PSA World Tour Finals: Season finale in Cairo

Published : 2019-06-08 09:12:33
Categories : Squash news around the world

The PSA World Tour Finals start tomorrow in Cairo (Photo credits: PSA World Tour)

Main story: The world's best players clash in Cairo

It's been a very long season for the top players, but they need to give one more push before taking a well deserved break: the PSA World Tour Finals start in Cairo. World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy and Nour El Sherbini will be looking to retain their titles and their main rivals will be fellow Egyptian Ali Farag and Raneem El Welily.

After three editions in Dubai, the 2018-19 CIB World Tour Finals takes place at the Mall of Arabia in Cairo from Sunday, with the world’s best eight men and eight women from the 2018-2019 season in action. They have qualified for the event, thanks to their consistent performances over the course of the season, with winners of Platinum events also being granted entry. The seven players that did win Platinum events all finished inside the top eight of their respective rankings, anyway. The Finals work differently to every other tournament on the PSA World Tour, as the event features a round-robin format for the first four days of play. The eight men and eight women have been split into groups of four, with the top two from each group going through to the semi finals. All group matches, and the semi finals with be played with a best-of-three, while the finals will use the standard best-of-five format. Points are on offer for all results in group matches, apart from a 2-0 loss. If a player was to lose 2-1, they get one point. If a player was to win their match 2-1, they would receive three points, and if they win in straight games 2-0, they get the full four points.

Nour El Sherbini and Mohamed Elshorbagy won the PSA World Series finals last year (Photo credit: PSA World Tour)

PSA World Championship finalists Nour El Sherbini and Nour El Tayeb have been drawn in the same group. The pair will be joined in Group B by British Open champion Nouran Gohar and England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry. World No.1 Raneem El Welily topped the women’s World Tour Finals Leaderboard and she features in Group A alongside British Open runner-up Camille Serme, Hong Kong Open winner Joelle King and World No.9 Tesni Evans. Group A of the men’s event is headed up by World No.1 and last year’s runner-up Ali Farag. A sensational season resulted in him finishing first on the World Tour Finals Leaderboard. He is joined in Group A by Black Ball Open winner Karim Abdel Gawad, New Zealand’s Paul Coll and World No.7 Mohamed Abouelghar. World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy will line up against World Championship runner-up Tarek Momen, Germany’s Simon Rösner and Peru’s Diego Elias in Group B. The group stages begin on Sunday June at 19:00 (GMT+2) with El Welily and Evans getting the action under way. Six matches will be played per night for the first four days of the event until the group stages have drawn to a close. The semi-finals will be held at 19:00 on Thursday June 13, and the finals will begin at 19:30 on Friday June 14.

Source: PSA World Tour

Other squash news in May

Mohamed ElShorbagy wins his third British Open title, it's a first for Nouran Gohar

Most of the action on the PSA World Tour took place in England in May, the highlight being the British Open. 

--- Egypt's Nouran Gohar and Mohamed ElShorbagy became 2019 Allam British Open champions, after beating Camille Serme and Ali Farag in their respective finals. The British Open is the sport’s longest-running tournament, and Gohar, the World No.7 before the event, put her name into the history books with a sensational dismantling of Serme as she powered to an 11-3, 11-8, 11-3 victory in 30 minutes. Gohar came runner-up to Nour El Sherbini in the final of this tournament in 2016, and the hard-hitting 21-year-old ensured that she went one further this year as she stormed to a comfortable victory over 2015 winner Serme to lift her first PSA World Tour Platinum title since the Hong Kong Open in August 2016. “It means so much to me, especially because it is the British Open,” said an emotional Gohar after lifting the seventh PSA title of her career. “The environment, the city itself, it feels a bit like home. To have the accuracy, you have to be both relaxed and focused. This morning after my hit, I started crying. I never did that before. My mum kept telling me to enjoy the occasion and to relax. When I won the Hong Kong Open, she [her mother] was there as well. I think she might be my lucky charm, and there is also someone who is not always with me, but he is the main reason for what I have. My dad is the reason why I play squash because he loves it so much.”

2019 British Open winners Mohamed ElShorbagy and Nouran Gohar surrounding tournament's main sponsor Dr Allam (Photo credit: PSA World Tour)

The men’s final saw World No.2 ElShorbagy capture the third British Open title of his career after he overcame World No.1 Farag by an 11-9, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9 scoreline in 66 minutes to add to his 2015 and 2016 triumphs. ElShorbagy, who also finished as runner-up 12 months ago, had lost three of his four matches with Farag this season, but a fired-up performance from the 28-year-old saw him earn the win in the latest instalment of their rivalry. Farag came through a brutal 77-minute semi-final with New Zealand’s Paul Coll in the semi-finals, while ElShorbagy hadn’t dropped a game throughout the tournament. And the latter hunted the ball down and engaged Farag in all four corners of the court to become the first Egyptian since Abdelfattah AbouTaleb in 1966 to win a trio of British Open crowns. “Our last match last season in Dubai, he told me that what I did last season was inspirational. This time is it my turn to say that what he has done this season was inspirational. Normally, winning the US Open, Hong Kong and British Open in one season would be enough to keep me at No.1. Ali just showed consistency throughout and he was the toughest I had to face. We are going to improve each other for the rest of our careers and after a lot of great players have retired, I think squash now needs a new rivalry. ElShorbagy moves joint seventh on the men’s all-time PSA title winners, with his 37th title putting him level with Canada’s Jonathon Power.

Source: PSA World Tour

Joelle King, Marwan ElShorbagy and Miguel Angel Rodriguez were the other winners on the PSA World Tour in May.

New Zealand’s World No.5 Joelle King won the inaugural Manchester Open after a 3-0 victory over Wales’ World No.9 Tesni Evans. King had only dropped a game all week leading up to the final and continued her impressive display, powering to the finish line by an 11-8, 11-2, 11-4 scoreline in 33 minutes. Welshwoman Evans had prevailed in two mammoth five-game battles - beating SJ Perry and Nour El Tayeb - but was unable to continue that momentum. The Manchester Open is the New Zealander’s second title this season following her victory at the Hong Kong Open in November. Marwan ElShorbagy claimed the 10th PSA World Tour title of his career, as he downed Iker Pajares Bernabeu to win the Wimbledon Club Squash Squared Open. The Egyptian was the No.1 seed and came up against a young Spaniard who had knocked out the No.2 seed Omar Mosaad, No.6 seed Daryl Selby and No.3 seed James Willstrop en route to the final. However, Pajares though succumbed to a clinical performance from the World No.21, who won it 13-11, 11-7, 11-6. World No.9 Miguel Rodriguez won the XII Torneo International PSA Sporta crown for the second successive year, as he beat Peru’s Diego Elias in the final. It was a rematch of last year’s final, in which the ‘Colombian Cannonball’ overcame the ‘Peruvian Puma’ in straight games. This was the fourth meeting between the pair, with last year’s final victory continuing Rodriguez’s 100% record over his fellow South American. It caps an impressive season for the Colombian, who has spent the entire twelve months in the top ten of the World Rankings. Elias will play in the CIB PSA World Tour Finals next week, after finishing in the top eight of the points list this season.

Joelle King, Marwan ElShorbagy and Miguel Angel Rodriguez claimed major titles in May (Photo credits: PSA World Tour & SquashSite)

Source: PSA World Tour

France and England take honours at the European Team Championships

Final day of the European Team Championships at Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham witnessed a remarkable victory by France's women's team, while England regained the men's trophy. England were hot favourites for the women's title, having beaten France in the last five finals and won the title on all but one occasion in the event's 41-year history. Their sole defeat came in the 2010 semi-final to the Netherlands, who went on to win the final. Camille Serme put France ahead as she beat Sarah-Jane Perry in four games, but Laura Massaro also won in four against Coline Aumard to take the match to a decider. Melissa Alves came flying out of the blocks, taking the first two games 11-1, 11-3 against England's much higher ranked Victoria Lust. Lust fought back to take the third, and again from 1-7 down in the fourth to level at 8-all. But it was Alves who took the next two points, and on her second match ball the impossible happened. Serme was ecstatic: “We've been trying to win this for so long now, it feels great. Thanks to England for pushing us over the years, we're delighted to finally win one.” In the men's final, England faced third seeds Spain, who had beaten defending champions France in the semis. England had beaten Spain 4-0 in the pool stages, but Spanish number one Borja Golan missed that match and immediately made amends as he beat Declan James in the opening match. James Willstrop put England level with a straight-games win over yesterday's Spanish hero Iker Pajares. Daryl Selby put England ahead with a five-game win over Bernat Jaume, which left England needing one game from the final match and Spain needing a three-nil win and points countback. Tom Richards was always ahead against Edmon Lopez, and finished the match as he took the game 11-9. “I'm really proud to have been able to captain this team to the title,” said Daryl Selby. “It's been a long time since the event was held at home, so to do it here with the support of the crowd makes it even more special." The day had started with the women's third-place playoff match which saw Belgium's Nele and Tinne Gilis take them to victory over Scotland for a second Bronze medal in a row. The Scottish men went one better as they beat France in the men's third-place playoff, after narrowly losing to the former champions in the pool stages.

Source: PSA World Tour

England and France took honours at the European Team Championships (Photo credit: PSA World Tour)

End of an era ...

May 2019 was an emotional time on the PSA World Tour, with several iconic players calling an end to their professional career. It started at the second day at the British Open, which saw three of squash's most decorated female players bow out of the tournament: eight-time World Champion Nicol David, two-time British Open champion Laura Massaro and former World No.2 Jenny Duncalf. David, who spent an unprecedented nine years at World No.1, was defeated by World No.3 Nour El Tayeb, ending the Malaysian’s 21-year career on the PSA World Tour. The 36-year-old was voted the greatest female squash player of all time in a poll conducted by the Professional Squash Association (PSA) last summer and ends her career after winning 81 PSA titles from 102 finals, which is unmatched by any other female player. Massaro, the most successful Englishwoman of the modern era, saw her career come to an end at the hands of Belgium’s World No.39 Tinne Gilis as she fell to a surprise 4-game loss. Preston-based Massaro won the British Open in 2013 and 2017, with the second of those wins seeing her become the first female English player in 66 years to win the sport’s longest-running title on two occasions. Meanwhile, Massaro’s international teammate, 36-year-old Duncalf, played her final professional match against World No.1 Raneem El Welily, going down in straight games. Duncalf retires with 11 PSA titles and was runner-up to David in the 2008 British Open and 2011 PSA World Championships final, while she even took up MC duties later on in the day to interview David on court after her final match. A few days later, the Tour's veteran Olli Tuominen played the last of his 22 year professional in Montpellier, where he lost to No.1 seed and future winner Grégoire Marche. "I'd like to thank everyone for these great years of professional squash, and all the great players who I've got to know and played against," said the 40-year old. "The support from everyone has been amazing, no matter where I've gone. It's been an amazing trip, and I hope I enjoy what's yet to come after this." A few days ago, it was Malaysia’s Nafiizwan Adnan's turn to announce his retirement from professional squash. The 33-year-old began his career on the PSA World Tour in 2003 and captured 11 titles from 24 finals, winning 262 of his 450 matches. Known on tour as ‘Komodo’, Adnan also made history in 2018 as he became the first male Malaysian squash player to claim a medal at the Commonwealth Games, capturing a bronze medal in the singles event.

May was on an emotional time on the PSA World Tour ... (Photo credits: Camille Serme, PSA World Tour & Nicolas Barbeau)

Source: PSA World Tour

--- June World Rankings

Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar has moved up two spots to a career-high No.7 ranking in the June Men’s World Rankings. He reached the quarter-finals of the Allam British Open to rise above Peru’s Diego Elias (No.8) and Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez, who falls two places to No.9. World Champion Ali Farag stays at World No.1 for a fourth month in a row, but the gap between him and World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy has been reduced. Tarek Momen and Karim Abdel Gawad make it an all-Egyptian top four for a second successive month, while Germany’s Simon Rösner completes the top five. New Zealand’s Paul Coll stays at No.6, while India’s Saurav Ghosal takes the final spot in the top 10. Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy moves up 10 places to No.11 following a month in which he won the Wimbledon Open. Dessouky, who moves up three places to No.15 – his highest ranking since March 2018. France’s Camille Serme has broken back into the top three of the PSA Women’s World Rankings for the first time since January 2018. She breaks up an all-Egyptian top three for the first time since February. Egyptian duo Raneem El Welily and Nour El Sherbini stay at No.1 and No.2, respectively, for a seventh successive month, while Gohar’s title-winning exploits in Hull have seen her move up three places to No.4, which is the 21-year-old’s highest ranking since March 2017. Nour El Tayeb completes the top five after dropping two places, while New Zealand’s Joelle King falls out of the top five to No.6. England’s Sarah-Jane Perry also drops a place to No.7, while Amanda Sobhy and Tesni Evans are at No.8 and No.9 respectively. Hong Kong’s Annie Au rises a place to complete the top 10. Malaysia’s eight-time World Champion Nicol David – who will appear in the rankings for the final time this month after making her last professional appearance at the British Open – moves up two spots to No.16. Belgium’s Nele Gilis makes history as the first female Belgian player in history to break the top 20 after moving up five spots to No.19 courtesy of a run to the British Open quarter-finals.

Source: PSA World Tour

June PSA World rankings (Photo credits: PSA World Tour)

June squash hotspots

--- As the World Tour Finals (see above) will wrap up the season in PSA, the other highlight in June will be the sixth WSF World Doubles Championship in Gold Coast, Australia from 17-21 June. Players from the home country are seeded to win all three gold medals – 15 years after becoming the first country to achieve the triple in the 2004 championships in India. Ryan Cuskelly & Cameron Pilley are seeded to retain the Men’s title they won in the 2017 championships in England. Pilley, a former world No.11, is predicted for double gold success in Carrara where he and cousin Donna Lobban are also favourites in the Mixed Doubles. The 36-year-old from Yamba in New South Wales is a three-time Commonwealth Games Doubles gold medallist – winning the Mixed title in 2018 with Lobban (then Donna Urquhart) and in 2010 with Kasey Brown, and the Men’s Doubles gold in 2014 with David Palmer. Left-hander Lobban pairs up with Christine Nunn in the Women’s Doubles, in which they are the top seeds. Lobban will be keen to go one better than her Women’s World Doubles success in 2016 when she and Rachael Grinham finished as silver medallists.

Source: Squashinfo

Australia had a lot of success at the last World Doubles Championships (Photo credit: squash999.com)

Main results

PSA

  • Manchester Open 2019 (Manchester, England) – $76,000$ (Women's)

Winner: Joelle King (New Zealand)

  • The Wimbledon Squash Squared Club Open 2019 (Wimbledon, England) – $50,000$ (Men's)

Winner: Marwan El Shorbagy (Egypt)

  • Allam British Open 2019 (Hull, England) - $177,000 (Men's) + $177,000 (Women's)

Winners: Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egypt) and Nouran Gohar (Egypt)

  • XII Torneo Internacional Sporta 2019 (El Gouna, Egypt) - 29th of May to 2nd of June - $47,500 (Men's)

Winner: Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Colombia)

Others

  • European Team Championship (Birmingham, England)

Winners: England (Men) and France (Women)

  • European Junior U15/U17 Team Championship (Eindhoven, Netherlands) - Mixed

Winners: England (U15) and England (U17)

Schedule

PSA

  • CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2018-2019 (Cairo, Egypt) - 9th to 14th of June - $160,000 (Men's) + $160,000 (Women's)

Others

  • WSF World Doubles Championship 2019 (Gold Coast, Australia) - 17th to 21st of June - Men's, Women's and Mixed

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