.”
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Asal Downs World No.1 Farag to Reach World Tour Finals
Title Decider
World No.4 Mostafa Asal continued his red-hot form as he dismantled
World No.1 and World Champion Ali Farag at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia to
reach the CIB PSA World Tour Finals title decider for the second season
in a row.
The reigning champion – who won his third major title at the El Gouna
International earlier this month – was sublime against Farag as he
outmanoeuvred his fellow Egyptian, recording an 11-4, 11-6 victory which
will see him compete in his third final of the season.
“I believe in myself and I believe that I can reach the World No.1
spot,” said 21-year-old Asal.
“I’m living my best moments on Tour and actually, I am not focusing on
my age. If I focus on my age, I will not step in front of this amazing
crowd or even enter this amazing tournament.
“This tournament is not about squash, it is not about physicality, or
anything like that, it is about being mentally strong.”
Asal will line up against World No.2 and recently-crowned PSA Male
Player of the Year Paul Coll after the Kiwi got the better of last
year’s runner-up and two-time World Tour Finals champion Mohamed
ElShorbagy, also by a 2-0 margin. Coll is the first non-Egyptian to
reach the final of the men’s event since 2017.
“We have played each other twice in the last month, and he has found his
groove again,” said Coll.
“It’s already my biggest payday in terms of prize money, so I am looking
forward to that. Obviously if I get the win tomorrow, then it will be
quite a tidy celebration back in New Zealand next week, that’s for sure.
I’ll be spending it on upgrading my flight to business back to New
Zealand, spending it on a few beers, I’ll take my parents out for a nice
dinner, and will just enjoy myself next week.”
The women’s final will be a repeat of the CIB PSA World Championship
title decider, with World No.1 Nouran Gohar and World No.2 Nour El
Sherbini beating World No.3 Hania El Hammamy and World No.4 Amanda Sobhy,
respectively.
There was no love lost in the fixture between Gohar and El Hammamy – a
repeat of last season’s final – with the former aiming to bounce back
from defeats against her fellow Egyptian in both the Allam British Open
and El Gouna International title deciders.
El Hammamy started the stronger of the two, but Gohar held her nerve to
overturn a 9-5 deficit in the first game, before closing out the second
to reach her second successive final at this event.
The reigning champion said: “I had to not get distracted with the calls
and what was going on, on court. I felt like I was playing well
actually, but sometimes it is not only about squash, you have to handle
the conditions.
“I am pretty happy with the way I dealt with it mentally. Sometimes, you
play your best and you don’t win, but today I am happy with the way I
dealt with it to get the win in the end.”
El Sherbini has reached the final of this event for the first time since
2018 after she claimed a dominant win over United States No.1 Amanda
Sobhy.
The six-time World Champion was sporting strapping on her left ankle but
it barely hindered her as she put in a devastating performance to win
11-2, 11-5 in just 14 minutes.
“It is the final match against the in-form player in the whole
tournament,” El Sherbini said.
“Nouran [Gohar] has been playing really well. There is just one more
match to end the season, I will try to end it on the winning side. There
have been a lot of ups and down in this whole season, and I am glad that
I made it into the final of the last tournament, hopefully it goes
well.”
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals continues tomorrow (June 26) and play
starts at the Mall of Arabia at 19:30 (GMT+2). The action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV
as well as the channels of PSA’s broadcast partners.
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Sobhy Becomes First US-Born Player to Reach Semis of CIB PSA World Tour
Finals
World No.4 Amanda Sobhy has become the first US-born player ever to
reach the semi-finals of the CIB PSA World Tour Finals after she put in
a sublime display to overcome England’s Georgina Kennedy in her final
match in Group A at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia earlier today.
Sobhy hadn’t made it out of the group stages at any of her previous
three appearances at the season-ending tournament, but the United States
No.1 put an end to that record after taking out Kennedy 11-4, 11-4 in 21
minutes to finish second in Group A.
“They’re possibly the hottest conditions I’ve ever played in,” said
Sobhy.
“I haven’t done too well here in the past and the fact that I’ve
qualified into the semis along with the Egyptians makes it
three-and-a-half Egyptians.
“It’s awesome to be up there among the top three, who have been kind of
raising the bar and hopefully I can give them hell tomorrow.”
Sobhy will line up against World Champion Nour El Sherbini in the last
four after El Sherbini finished top of Group B following her match with
World No.3 Hania El Hammamy last night. The semi-finals will retain the
best-of-three games scoring format used throughout the group stages,
before the finals revert to best of five as seen at the majority of PSA
World Tour events.
Defending champion Nouran Gohar will take on El Hammamy in the last four
– a repeat of last season’s World Tour Finals title decider – after she
continued her 100 per cent record, making it three wins from three,
winning six games from six and earning the maximum 12 points on offer in
the group stage.
The World No.1 got the better of New Zealand’s Joelle King, powering to
an 11-6, 11-1 victory over the World No.5 to rubber-stamp her
credentials as the title favourite.
Afterwards, Gohar said: “I knew Joelle was going to come and try to play
her best because she had a chance, if she won this one, to qualify, so I
was up for it and wanted to be fair to everyone. I just tried to play my
best and I’m pleased with the performance today.
“[Hania’s] in the top three in the world, so she’s obviously a very good
player. It’s always tough between us and last year we played in the
final of the World Tour Finals. This year, it’s a bit earlier, but still
a tough match and I’ll just prepare for it.”
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry secured third place in Group as her PSA
season came to an end with a win against Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby.
With the semi-final qualifiers already confirmed in the men’s event
after yesterday’s action, all that remained was to decide who would face
who in the last four, with World No.1 Ali Farag overcoming World No.3
Mohamed ElShorbagy in a quick-fire victory to the former.
It was a repeat of the World Championship final and, despite the scores
being close at 11-8 and 12-10, Farag was able to gain the upper hand to
top Group A, and he will line up against reigning champion Mostafa Asal
for a place in the final.
“Obviously, it’s a tricky one because you want to conserve your energy
for tomorrow,” said Farag.
“It would mean a lot [to win]. I’ve never got my hands on this trophy.
It’s a very prestigious one, lots of great players have won it. I’d love
to win it one day and what better a way to do it than at home here, to
put the cherry on top of the cake to end the season on a high. I’ve got
a maximum of two matches to go and I’m going to give it my all.”
Peru’s Diego Elias overcame Egypt’s Mazen Hesham to take third place in
Group A, while the final match of the night saw Welshman Joel Makin
dispatch World No.6 Tarek Momen to secure third in Group B.
“I wanted to push hard there,” said Makin.
“It’s been a bit disappointing, I lost a couple of tight ones but I
still wanted to come and give a good account. I knew Tarek would be
difficult, he’s so skilful. Even in that kind of match, he’s coming back
at the end and making it hard. It was really open, clean and tough
squash, I enjoyed it.”
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals continues tomorrow (June 25) and play
starts at the Mall of Arabia at 19:00 (GMT+2). The action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV
as well as the channels of PSA's broadcast partners.
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ElShorbagy, Farag, Coll and Gohar Qualify for Semis
Day three of the CIB PSA World Tour Finals saw a quartet of players book
their places in the semi-finals of the 2021-22 CIB PSA World Tour
Finals, with Mohamed ElShorbagy, Ali Farag, Paul Coll and Nouran Gohar
all winning earlier tonight at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia.
ElShorbagy is currently top of Group A in the men’s event following an
accomplished performance against Peru’s Diego Elias. The two-time World
Tour Finals champion lost out to Elias in the final of the Necker
Mauritius Open earlier this month but moved on from that with an
impressive showing, winning 11-6, 11-7.
“It’s been a long season for all of us, it’s tough,” said ElShorbagy.
“I think I’m one of the most experienced players with dealing with the
end of seasons, so I know everyone is hurting, including myself. He
[Diego] played really well in Mauritius and gave us all a squash lesson
there. To win today puts me in a good position.
“I don’t think he was too worried about losing to me today, and I wasn’t
too worried about losing to him in Mauritius. We both want to be winning
Platinum events. It’s a big deal to win the World Tour Finals, Jansher
[Khan] won this event, so there’s so much history.”
A win for Farag in the following men’s match would send both him and
ElShorbagy through to the last four, and that’s exactly what happened,
with the World No.1 seeing off World No.8 Mazen Hesham by a 2-1 margin.
Farag and ElShorbagy will now go head-to-head for the honour of winning
the group, and their match will be a repeat of May’s CIB PSA World
Championship final.
“It [topping the group] doesn’t matter in terms of the outcome of the
tournament because you don’t know who’s coming through from the other
side,” said Farag.
“But it matters because of the points, because there are ranking points
for each match, and also you never want to play a squash match and not
want to win. I’m playing Mohamed tomorrow and to win I can’t be at 99%,
I need to be at 100 or 110.”
In Group B, World No.2 Paul Coll ensured that he will top the group
after he defeated defending champion Mostafa Asal 2-0. Asal dismantled
Coll to win the El Gouna International title earlier this month, but he
dropped off physically as today’s match went on, and the New Zealander
will play whoever comes second in Group A. Asal also reaches the
semi-finals having qualified yesterday, and he will play the winner of
Group A.
In the women’s event, World No.1 and defending champion Nouran Gohar
remains the only player to have a 100 per cent record and earned her
place in the semi-finals courtesy of a 2-0 win against England’s
Georgina Kennedy.
Kennedy couldn’t live with Gohar’s pace and the Egyptian has qualified
top of Group A, taking eight points from eight so far.
“It’s always hard to play against Gina,” Gohar said.
“We grew up playing together but what an unbelievable season she’s had,
nobody did what she did and I have so much respect for her. I’m sure
we’re going to have great battles in the upcoming years, and I’m really
looking forward to this rivalry.”
There is one spot remaining in the women’s semi-finals, and USA’s Amanda
Sobhy took a major step towards a maiden World Tour Finals semis spot
after she ended a six-match losing streak against New Zealand’s Joelle
King. Sobhy had won just one of their previous 11 meetings, but the
World No.4 was in red-hot form and outclassed her opponent to capture
her first win of this year’s event and move into second place in the
group.
Sobhy takes on Kennedy next and a win would see her join Gohar in the
last four. Kennedy, meanwhile, still has a chance of qualifying if she
records a 2-0 win over Sobhy and Gohar beats King. Added to that, King
can also qualify if she defeats Gohar and Kennedy beats Sobhy, so it’s
all to play for in Group A.
In Group B, World Champion Nour El Sherbini recorded an astonishing win
over World No.3 Hania El Hammamy to finish top of Group B. ‘The Warrior
Princess’ was clearly inhibited by a leg injury and required treatment,
first in the game break after El Hammamy had come back to level at 1-1,
and then after a collision with the wall when two match balls up.
El Sherbini held her nerve though to underline just why she is a
six-time World Champion and fought through the pain barrier to complete
an 11-8, 4-11, 11-9 victory in one of the matches of the tournament so
far.
“Hania has been in amazing form this season and she beat me the last few
times, but I don’t know how I won this one,” said El Sherbini.
“I was playing every point like it was the last. It was very risky for
me but I had to keep going, I'd already qualified so I had to play on or
I couldn’t play the rest of the tournament. I'm very lucky to get
through this one.”
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals continues tomorrow (June 24) as the group
stage draws to a close, and play starts at the Mall of Arabia at 19:00
(GMT+2). The action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
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El Sherbini & El Hammamy Qualify for CIB PSA World Tour
Finals Semis
World No.2 Nour El Sherbini and World No.3 Hania El Hammamy have secured
their places in the semi-finals of the 2021-22 CIB PSA World Tour Finals
after claiming respective wins over Rowan Elaraby and Sarah-Jane Perry
earlier today at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia.
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 2021-22
season. The group stage uses a round robin, best-of-three games format
as players bid to qualify for the knockout stages.
El Sherbini became the first player to qualify for the semi-finals after
she overcame World No.7 Elaraby by an 11-8, 11-7 scoreline. The 2017-18
champion currently sits top of Group B – a point ahead of El Hammamy –
after taking the maximum of eight points on offer so far.
“It’s the perfect start for me,” said El Sherbini.
“I have only been to the semis once [at the Mall of Arabia], so it was
in my head a little bit. Two matches, two 2-0 wins, eight points, it is
perfect for me and hopefully I keep going like this.
“It’s definitely a different type of tournament and ending the group
stage on top is important, to have the chance to play the second player
on the other side [from Group A]. It is the top eight anyway, so whoever
it is, it will be a tough match.”
El Hammamy – the 2019-20 champion – navigated a tricky first game
against World No.6 Perry, eventually taking it 16-14 in a nail-biting
tie-break. The 21-year-old was able to stamp her authority on the match
in the second and closed out the win to set up a mouth-watering clash
tomorrow.
“It was a feisty first game, it was very close and it could have gone
either way, so I am glad I managed to get it,” said El Hammamy.
Hania El Hammamy
“Playing SJ is always enjoyable, and I am always pleased when I get to
share the court with her. She is very tricky and you have to be on your
toes from the very first point. I had in my mind the match at Black Ball
where I was 2-0 up and I lost, so I knew that the second game tonight
was very important, and I had to start it well because she can come back
easily.”
Meanwhile, World No.1 and defending champion Nouran Gohar got her
tournament off to a fine start as she defeated United States No.1 Amanda
Sobhy to go top of Group A, ahead of New Zealand’s Joelle King, who beat
Georgina Kennedy yesterday.
World No.4 Mostafa Asal became the first man to qualify for the last
four after he overcame World No.6 Tarek Momen in a feisty clash to end
the night. It was a scrappy battle with numerous traffic issues,
resulting in a busy night for the referees.
Mostafa Asal
“I don’t want to be bad, I don’t want to say some things,” said Asal
after winning 11-8, 12-10 in 40 minutes.
“It was a terrible match, I didn’t like the way we played on this court.
He is an unbelievable player, he is 34-years-old and he is a World
Champion, so all credit to him… but tonight was not how we should play
our squash. “
Asal will take on New Zealand’s Paul Coll next, where a win for Coll
would see him join Asal in the semi-finals.
Elsewhere, World No.1 Ali Farag came from behind to beat Peru’s Diego
Elias in a contentious Group A clash. A superb performance from Elias
saw him unsettle the reigning World Champion as he built up a one-game
lead.
But midway through the second game, a controversial video referee
decision saw a potential double bounce called good in Farag’s favour.
Elias was incensed and it rattled the World No.5, who lost his focus,
allowing Farag to come back and level. The third game was all Farag as
Elias’s intensity dropped off, and the Peruvian was clearly still
unhappy with his opponent as he walked off court, believing Farag should
have called his ball down.
“He completely lost his focus, and I am very proud that I kept mine,”
said Farag, who has moved up to second in Group A, behind World No.3
Mohamed ElShorbagy.
Ali Farag
“I’m very proud because when he loses his focus, sometimes it gets to
you, but I kept on with my game-plan until the very last moment. I have
never gotten my hands on this trophy, I have never made it to the finals
here in Egypt, only once in Dubai, so hopefully I can keep progressing
and take it one match at a time until I hopefully achieve the title.”
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals continues tomorrow (June 23) and play
starts at the Mall of Arabia at 19:00 (GMT+2). The action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV. |
Momen Ends
Seven-Match Winless Run Against Coll
World No.6 Tarek Momen ended a run of seven consecutive defeats to World
No.2 Paul Coll as the 2021-22 CIB PSA World Tour Finals got under way at
Cairo’s Mall of Arabia earlier today.
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 2021-22
season. The group stage uses a round robin, best-of-three games format
as players bid to qualify for the knockout stages.
Coll finished second on the men’s standings but tonight surrendered a
one-game lead to Momen, who came back to claim a 9-11, 12-10, 11-8
victory, putting him in the driving seat in Group B of the men’s event.
It marks Momen’s first win over Coll since the 2020 Canada Cup.
“It was a match of two halves, like two Tareks on court,” said Momen.
“In the first game and a half, I don’t think I’ve ever hit that many
tins and I was just thinking that I want to be out of here. I had a very
tough season, I think I played well for the most part but was unlucky in
a few tournaments and it just got to me, and I was very frustrated when
I started hitting those tins.
“I don’t know what happened, but at 9-6 down I just thought I had to
give it one last try because it was unfair to the people who have come
to watch me. It’s ridiculous to hit so many tins and then all of a
sudden they stopped coming and I was playing a completely different
game. It was still very close and either one of us could have won it.”
Momen sits in front of defending champion Mostafa Asal in Group B, with
Asal overcoming Welshman Joel Makin 11-7, 3-11, 11-7 in the final match
of the evening.
Two-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy competed in Egypt for the first
time since switching allegiance to England two weeks ago and the World
No.3 received a warm reception from the spectators as they watched him
overcome No.8 seed Mazen Hesham in three games in their Group A clash.
ElShorbagy is fresh off winning his maiden British Nationals last week
and reached the final of the Mauritius Open the week before that. He
ends day one at the summit of Group A, with World No.1 Ali Farag and
Mauritius Open champion Diego Elias yet to play.
Speaking about the new ASB glass floor – which is being used at this
tournament for the first time – ElShorbagy said: “I really like the
glass floor, I think that was the first test today. I think it’s great
for the sport that we’re trying something different, something that can
clearly work and is a good use of technology in our sport.
“It’s a step forward, I’m a big supporter of it and I’m looking forward
to being back on it in two days’ time.”
In the women’s event, 2017-18 champion Nour El Sherbini got her
tournament off to the perfect start as she dispatched World No.6
Sarah-Jane Perry by a 2-0 scoreline, seeing her take the maximum four
points on offer so far.
It was a commanding victory for the six-time World Champion, who sits
top of Group A, a point ahead of World No.3 Hania El Hammamy, who
required three games to see off No.7 seed Rowan Elaraby.
Nour El Sherbini
“For me, SJ is always tough and challenging, and I’m never comfortable
playing her,” El Sherbini said.
“It’s the first match as well, so there were a few obstacles, but I’m
glad I got the 2-0 win, so that’s a plus for me. I have a different
mindset [for a best-of-three games scoring format], I have to be ready
from the first point because if I lose a game I’m in trouble, so I
prepare a little differently than in a best-of-five match.”
El Hammamy had a testing match against Elaraby but held her nerve to
come through a nail-biting match by an 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 scoreline to put
her in second place in Group B.
“We’re teammates, we play league together, and we spend a lot of time
together,” said El Hammamy.
Hania El Hammamy
“Since the juniors, we haven’t played many times on the professional
tour. We’ve played so many times over the years though [in the juniors
and away from the tour], so we know each other really well on court. I’m
really glad I managed to get through.”
In the other women’s match, New Zealand’s Joelle King earned a 2-1 win
over World Tour Finals debutant Georgina Kennedy, coming back from 7-2
down in the third game to avoid defeat.
The CIB PSA World Tour Finals continues tomorrow (June 22) – with the
likes of top seeds Ali Farag and Nouran Gohar in action – and play
starts at the Mall of Arabia at 19:00 (GMT+2). The action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV.
|
Preview
Farag And Elshorbagy Drawn Together At CIB PSA World
Tour Finals
Egypt’s Ali Farag and England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy have been drawn
together in Group A of next week’s CIB PSA World Tour Finals, meaning
they will line up in a rematch of their blockbuster battle in last
month’s CIB PSA World Championship final.
Held between June 21-26 at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia, the CIB PSA World
Tour Finals brings together the top eight players on the CIB Road to
Egypt Standings for an event which will bring the curtain down on the
2021-22 PSA World Tour season. Points for the CIB Road to Egypt
Standings were on offer at all PSA World Tour events throughout the
campaign, while winning a PSA World Tour Platinum trophy secured
automatic qualification.
Reigning World Champion and World No.1 Farag finished top of the men’s
standings and he will feature in Group A alongside Peru’s Diego Elias,
two-time winner ElShorbagy – who will appear on home soil for the first
time since switching allegiance from Egypt to England – and World No.8
Mazen Hesham, who makes his debut at the event.
New Zealand’s Paul Coll tops Group B after finishing second on the
standings, and he will have an eye on the World No.1 ranking in Cairo.
The 30-year-old can reclaim top spot from Farag if he wins the
tournament without losing a match – which would grant him the maximum
1,600 bonus ranking points on offer – but he would need Farag to bow out
before the semi-finals.
The only other way Coll can begin the summer break as World No.1 is if
Farag fails to win a single match, while the Kiwi would still have to
win the event if that happens, though he can afford to lose a group
stage match en route.
Drawn in Coll’s group is defending champion Mostafa Asal – who beat Coll
in the El Gouna International final earlier this month – as well as
former World Champion Tarek Momen and Welshman Joel Makin.
World No.1 and defending champion Nouran Gohar is seeded first in the
women’s event after topping the CIB Road to Egypt Standings and she will
be joined in Group A by United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy, New Zealand’s
Joelle King and England’s Georgina Kennedy, who will make her World Tour
Finals debut.
Nouran Gohar will be the favourite for the women's
title
Gohar will look to cap a season which has seen her win seven PSA titles
and reach the final of 11 out of 13 tournaments.
One of her main rivals will be 2017-18 champion Nour El Sherbini, who
beat her fellow Egyptian in the final of the CIB PSA World
Championships. After finishing second on the standings, El Sherbini has
been seeded top of Group B, where she is joined by 2019-20 champion
Hania El Hammamy, England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby,
who will make her first appearance at the PSA World Tour Finals.
A record $400,000 prize fund will be split equally across both the
women’s and men’s events as players compete in a best-of-three games
group stage between June 21-24. The top two from each group qualify for
the knockout semi-finals, where a place in the best-of-five games title
decider will await the winner of those fixtures.
Group stage action will begin on Tuesday June 21 at 19:00 (GMT+2). Six
matches will be played per night for the first four days of the event
until the group stage has drawn to a close.
Group stage matches will take place at 19:00, 19:30, 20:15, 20:45, 21:30
and 22:00 between June 21-24. The semi-finals will be held at 19:00 on
Saturday June 25.
The finals will begin at 19:30 on Sunday June 26.
All matches will be held at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia and fixtures will be
streamed live on SQUASHTV. The semi-finals and finals will also be shown
live on the channels of contracted broadcast partners.
Squash fans can stay up-to-date with news from the tournament by
following the PSA World Tour on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
and TikTok or by visiting the official tournament website
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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