World Series Finals: Elshorbagy and Elsherbini end 2017-2018 on a high

Nour Elsherbini and Mohamed Elshorbagy ended a very successful 2017-2018 season in Dubai (Photo credit: PSA World Tour)

Main story: World number ones dominate in Dubai

Closing tournament of the season, the World Series Finals were a pretty accurate reflection of it: after getting the Player of the year award before the competition, world number 1s Mohamed Elshorbagy and Nour Elsherbini won the title in Dubai.

It was not surprising to have four Egyptian players - also world number 1s and 2s - in the semi-finals a few weeks ago at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai: the Pharaohs have left others very little chance to shine in 2017-2018. Once again, Nour Elsherbini and Raneem El Welily found themselves facing each other in the women's final. But despite losing the first game, the former - who's been at the top of the rankings for 27 months now - controlled proceedings from beginning to end. Runner-up in 2017, Elsherbini won the World Series Finals for the first time, extending her already impressive records. "It feels amazing to have won this title,” she said. “I was proud just to be one of the eight players who came here. It’s been a long season so I’m really proud and happy to end the season with this title. This season has been one of the most successful of my career but there are still improvements to be made and I can still become a better player. Raneem and I keep playing each other and battling against each other on court, but we both go to Russia together in just a few days to cheer on Egypt in the World Cup." Somehow disappointed with her previous season (the World Championship title was her only major achievement), Elsherbini significantly upped the pace in 2017-2018: she won seven tournaments, including four World Series events! At only 22 years old, she still has many more years to keep on writing the history of her sport. An history that Mohamed Elshorbagy also continues to write. The World Champion had announced that this tournament was very important for him, and he lived up to his words. His win in the final over rival Ali Farag (in 4 games), allowed him to break into the top 10 of players who have won most tournaments on the world tour, equalling famous compatriot Amr Shabana (33 titles). Last year, Elshorbagy had used his title in Dubai as a platform to build up a new momentum after a disappointing 2016-2017 season, but this one was rather the cherry on the cake after an almost perfect season (8 titles and 3 runner-up finishes in 13 tournaments). “It’s been an amazing week here in Dubai,” said Elshorbagy. “There have been some great matches all and I’m very proud to have been part of this event at the end of the season and to have won it. Ali and I have played so many battles this season and I’m happy that we managed to end the season playing against each other – he’s a great guy and great player and I look forward to being back on court battling with him again next season.” Control and power: Mohamed Elshorbagy uses the squash racket Tecnifibre Carboflex 125 X speed, available at My Squash.

The other highlight of the week was Nick Matthew's farewell, this time for good. Given one more chance at the last minute following Marwan Elshorbagy's withdrawal, the Englishman had not come to Dubai to make up the numbers. After winning his 3 pool matches - especially a magnificent fight against Miguel Angel Rodriguez - Matthew could not do much in the semis vs. Ali Farag. The Egyptian, as well as the crowd, paid him an emotional tribute after the match. A 20-year long career, 35 titles on the tour including three World Championships titles, as well as 3 gold medals in the Commonwealth Games and three World Team Championships crowns: “The Wolf” can retire with a sense of accomplishment, to say the least. “I dared to dream for a second that I could go all the way but Ali was slightly too good tonight. Even a week ago, if you’d have offered me a semi-final place here I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Matthew, who will take on a coaching and ambassadorial role at England Squash. “A few people this week have been trying to talk me out of retirement but that’s not happening. I’m 100 per cent going to stay in squash, I’m going to have a rest this summer, I’ve got some camps in the US and I’ll have a lot of family time and regroup. I’ve got a great role which I’m looking forward to doing with England Squash and I’ll be growing my academy around the world. I’m still going to play, I’m not going to totally stop, I’m too competitive.”

Nick Matthew said goodbye to professional squash in Dubai (Photo credit: #squashindubai by SquashSite)

As we mentioned above, World No.1s Mohamed ElShorbagy and Nour Elsherbini collected the Player of Year Awards during a gala dinner held at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, on the eve of the season-ending event. ElShorbagy narrowly edged Rodriguez to the accolade which was chosen by the PSA Awards Committee, a group consisting of selected influential former players, members of the media, tournament promoters and PSA Board representatives combined with the results of a social media vote. Elsherbini, meanwhile, was honoured with the women’s award and New Zealand’s Joelle King, who returned to the top of the women’s game four years after a career-threatening injury, was runner-up. Egyptian Women’s World Champion Raneem El Welily collected the Female Spirit of Squash Award, while Rodriguez collected the men’s award. Rodriguez also picked up the Men’s Shot of the Season Award, with El Tayeb taking the women’s award. El Tayeb was also one half of the Women’s Match of the Season combination alongside King – with fans voting for their epic title decider at the Windy City Open. The Men’s Match of the Season was German Raphael Kandra’s win over Marwan ElShorbagy in their epic British Open quarter-final encounter. Rising Malaysian talent Sivasangari Subramaniam was named Women's Young Player of the Year following a season that saw her impress in front of the SQUASHTV cameras at the Open International de Squash de Nantes and the El Gouna International, and Peruvian Diego Elias, the former World Junior Champion, was named Men's Young Player of the Year for the second year running. The final prize of the evening went to PSA Chairman Ziad Al-Turki, who was presented with the PSA Services To Squash Award by the PSA Foundation in recognition of his contribution to the sport during the past twelve months. 

Here are all the 2017-2018 PSA Awards (Photo credit: PSA World Tour)

Source: PSA World Tour

Other squash news in June

--- WSF Ambassadors Inspire Armenian and Ukrainian Squash

World squash stars Ramy Ashour, the three-time world champion from Egypt, and Camille Serme, British and US Open winner and six-time European champion from France, thrilled fans of the sport in Armenia and Ukraine, when they visited both countries within the context of the 2018 WSF Ambassador Programme. Launched in 2011, the World Squash Federation international promotional initiative takes two leading squash players, together with an international coach and referee, into younger squash nations to inspire and help raise the sport's profile through clinics, exhibition matches, refereeing and coaching seminars, and media presentations.

Source: World Squash Federation

Thanks to the WSF Ambassador Programme, Ramy Ashour and Camille Serme delighted squash fans in Ukraine and Armenia (Photo credit: World Squash Federation)

--- Squash is going FORWARD

The World Squash Federation (WSF) and the Professional Squash Association (PSA) announced the line-up of their joint initiative SquashFORWARD. The programme brings together eight top young squash players (four young women and four young men), all under 23 years old, with the aim to further actively engage with the next generations and shape the future of squash as a vibrant and healthy sport. SquashFORWARD line-up: Victor Crouin (France, 18 y.o) Diego Elias (Peru, 21 y.o) Nour Elsherbini (Egypt, 22 y.o) Eain Yow Ng (Malaysia, 20 y.o) Marina Stefanoni (United States, 15 y.o) Dimitri Steinmann (Switzerland, 20 y.o) Nadiia Usenko (Ukraine, 18 y.o) Satomi Watanabe (Japan, 19 y.o) The group will meet regularly over the next few months to share their vision of the sport and discuss how to make the game even more innovative, inclusive and sustainable than it is today. SquashFORWARD will kick off its activity at the Dutch Junior Open, which will be held in Amsterdam from 12-15 July. Members of the initiative will host a focus group with junior players from all over the world and gather their ideas focusing on four major topics: innovation, sustainability, inclusiveness and accessibility. SquashFORWARD will analyse the ideas in the weeks that will follow the tournament and turn them into a set of practical recommendations. It is envisioned that SquashFORWARD will share their findings and forward-looking recommendations during the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in October where squash will be present as a showcase sport.

Nour Elsherbini, WR #1 and SquashFORWARD co-chair with Diego Elias, said: "Being on top of the World Rankings is a huge responsibility and I feel that I have to give back what I've learnt, to give back for the future of the sport which means so much to my life and the lives of so many young people around the world. Through the SquashFORWARD initiative, I'm sure we can capture a dialogue between continents and generations and shape how squash should develop in the next years." WSF President Jacques Fontaine said: "SquashFORWARD is an initiative truly driven by the youngest stars of squash, many of whom dream one day to become Olympic champions. I'm sure this programme will create new thought leaders and help our sport remain at the forefront of what young people seek today from a sport that matches their lifestyles and aspirations." PSA CEO Alex Gough added: "One of the core missions of squash is to provide access to sport to young people all around the world. In dialogue with young players on the SquashFORWARD group we can ensure that we do it in the best possible way." 

Source: World Squash Federation

Peru's Diego Elias will be co-chairing the SquashFORWARD initiative alongside Nour Elsherbini (Photo credit: https://lima2019.pe)

Such as many other squash professional players, former World Junior Champion Diego Elias wears Salming squash shoes: Salming Race X, available at My Squash.

--- July World Rankings

The new world rankings have been published on the 1st of July by the Professional Squash Association. There is only one change in both the men's and women's top 20, but a major one: Nick Matthew no longer appears in the list ... The Englishman had put his name in the rankings for the first time more than 20 years ago, in November 1997! As a consequence, all the players who were behind are up one place, starting from Mohamed Abouelghar who rises from 14th to 13th.

July squash hotspots

--- Egyptians Marwan Tarek and Rowan Reda Araby will be seeded to retain their titles in the WSF World Junior Individual Squash Championships later this month in India. The Men's & Women's individual events will take place at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai from 18-23 July, followed by the biennial Men's World Junior Team Championship from 24-29 July. It was after ousting the top seed in last year's semi-finals that Tarek went on to claim the 2017 men's title in New Zealand (to refresh your memory, read last year's blog). The 18-year-old from Cairo also won the 2018 British Junior U19 Open title early this year. But Tarek, ranked 280 in the world, will have a tough job on his hands if he meets second seed Mostafa Asal, as predicted, in the final. His 17-year-old compatriot, also from Cairo, has made great strides on the PSA World Tour this year, winning three titles as a qualifier in May after clinching the British Junior U17 Open title in January. This month he leapt more than 100 places in the senior world rankings to reach No.75. Araby, still only 17, has already claimed five PSA titles and is expected to make the world junior final this year for the third time in a row. Her success in the 2017 final came against top seed Hania El Hammamy, the compatriot whom she is again predicted to face in the 2018 climax. All Egyptian semi-finals are predicted in both events - and an Araby success would take Egyptian ownership of the women's title into an eighth successive year. As far as the men's team event goes, Egypt will be hot favourites and very eager to regain the gold medal: they currently hold every other major world title (men's and women's, senior and junior, team and individual WSF and PSA trophies). In 2016, they had narrowly lost to Pakistan, and the WSF had reportedly opened an investigation into whether two over-age Pakistan players were fielded, but it was inconclusive.

28 countries will be represented at the World Junior Championships in India, but Egypt are likely to dominate all events (Photo credit: WSF World Juniors)

Another WSF event will start at the end of July: the 2018 World Squash Masters, in Charlottesville (USA), who will feature more than 800 players, between 35 and 80+ years old. The Men's over 35 draw boasts a very strong line-up, with former world top 15 players Laurens Jan Anjema and Alister Walker. In the Women's draws, the spotlight will be on former World No.1s Natalie Grainger and Sarah Fitz-Gerald, who will be huge favorite in the O45 category. Winner in 2014 and 2016, the Australian legend has not lost a competitive match against a woman (she often plays in men's leagues) since 2001! There will also a $35,000 PSA Men's tournament in Malaysia in mid-July, featuring the members of the Hong Kong team (Max Lee, Tsz Fung Yip, Leo Au).

Source: World Squash Federation