tag

World No 3 Paul Coll has become the first player from New Zealand to win the prestigious QTerminals Qatar Classic after ending a six-match losing run against World No 1 Mostafa Asal in Doha.Coll has been on the wrong end of a final result three times previously in Doha – the PSA World Championships in 2019 as well as at this tournament in 2020 and 2021.However, an immaculate performance from the 33-year-old saw him finally get his hands on a title here at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, winning 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5.It’s been a roller coaster season so far for Coll, who began the season with victory at the London Classic before suffering one of the sport’s biggest ever upsets when he lost to World No 252 Adam Hawal at the CIB Egyptian Open last month.However, he bounced back in the best possible way, turning recent history against Asal on its head. It was a measured display which saw him get up the court and hunt the volley, keeping his opponent behind him to prevent Asal from putting in one of his trademark powerhouse performances.‘The Raging Bull’ threatened a shift in momentum after winning the second game, but Coll’s accuracy and court craft were exemplary as he pulled away to secure his 30th PSA title.It’s Coll’s first major PSA title since the Hong Kong Open in December 2023.“I was on top of the world in London and then probably one of the darkest I’ve ever been after (the loss to Hawal),” said Coll.El Hammamy Beats ElSherbini to win back-to-back titlesWorld No 2 Hania El Hammamy has made it two wins from two this season on the PSA Squash Tour after a sublime performance saw her defeat last year’s QTerminals Qatar Classic champion Nour ElSherbini in Doha in straight games.El Hammamy began her season with silverware at the CIB Egyptian Open last month, and she continued her perfect start to the 2025-26 campaign with an 11-6, 15-13, 11-8 triumph against the defending champion to win the Qatar Classic for the second time.The match was a repeat of last season’s PSA World Championships final, with El Hammamy looking to put recent history behind her following just two wins over the eight-time World Champion in their last 10 matches.The 25-year-old stormed out of the traps Saturday at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex. El Hammamy was aggressive at the front of the court and cut the ball in short, with a sluggish ElSherbini struggling to get going.After a one-sided first game went the way of El Hammamy, ElSherbini came to the party in the second game and put her fellow Egyptian under significant pressure.The World No 3 raised her level and was clinical with her attacks, initially overturning two games balls and holding the same amount of game balls herself.El Hammamy wasn’t to be denied though and her accuracy was too good for her opponent, taking three points in a row to double her lead.The third game was nip and tuck until El Hammamy started to pull away at 5-5.El Hammamy’s rapid retrieval skills and ability to nullify ElSherbini on the backhand side saw her move into an unassailable lead, and there was no stopping her from collecting her 17th PSA title.“It’s the first time I’ve won two titles back-to-back, it’s a dream start,” said El Hammamy.“I never have a very good start to the season, so it’s been memorable.“I’ve never been in this position before, I’m pretty pleased and I’m enjoying myself on court. I haven’t made a lot of changes (in the off season), but I’m on the right track and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.“I’m hoping (to reach World No 1 this season), but I don’t want to put expectations on myself. If I keep on improving at every tournament, then hopefully I can end as the World No 1.”

World No 1 Mostafa Asal is one win away from winning a first QTerminals Qatar Classic title after downing fellow Egyptian Fares Dessouky in Friday’s semi-finals.Dessouky was appearing in his first major semi-final since May 2021 but ran into an opponent in red-hot form with Asal winning 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 in 42 minutes.Asal, who won the Egyptian Open title last month, has now reached his ninth successive PSA final and will take on World No 3 Paul Coll in final.Asal had only lost once to Dessouky in his last six matches coming into the match and he continued where he left off in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza last month.Coll hasn’t beaten Asal in their six previous matches, with their last match seeing Asal win in straight games in the semis of last season’s PSA World Championships.“Credit to Fares, he’s a good fighter and he can beat anyone when he’s on form,” said Asal. “He could be a World No.1 easily. I know how dangerous he is, so I had to put work into him in the beginning.“It will be a tough battle tomorrow and I know the crowd will be on my side tomorrow. It feels like home here and you see so many familiar faces and family friends.”Coll reached his third final in Qatar after a convincing victory over England’s rising star Jonah Bryant. Coll suffered a shock defeat to World No 252 Adam Hawal in round two of the Egyptian Open last month, but the 33-year-old has bounced back in the best possible way, with an 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 win over Bryant sending him through to a 49th PSA final.Bryant was appearing in his first Platinum semi-final after his titanic battle with Abdulla al-Tamimi was cut short yesterday due to a suspected Achilles rupture sustained by the Qatari No 1 in the decider.It followed up a hugely impressive win over World Junior Champion Mohamad Zakaria in the round prior to that, but today’s match against Coll proved a step too far for the 20-year-old.Both players train together as part of Rob Owen’s coaching stable, but Coll came out firing and dictated the tempo of the match, sapping the energy from the youngsters legs to win in three.“I wanted to make it all about me and go out there and play my game,” said Coll.“I had a big one last night but woke up feeling pretty good. I can’t think about that, I know how tough he is and what he possesses, I knew he was never going to give up, so I had to stay on it.“I’m super proud of him. He’s continuously putting in work and looking for ways to improve. He has one of the best attitudes in a young guy I’ve seen for a while, I’ve got massive respect for him.”

World No.26 Aira Azman celebrated her 21st birthday by reaching the quarter-finals of a Platinum-level PSA Squash Tour event for the first time, beating Egypt’s Zeina Mickawy to join fellow Malaysian Sivasangari Subramaniam in the last eight of the QTerminals Qatar Classic.There was delight for the home fans when Abdulla al-Tamimi beat compatriot Ali al-Darwish in straight sets. Al-Tamimi won 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 in 24 minutes. In the next round, al-Tamimi will face Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais who beat Egypt's Aly Abou Eleinen 11-7, 2-0 ret. (12m)It will be the first time since the 2015 British Open that two Malaysian women have reached the quarter-finals of a major PSA tournament at the same time, with eight-time World Champion Nicol David and former World No.12 Delia Arnold achieving that feat a decade ago.Azman beat Mickawy 11-8, 11-7, 13-11 to set up a quarter-final match with World No.5 Amina Orfi, while Sivasangari overcame Belgium’s Nele Gilis in a clinical straight-games win.“It’s my first time playing this tournament and first time in a Platinum quarter, so they are big [ranking] points for me, which has boosted my confidence,” said Azman afterwards.“Today is my birthday too, so I’m very happy to reach the quarter-finals. I was really into my game plan in the first two games, I was sharp, I lost a bit of focus and she came back. But I managed to get back on top to win in three.“I will celebrate with my sister [Aifa], but she has a match tomorrow, so I hope she wins that. Amina was really sharp today, I’ve played her at the World Juniors two years ago, but there is no pressure on me, she’s the World No.5.”2023 champion Hania El Hammamy continued her title challenge with a 3-1 victory over England No.2 Jasmine Hutton. El Hammamy conceded the first game after Hutton stormed out of the traps in an attacking start, but El Hammamy weathered the storm to take three unanswered games. El Hammamy will play Sivasangari next.“It’s always tough playing against Jasmine, and it always goes to four,” said El Hammamy afterwards.“I know how dangerous she is, she’s very talented and she has good hands. On this court specifically, it was always going to be tough. The ball dies so quickly in the front and it takes a good, accurate length. She was better in the first game, her accuracy was higher than mine, so I tried to level up my accuracy and be more up to it, and I think that was the difference in the end.”World No.15 Fares Dessouky has reached the last eight after coming out on top in a five-game battle against India’s Abhay Singh, coming back from 2-1 down to win 11-13, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3, 11-3.It’s the first time in over three years that Dessouky has reached back-to-back quarter-finals at major PSA events, having also reached the last eight at the CIB Egyptian Open earlier this month. He will play fellow Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim for a place in the semi-finals.“It was a very tough match and I had to dig in every game,” said Dessouky.“I put two balls in the tin [at the end of the first game], so it was difficult mentally to back up and get the second game. I’m proud I did that and kept pushing. I thought about the mistakes I was making in the early stages and cut down the errors, which worked.”World No.1 Mostafa Asal booked his spot in the quarter-finals after a straightforward win over Frenchman Gregoire Marche. Asal, who reached the final last year and won the CIB Egyptian Open earlier this month alongside El Hammamy, will play fellow Egyptian Youssef Soliman next.“He’s 35 years of age and he’s a legend,” said Asal.“He’s a warrior, a fighter, and he gives 100 percent inside the court to entertain us. I’ve been watching him since he was very young and he’s played his 500th match this tournament, which is absolutely superb. It was a tough match, but I adapted to the court and atmosphere.”

Egypt’s World No.14 Mohamad Zakaria earned the biggest win of his career to date after taking out World No.4 Joel Makin on a day which saw eight of the top 16 seeds exit the Platinum-level QTerminals Qatar Classic in round one. Zakaria had lost out to No.3 seed Makin in the third round of the CIB Egyptian Open earlier this month but dominated proceedings at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, winning 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 in 67 minutes to score his first win over a player inside the world’s top four. “I’m over the moon, as soon as I lost the match against him in Giza, I started training with [former World No.1] Jonathon Power for this match,” said 18-year-old Zakaria afterwards. “The plan we had worked so well, I was more attacking, more positive, and I brought the game to him. I was so happy with my short game and I did very well today. “The Platinum events now are so tricky, anyone can play anyone, and it’s more edgy, I knew the draw was open going in and I liked how I took the opportunity today, I was very sharp from the beginning. This is the biggest win of my career, I’ve been waiting for a big win on the glass.” Zakaria will go up against Englishman Jonah Bryant in the last 16, with Bryant beating Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller. Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim is also through after upsetting World No.6 Marwan ElShorbagy, winning 16-14, 11-7, 12-10. No.4 seed ElShorbagy held a 9-8 lead in the third game, but two strokes against the Englishman quickly handed the momentum back to Ibrahim, with the second stroke being given against ElShorbagy due to dissent. Ibrahim then converted to set up a second round match with ElShorbagy’s fellow Englishman, Curtis Malik. “I’m very pleased with the way everything went, the first game was very important for both of us,” Ibrahim said. “It’s a very tricky court, but we both managed to perform our best, especially in the first game. It was a mental battle with Marwan and I’m very happy with the way I handled the big points, I didn’t make many errors. I didn’t want to have too many interactions with the referee and I think that’s what made the difference.” Two former champions in Karim Gawad and Mohamed ElShorbagy saw their events come to an end against lower-ranked opposition. Gawad fell to India’s Abhay Singh, while ElShorbagy lost out to Spain’s Iker Pajares. In the women’s event, Malaysia’s Aira Azman got the better of No.5 seed Satomi Watanabe, while No.8 seed Georgina Kennedy saw her tournament come to an end against France’s Melissa Alves. Azman came back from two games down against Watanabe to claim her first win over the World No.6 to reach the last 16 of the Qatar Classic for the first time. “I’m very happy with the way I played today, I always seem to go 2-0 down and then get ready to play the next three [games],” said Azman, who will play Zeina Mickawy next. “She came with a good plan, but eventually I reset and focused on my shots and length more. I went back to basics to win the match. I don’t remember my previous matches against her, I think they were three years ago when I played my first Platinum event. She’s a top player and No.6 in the world, so I’ve watched a lot of her matches. I’m glad my plan worked today.” USA’s World No.4 Olivia Weaver was the other seed to bow out of the tournament after she withdrew from her match against Egypt’s Farida Mohamed due to a reoccurrence of the adductor injury that saw her pull out of the London Classic earlier this month. Defending champion Nour El Sherbini began her tournament with a comfortable 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 win against fellow Egyptian Sana Ibrahim. The eight-time World Champion will play World No.52 Nour Heikal next. “I’m happy to be back, it’s one of the best tournaments, if not the best,” said El Sherbini afterwards. “Coming back to a tournament you won last year, you feel the memories. I love this court and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen this week. “I didn’t have the best start to the new season, so I went home, regrouped, and I wanted to get off to a good start here. Sana is an amazing player, it was a tricky first round and she has good hands. I wanted to be more aggressive and play my game more.”

The draws for the first Platinum event of the 2025/26 PSA Squash Tour season have been released, with World No.1s Mostafa Asal and Nouran Gohar named as the top seeds for the QTerminals Qatar Classic 2025.Returning to the PSA calendar for its 22nd edition, the QTerminals Qatar Classic will see 64 of the world's leading squash players descend upon the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha from September 28th to October 4th. Every second of action will be available to watch live on SQUASHTV.Current World Champion Asal leads the men's field and will arrive targeting a first Qatar Classic title of his career. Last year, 'The Raging Bull' enjoyed a standout season, which yielded seven title successes and just six defeats from his 60 matches on the PSA Squash Tour.At the other end of the draw, World No.2 Diego Elias has been named as the No.2 seed and will return to defend the trophy he captured in stunning fashion 12 months ago. Last year, the 28-year-old defeated then-World No.1 Ali Farag and Asal in straight games each to lift the title, whilst also having won the event back in 2021. Elias will also be hoping to replicate his recent form against Asal if they were to meet in the final, having defeated the World No.1 in six of their last seven meetings on tour.Elias can be found in the same half of the draw as No.4 seed Joel Makin, who ended his 2024/25 campaign in superb form, capturing the first major title of his career at the PSA Squash Tour Finals. The 30-year-old Welshman will have to be on his guard right from the get-go, however, having drawn two-time World Junior Champion Mohamad Zakaria in round one, before a potential second-round tie with fellow up-and-coming talent Jonah Bryant.World No.4 Paul Coll has been handed an equally tough draw, with the hugely talented World No.10 Youssef Ibrahim awaiting the Kiwi in what could prove to be a blockbuster first-round tie.Two Englishmen and two Egyptians occupy the 5/8 seeding positions in the men's draw, with the ElShorbagy brothers, Mohamed and Marwan, joined by Karim Abdel Gawad and Youssef Soliman. England's Mohamed has enjoyed vast success at the Qatar Classic, picking up the title in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2022 and will open his account against Spanish No.1 Iker Pajares.Meanwhile, in the women's draw, World No.1 Nouran Gohar and World No.2 Nour El Sherbini have been named as the top two seeds in their respective halves of the draw, with Gohar arriving looking to overturn her five-game defeat to her arch-rival in last year's final. 'The Terminator' has won almost all there is to win in the sport, but the Qatar Classic crown is a piece of silverware that has eluded her since its return to the PSA calendar in 2023. Her account begins with a tricky opening round match against British No.1 Georgina Kennedy.Gohar can be found in the same half of the draw as World No.4 Olivia Weaver, who will be looking to continue where she left off at the backend of the 2024/25 season. The USA No.1 reached her maiden major final on tour at the PSA Squash Tour Finals, but is still eying a first career win against any of the established 'Big Three' in the women's game.Elsewhere, El Sherbini faces a potential blockbuster semi-final with World No.3 Hania El Hammamy, if the pair were to come through their respective draws. The last two editions of the Qatar Classic have seen the Egyptian pair deliver two five-game thrillers, with the winner of their encounter going on to pick up the title on both occasions.Further back in the top-eight seedings, three-time World Junior Champion Amina Orfi, Japan's Satomi Watanabe, Belgium's No.1 Tinne Gilis and Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam will all be hoping to launch bids into the latter stages of the event.Local favourite Abdulla al-Tamimi will lead Qatari hopes as he makes his tenth appearance at the Platinum-level event. The World No.22 takes on compatriot and tournament wildcard Ali al-Darwish in round one, while the second wildcard in the men's event, Salem al-Malki, faces Fares Dessouky.The DrawWomen's:[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v Georgina Kennedy (ENG)Nada Abbas (EGY) v Jasmine Hutton (ENG)Georgia Adderley (SCO) v Nele Gilis (BEL)[WC] Nadine Shahin (EGY) v [8] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)[6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) v Aira Azman (MAS)Zeina Mickawy (EGY) v Rachel Arnold (MAS)Hana Ramadan (EGY) v Marina Stefanoni (USA)Kenzy Ayman (EGY) v [3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) v Farida Mohamed (EGY)Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) v Mariam Metwally (EGY)Tesni Murphy (WAL) v Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY)Ka Yi Lee (HKG) v [7] Tinne Gilis (BEL)[5] Amina Orfi (EGY) v Melissa Alves (FRA)Aifa Azman (MAS) v Tomato Ho (HKG)[WC] Nour Heikal (EGY) v Hana Moataz (EGY)Sana Ibrahim (EGY) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)Men's:[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) v Ramit Tandon (IND)Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)Declan James (ENG) v Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY)Greg Lobban (SCO) v [8] Youssef Soliman (EGY)[6] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Abhay Singh (IND)Fares Dessouky (EGY) v [WC] Salem al-Malki (QAT)Curtis Malik (ENG) v Juan Vargas (COL)Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) v [3] Paul Coll (NZL)[4] Joel Makin (WAL) v Mohamad Zakaria (EGY)Jonah Bryant (ENG) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)Abdulla al-Tamimi (QAT) v Ali al-Darwish (QAT)Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) v [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG)[7] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) v Iker Pajares (ESP)Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v Raphael Kandra (GER)Mazen Hesham (EGY) v Dimitri Steinmann (SUI)Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v [2] Diego Elias (PER)