PHOTO ALBUM
Finals
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-2 [1] Nouran Gohar 8-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-6, 11-8 (79m)
[1] Ali Farag3-1 [3] Diego Elias (PER) 3-1 9-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-1 (64m)
World No.3 Hania El Hammamy and World No.1 Ali Farag have captured the prestigious J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions Platinum-level titles after defeating current World Champions Nouran Gohar and Diego Elias, respectively, on a thrilling finals night in New York.
No.3 seed El Hammamy completed her dream run inside the spectacular Grand Central Terminal – overturning a seven-match losing streak against Gohar – to claim her first J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions title and her first title on the PSA Squash Tour since December 2023.
El Hammamy kicked off where she left off from her stunning semi-final win over five-time champion Nour El Sherbini, looking comfortable on the all-glass court inside Grand Central Terminal and making the running as she moved into a 7-5 lead.
Following a blood injury break for a cut above Gohar’s eyebrow, though, it was the “Terminator’ who began to find her marks, controlling the pace of the match with her aggressive hitting. El Hammamy was forced ever deeper on the court and slipped into retrieval mode in the latter stages of the first, with Gohar taking six of the last seven points to move one game ahead.
No.3 seed El Hammamy came out with a more aggressive mindset following the game break, going in short with more regularity and imposing her own game plan on the top seed. In particular, the drive into the back corner, drop shot combination helped El Hammamy on her way to an 11-8 second game victory.
The momentum of the match swung dramatically back in Gohar’s favour in the third game, finding her targets once more and forcing El Hammamy into a number of uncharacteristic errors. As Gohar’s lead grew, so too did the frustration levels of El Hammamy, with the 24-year-old gesticulating to the referee that she wasn’t happy with the exaggeration of Gohar’s swing in the latter stages of a one-sided third game.
After a game-break talk from coach Karim Darwish, El Hammamy regained her composure and raced into a quick-fire 6-0 lead in the fourth game. Despite Gohar reducing the deficit considerably in the latter stages of the game, El Hammamy held on to force a deserved deciding game.
The match couldn’t be more finely poised heading into the fifth game, but it was El Hammamy who began to dominate at the front of the court and soon held five championship balls on her racket. However, Gohar refused to go down without a fight, claiming three straight points to set up a thrilling finale. The comeback ultimately wasn’t to be for Gohar, though, with the Video Referee awarding a stroke to El Hammamy to see her claim the 14th title of her career.
“It’s amazing, I’m so pleased,” El Hammamy said after the match. “I have finally got wins over the World No.1 [Nouran Gohar] and World No.2 [Nour El Sherbini] in a row – I haven’t had that for so long.
“This is the first time I have won a Platinum title in the U.S. in my career, I thought that it was not my place. But there is no better place for me to win a title in the U.S. than here in New York in Grand Central Station.
“I wasn’t even enjoying squash for quite some time, so thank you so much to all of the team behind me. They’ve been through so much with me.”
World No.1 Ali Farag has claimed his fourth title at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions after defeating current World Champion Diego Elias in four games. The pair were meeting for the seventh time this season, with Farag having only lost one of these previous encounters, and more widely, just five of their 32 meetings on the PSA Squash Tour.
But it was No.3 seed Elias who took control of the match from the offset, making the court extremely big for Farag and playing with the same accuracy that had brought him impressive wins over Joel Makin and Mostafa Asal in the previous two rounds.
‘The Peruvian Puma’ matched top seed Farag point for point until moving away in the latter stages to take a 15-minute first game 11-9.
Elias continued to replicate the tactics which brought such great success in his sensational straight games win over Farag at the Qatar Classic, pressing up the court and volleying in short whenever possible, moving into a 5-2 lead. However, Farag began to find his width as the second progressed, elongating the rallies and managing to get the ball beyond the reach of his opponent on a more regular basis. At game ball down in the second, defending champion Farag produced three faultless points to clinch a pivotal 19-minute second game.
The definition of clutch 😲 ⤵️@AliFarag | #TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/JZCRxxXDUI
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 31, 2025
An already brilliant match produced yet more fireworks in a thrilling third game, with the pair unable to split deep into a blockbuster tie-break. The crowd inside Grand Central Terminal was treated to a string of high-quality rallies, which visibly sapped the energy of both players. Game balls came and went for both players, but it was Farag who held his nerve to take a 14-12 third game in just under an hour of breathless play.
The brutal third game looked to have taken the edge off Elias’ attacks in the fourth game, with Farag visibly upping the tempo as he moved into a 5-0 lead. After receiving a conduct warning for racket abuse earlier in the match, Elias was then handed a conduct stroke after hitting his racket against the side wall after being squeezed out down the backhand wall. A frustrated Elias was then handed a further stroke for dissent and was soon staring at an 8-1 deficit.
From there, Farag moved through to victory in swift fashion, wrapping up the win after 64 minutes of action and claiming his third title of the PSA Squash Tour season.
After the match, Farag said: “This title means so much to me. This is one of the most iconic, if not the most iconic, tournaments that we have on the calendar year because of the location of this incredible crowd.
“Obviously, I thought we played an incredible first three games. Diego and I have been pushing each other so hard. I’ve played in seven tournaments this season and I’ve played Diego seven times.
“You can imagine how tough it is to play against him every time. It’s been going down to the wire so often. He’s an incredible athlete and an incredible squash player.
“It’s very unfortunate how the match ended today. I really don’t know who’s at fault here. The referees have such a selfless job, and I know that they sometimes get it right and sometimes they get it wrong, just like we do as players. So I don’t want to make any judgement here and now. I feel sorry for everyone involved, but I’m definitely looking forward to playing Diego again in the future.”
Semis
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-1 [2] Nour ElSherbini 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 (55m)
[1] Nouran Gohar 3-1 [4] Olivia Weaver (USA) 11-5, 7-11, 12-10, 12-10 (61m)[3] Diego Elias (PER) 3-1 [2] Mostafa Asal 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9 (66m)
[1] Ali Farag 3-0 [4] Paul Coll (NZL) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (46m)
World No.1 Ali Farag, champion here at the Tournament of Champions in 2019, 2022, and 2024, continued his title defence with a faultless straight-games victory over World No.4 Paul Coll.
Ali dominated the ’T’ in the opening game, stepping up the court and controlling the pace of rallies. Despite No.4 seed Coll staying level heading into the mid-phases of the first, it was Farag who moved away to take the first game after 16 minutes of play.
In between game breaks, Coll’s coach, Rodney Martin, admitted in a court-side interview that the player who “took control of the middle would take control of the match’, and Coll’s continuous attempts to jump on the volley suggested this was the major message from his corner heading into the rest of the match.
Farag though, ultimately proved too smart and astute in the latter stages of the second, moving away from 7-7 to with four straight points to double his advantage – taking it in fortuitous circumstances with a rare ace.
Three-time champion Farag continued to play blemish-free squash as the match entered the third, with Coll doing all within his power to stay in touching distance. However, Farag once again played his best squash when the pressure mounted, taking the match when Coll clipped the tin with a backhand unforced error.
After the match, Farag said: “You want to test yourself against the best, and Paul has definitely cemented him as one of the best over the last few years. He might not have had the best season to his standards this time around, but somebody with his character is always going to come back stronger.
“He has adapted his game to become more attacking in recent times and I have no doubt that he is going to come out of it stronger.
“For myself, I am very happy with the way I played, definitely in the second game when I ran away from 7-7 in the second game. I’m very proud of my performance.”
World No.3 Hania El Hammamy, who had lost her last seven encounters against El Sherbini, progressed to the final for the first time in her career after a sensational performance saw her defeat five-time champion.
Despite a third-game scare, which saw El Sherbini fight back from 8-3 down to force a fourth game, El Hammamy recovered admirably to reach her first major final since the Hong Kong Open in December 2023.
“I’m out of words,” El Hammamy said after the match. “I always know that I’m capable of beating Nour [El Sherbini], and for some reason, she has always given me lessons over the last year-and-a-half, especially on this court last year.
“I had to really accept those losses, and it was really hard to do that at the beginning. But now, here I am, getting my first win over her since Qatar [Classic] 2023. So yeah, I’m just so pleased.
El Hammamy will face fierce rival and World No.1 Nouran Gohar in the final of the Platinum-level event after she held off a stern challenge from U.S. No.1 Olivia Weaver to advance in four games.
In a nip-and-tuck match which was ultimately decided by fine margins and a few crucial points, World Champion Gohar – who suffered a worrying knee injury in the latter stages of the match – saved game balls in both the third and fourth games to clinch the match by an 11-5, 7-11, 12-10, 12-10 scoreline.
𝙒𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝘼 𝙒𝙄𝙉 🔥 🔥@HaniaaElHammamy dethrones five-time champion Nour El Sherbini with a stunning SF performance at @TOCSquash 🙌#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/Qoy0sA3KlD
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 30, 2025
Quarters
[1] Nouran Gohar 3-0 [8] Amina Orfi 11-5, 11-2, 11-9 (44m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 11-2, 11-7, 11-2 (29m)
[2] Nour ElSherbini 3-1 [7] Rowan Elaraby 11-8, 2-11, 12-10, 11-7 (49m)[1] Ali Farag 3-2 [8] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 8-11, 7-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-9 (72m)
[2] Mostafa Asal v [7] Tarek Momen 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (45m)
ElSherbini Beats Elaraby to Reach 31st Straight Platinum Semi-Finals
Nour ElSherbini overcame a second-game wobble to record an 11th straight win over Rowan Elaraby, opening day six with a 3-1 win at New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Elaraby and ElSherbini are good friends off the court, but the World No.2 has enjoyed a dominant run against the 24-year-old, winning all 10 of their previous Tour meetings.
The three most recent of those encounters had come earlier this season, with Elaraby pushing ElSherbini all the way to five at the Comcast Business U.S. Open Championships.
She made a flying start here, too, taking the first three points of game one, but ElSherbini remained unflustered and reeled off nine of the next 11 points, closing the game out on a stroke down the backhand side.
Game two was a different story, though, as Elaraby this time did convert an early lead, and in some style too. Not only did she win the game 11-2, but the winner count was 8-1 in her favour and she did not make a single error in the game, with the New York crowd pondering that an upset could be brewing.
🎙️ "A couple of commuters literally fell over at the front wall there!" 🤣
A huge scream from @rowanelarabyy on a huge point 😤#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/kGNHGibjxG
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 28, 2025
At 10-9 up in game three, Elaraby too would have been sensing a huge opportunity, but a boast into the tin – when ElSherbini was rooted to the T – was followed by a no-let and then brilliant backhand drop from ElSherbini, to hand the World No.2 a 2-1 advantage.
The 24-year-old continued to match the seven-time world champion stride-for-stride, hitting an inch-perfect backhand cross-court drop from deep in the court to make it 3-3, and it was soon 7-7 for the second game running.
But as all the great players do, ElSherbini came out on top in the crucial stages, reeling off four points in a row – the last of which when Elaraby tinned a backhand – to secure herself spot in the semi-finals of a Platinum event for the 31st time in a row.
“I’m just happy that I won to be honest,” she said. “I’m happy that at the crucial times, I held myself [together], played the crucial points in a good way and maybe that’s what made the difference today.
“Rowan was playing amazing. I think this was one of the best matches she’s played against me and it’s hard to play her. Today, I think she was playing better than me but I’m just glad that I found a way to win.”
🎙️ "A couple of commuters literally fell over at the front wall there!" 🤣
A huge scream from @rowanelarabyy on a huge point 😤#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/kGNHGibjxG
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 28, 2025
El Hammamy Eases Past Hutton In Three
World No.3 Hania El Hammamy put in a flawless performance to defeat unseeded Jasmine Hutton in straight games and progress to the semi-finals of the Platinum-level event.
El Hammamy, who is on the hunt for her first title on the PSA Squash Tour since December 2023, put down a marker of intent heading into the latter stages of the event with a supreme 11-2, 11-7, 11-2 victory over World No.20 Hutton.
Right from the offset, El Hammamy looked at ease on court inside the Grand Central Terminal, finding her marks and not allowing Hutton a inch in what was one of the biggest matches of the 25-year-old Englishwoman’s career.
The Egyptian changed her pace of play smartly throughout the encounter, lifting into the back two corners smartly whenever under pressure from Hutton’s attacking brand of squash.
After racing into an early one-game lead, No.3 seed El Hammamy had to hold off a resurgent Hutton in the second, with the latter getting the ball into the back corners and fighting back from 8-3 to 8-7. However, El Hammamy kept her composure to claim three consecutive points at the backend of the second double her advantage after 23 minutes of play.
The No.3 seed only grew from strength to strength as the third game progressed, setting up a semi-final tie with World No.2 Nour El Sherbini after just 28 minutes of play.
After the match, El Hammamy said: “Jasmine had a brilliant win against Gina the other day, so I had to push as though she was one of the top eight because Gina is one of the top eight.
“We played a couple of months ago in Paris and it was a really hard match and it went to court games. I knew how dangerous she was if I wasn’t playing my best squash. I knew I had to be really sharp right from the beginning until the end.
“I’m enjoying myself on court, I’m enjoying playing again. I’m in another semi-final here at ToC, but I’ve never made it to the final, so hopefully, I can get the win tomorrow night.”
Asal Downs Momen To Continue Hunt For First ToC Title
World No.2 Mostafa Asal continued his quest for a first Tournament of Champions title with a straight-games victory over compatriot and No.7 seed Tarek Momen.
Asal, who can go to World No.1 this week if he reaches the final and current World No.1 Ali Farag were to lose in the semi-finals, continued his blemish-free start to the tournament with a powerful 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 win inside the Grand Central Terminal.
In what proved to be a stop-start match, which saw plenty of traffic in the middle of the court, it was Asal who took control of the scoreboard at the beginning and never allowed 36-year-old Momen to take a significant lead.
Asal continually put World No.7 Momen under pressure across both back corners and, paired with his incredible athleticism, forced the former World Champion into narrowing his margins at the front of the court – a move which resulted in several errors from the racket of the older Egyptian.
‘The Raging Bull’ moved to match ball after 44 minutes of action and, at the first time of asking, booked his spot in the semi-finals of the Platinum-level event.
“Playing Tarek is always so tough, he is one of the legends of the game. He’s 36 and still playing like this! When I’m 36, I’m 100% going to be lying on my couch at home.
“Credit to him how he inspires the players and Egyptian players. It was a difficult match today, but one push at a time and that is the mentality for me.
“I’m taking the pressure off myself. Every match that I’m playing is a bonus for me. I’m really happy with my performance today.”
World No.1 Ali Farag continued his quest for a fourth Tournament of Champions title with a titanic victory over long-term rival Mohamed ElShorbagy, defeating the Englishman 11-9 in a thrilling fifth game in New York City.
In front of an awe-struck packed house in the Grand Central Terminal, Farag fought back from 2-0 down, and later 8-3 down in the deciding game to defeat World No.9 ElShorbagy in a finish that will likely be remembered for years to come.
After four games of high-quality squash, the match hit yet higher heights as the two World Champions went toe-to-toe in an exhausting 20-minute fifth game.
ElShorbagy looked primed for one of the biggest wins of his recent years at 8-3 up, but top seed Farag had other ideas. The World No.1 began to reel in ElShorbagy with a string of lengthy rallies, with one near three-minute exchange bringing an animated crowd to their feet. And it would be Farag who ultimately took the spoils after 72 minutes of absorbing action, engaging in a long embrace with ElShorbagy after booking his spot in the semi-finals of the Platinum-level event.
🤯 Unbelievable from start to finish!
🇪🇬 @AliFarag came back from 3-8 in the fifth to defeat ElShorbagy after an exhilarating 72 minutes!#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/laUQXyAu2h
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 28, 2025
“I’ve got nothing but the utmost respect for Mohamed,” Farag said after the match. “He is the player I’ve got the most respect for, and he still inspires me now. He was so smart and so tactical today. I think he deserves to give the interview more than I do today, he just fought so hard.
“I was struggling mentally today, squash-wise Mohamed was on top of everything. I’m very happy and very grateful, and I live to fight another day.”
In the women’s draw, Nouran Gohar put in flawless display to defeat World No.7 Amina Orfi in straight games.
Current World Champion Gohar and three-time World Junior Champion Orfi had already met earlier this season in a fiercely contested quarter-final at the Qatar Classic, but this time around, Gohar took the honours in much more straightforward fashion. The Egyptian delivered a performance worthy of her World No.1 ranking, striking the perfect balance between power and precision as she recorded an 11-5, 11-2, 11-9 victory in 44 minutes of play.
After the match, Gohar said: “I woke up today feeling good and I knew that I wanted to be on court today. I felt great and wanted to be here.
“I felt I played really good squash, both tactically and technically. It’s scary sometimes when it is too good to be true. I knew she was going to come out and throw everything at me. I needed to try sustain that level [from the second] and I needed to try put as much work in her legs as possible. This helped me to clinch the match in the third.”
Round Two
[1] Ali Farag 3-1 Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6 (41m)
[8] Mohamed Elshorbagy(ENG) 3-1 Mohamed ElSherbini 11-8, 11-8, 2-11, 11-8 (49m)
[3] Diego Elias (PER) 3-1 Mohamed Abouelghar 11-1, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6 (50m)
[5] Joel Makin (WAL) 3-2 Youssef Ibrahim 15-13, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10 (89m)
[7] Tarek Momen 3-2 Fares Dessouky 8-11, 8-11, 11-3, 0-0 ret. (51m)
[2] Mostafa Asal 3-0 Timothy Brownell (USA) 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 (33m)[1] Nouran Gohar 3-0 Amanda Sobhy (USA) 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (40m)
[8] Amina Orfi 3-0 Nele Gilis-Coll (BEL) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 (64m)
[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-0 Sana Ibrahim 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 (29m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Nada Abbas 11-2, 11-7, 11-9 (34m)
[7] Rowan Elaraby 3-0 Malak Khafagy 13-11, 11-9, 11-4 (34m)
[2] Nour ElSherbini 3-0 Georgia Adderley (SCO) 11-3, 13-11, 11-9 (37m)
Asal Eases Past Home Favourite Brownell
Mostafa Asal continued his quest for a fourth title of the season, sweeping aside home favourite Timmy Brownell 3-0 in the opening match of the evening session. Asal has won three events so far in 2024/25 but has never gone beyond the semi-finals here at the Tournament of Champions, losing in the semi-finals here 12 months ago.
The pair had faced off in last year’s British Open when Brownell had put on an entertaining show in defeat, but the first rally of this encounter suggested a far more serious affair, as the players went back-and-forth for more than a minute.
The ‘Raging Bull’ – who had unrelieved a ‘Joker’ mask as his celebration for round one – ran away with the opening game in 12 minutes, winning it 11-5, and repeated the trick in game two, which finished with the same scoreline.
Every point Brownell won was being loudly cheered by the New York crowd, but the Egyptian No.2 seed had too much quality on the day, dominating game three even more than he done the first two games, losing only two points to wrap up victory in little more than half an hour.
“Timmy’s unique,” Asal said after his win. “Unique personality and we’re friends. He’s amazing for our sport, you see how he’s taking it seriously but at the same time, he’s having fun on court, it’s just amazing and I’m really happy to play with him.
“It’s so difficult to play against him. He’s such a wonderful guy and I’m coming for the NSL [National Squash League] that he’s doing as well. “He’s just having fun and trying to promote the squash as well so all credit to Timmy but I’m really happy to be through today.”
Momen Advances After Dessouky Retirement
No.7 seed Tarek Momen advanced to the quarter-finals after his match with Fares Dessouky was cut short due to the retirement of his opponent early in the fourth game.
Dessouky had earlier established a 2-1 lead in what was a stop-start affair inside the Grand Central Terminal, with both players struggling to avoid traffic in the middle of the court. After falling two games down, Momen had taken a one-sided third game to leave the match well-poised for a dramatic conclusion.
However, with the score at 2-1 to Dessouky and 0-0 in the fourth game, the 30-year-old was caught in the mouth in the followthrough of Momen’s swing as he raced towards the front right corner. Caught straight in the face, Dessouky took a blood injury break due to the bleeding from his mouth, and soon after, retired from the match.
“This is not the way I want to win a match,” Momen said after the incident.
“I’m the last person who would want to hurt anyone this way, and if you’ve seen the video, I was just hitting my shot, and while I was clearing my arm, he just accidentally ran into it.
“It was while I was pulling my arm away, I was giving him clear access to the ball, but he was running too fast and he hit, I think, the bottom of my racket which caused the unfortunate incident.
“As soon as I saw it I apologised immediately and I told him, take as much time as he needs. I was willing to wait for an hour or two. The thing is, I think he may have cracked a tooth and that’s understandably made him a little p*ssed with me, but I have to apologise to him.
“It really wasn’t intentional and the last thing I would want to do is hurt anyone on court. I hope when he calms down he will watch it again and see that it was just an unfortunate accident.
“I wouldn’t want to be in the quarter-finals this way. He was obviously playing very well up to 2-0 up. There were a few arguments and traffic issues but he was playing the better squash, but then I thought I had the momentum.
“Physically I felt like in the third, maybe I can outrun him and I wanted to see that, I wanted to go into the fourth and hopefully the fifth, and see if I can hold it together, but unfortunately the match ended much sooner than expected.”
Elaraby Wins All-Egyptian Duel To Seal Quarter-Final Berth
No.7 seed Rowan Elaraby booked her spot in the quarter-finals with a straight-games victory over compatriot Malak Khafagy.
Elaraby, a semi-finalist at last year’s edition of the Tournament of Champions, looked in fine form as she continued her perfect streak of reaching at least the quarter-finals of every major event this campaign.
The early stages of the match between the two Egyptians were well contested, with the pair tough to split at 5-5 and later 11-11, but it was World No.8 Elaraby who delivered two strong points to take the crucial opening game.
Again, 20-year-old Khafagy continued to test Elaraby as the match entered the second game, hitting some impressive winners and testing the movement of her opponent across all four corners of the corners. However, Elaraby’s experience shone through in the latter stages, doubling her lead by an 11-9 scoreline.
After the morale-boosting nature of the second-game victory, Elaraby raced out of the blocks quickly in the third and never looked back, wrapping up the win after 33 minutes of action on the all-glass court inside Grand Central Terminal.
“Obviously, I’m really pleased to get through to the quarters here,” Elaraby said after the match. “It’s one of my favourite tournaments and favourite venues. Playing in front of this crowd is amazing, so I’m really lucky to be here competing.
“Obviously playing against an up-and-coming player is always tricky and tough. They always have this confidence, they don’t care who they play against and it’s pressure every time you step on court with them.
“I think I played some decent squash in some patches today and it was a tricky match, so I’m glad I’m through.”
El Sherbini Defeats Impressive Adderley In Three
Five-time champion Nour El Sherbini booked her spot in the last eight following a hard-fought straight-games victory over Georgia Adderley.
El Sherbini, who dropped just 11 points in her opening-round clash with Hollie Naughton, continued her strong start to the event with an 11-3, 13-11, 11-9 win over the Scottish No.1.
Right from the offset, El Sherbini looked in terrific form, pulling Adderley across all four corners of the court with her hold and deception down both wings. The Egyptian raced into an early 5-0 lead and later a 1-0 lead after just eight minutes of play.
World No.24 Adderley stuck to the task admirably in the second game, entering the latter stages of the game in touching distance and moving superbly on the all-glass court inside Grand Central Terminal.
From 10-8 down, Adderley managed to force a tie-break, hitting a memorable forehand crosscourt winner to save the latter of the two. However, the Scotswoman wasn’t able to convert her own opportunity, with El Sherbini eventually prevailing in the second by a 13-11 scoreline.
Adderley continued to pose El Sherbini problems in the third, adding some smart hold into her play as she grew in confidence. El Sherbini’s experience shone ultimately through though, with the Egyptian moving away from 7-7 to seal the win after 37 minutes of play.
After the match, El Sherbini said:
“Firstly, Georgia is an amazing player. She has a lot of potential and I know she is a very good runner and physically very good. Once she got into the match she was beginning to play much better and the last points she was pushing a lot.
“I’m very glad that I didn’t slip up a game. She has huge potential, and we will definitely see her more in the upcoming seasons.
“You always want to have tough matches in the early rounds to get yourself ready for the later rounds. It’s very risky playing someone like Georgia in the second round though.”
Orfi Beats Gilis-Coll in Hour-Long Duel
Amina Orfi reached the quarter-finals for the second straight year, beating Nele Gilis-Coll 3-0 in an hour-long duel. Orfi had dominated their November matchup at the VITAGEN Singapore Squash Open, winning 3-0 in 42 minutes, and she made a fast start here, taking a one-game lead with an 11-5 success.
The 11-5 scoreline does little to tell the full story, though, with the 19-minute game time showcasing just how long some of the rallies were, despite Orfi attacking early in the rallies on numerous occasions.
Result: J.P. Morgan @ToCSquash 2025 Women's RD2
🇪🇬 [8] @amina_orfi beats Nele Gilis-Coll 🇧🇪
3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 (64m)#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/Z29TkwjkLH— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 25, 2025
The long exchanges continued into game two with the New York crowds captivated by the squash on show, but once again it was the young Egyptian who reached the race to 11 first, hitting a perfectly-weighted backhand drive down the line on game ball at 10-9 up.
By the time game three started, there were hoards of passers-by glued to the action behind the front wall, as well as all those seated around the court, as the players continued to engage in long, testing rallies. At 7-3 up, it looked as though Orfi was heading for a comfortable victory, but Gilis-Coll continued to battle hard, closing the gap back to 9-7 when she successfully overturned a yes-let decision into a stroke, ramping the tensions up another level.
But as she has so often done in her short career so far, Orfi came up clutch in the crucial rallies as the match duration ticked past the hour mark, keeping her composure right until the end by, hitting another inch-perfect backhand drive on match ball that left Gilis-Coll with no chance of a return.
“We played last time in Singapore, a few months ago and the conditions were kind of different,” she said on court while still catching her breath.
“We weren’t used to playing each other, but this time I knew that even I was going to win, it would not be an easy 3-0 like in Singapore, she was going to fight.
“She was down 2-0 [in round one] and she came back, so I was prepared for anything today.”
Gohar Beats Sobhy to Deny New York Crowd Home Success
Nouran Gohar denied the New York crowd some home success in the final match of the afternoon session, beating the USA’s Amanda Sobhy 3-0 in a rematch of the 2022 Tournament of Champions final.
Gohar could hardly have asked for a tougher start to this tournament, being drawn against World No.11 Satomi Watanabe in game one before this matchup with Sobhy, who had the Grand Central Terminal crowd right behind her throughout. Sobhy, meanwhile had come through a five-game thriller to beat Sivasangari Subramaniam, setting up a 20th PSA Tour meeting with reigning world champion Gohar.
It was Gohar who made the better start, easing into a 6-3 lead, but Sobhy grew into the contest, getting the crowd going as fought her way back to a 10-9 deficit, only to lose the following point. She then had a 6-4 lead in game two as each point she won drew a louder cheer from the stands, with her mum and sister Sabrina – as well as a fan holding an ‘It’s Sobhy Time’ sign – among those glued to the action.
They were all on the edges of their seats, too, when Sobhy moved within two points of victory at 9-8 up, but she was unable to convert her lead into a game win, losing three points on the bounce to fall 2-0 behind.
That perhaps took the wind out of the crowd’s sails as Gohar eased into to a 6-3 lead in game three, a lead that soon became 9-5 as the World No.1 continued to find her length well to combat Sobhy’s attacks towards the front corners.
Determined not to go down without a fight, Sobhy closed to the gap back to two points at 10-8 by saving two match balls, but would ultimately fall short of forcing a tiebreak when Gohar fired in a fierce forehand kill from deep in the court.
“This match was the final of ToC in 2022, so we were playing the final here three years ago, which shows how tough of a match it was going to be.
“I know Amanda loves to play in the US, she raises her game, especially here at the ToC, so I was aware of this for sure.
“I have so much respect for her, coming back like this and playing even stronger. Obviously I wasn’t in the position she was, rupturing two achilles, but I can tell that when you’re out of the game, you’re so hungry and you want to prove to yourself, before anyone else, that you’re back. It shows how passionate she is.
“I definitely raised my game from the first round and I know I can still raise it a bit more, but for today I’m ok with it.
“She played a really good match. I did too but I feel like I can be more consistent in these matches, and that’s good, that gives me something to work on the rest of the week and I’m looking forward to the next round.
Round One
[1] Ali Farag 3-1 Youssef Soliman 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (52m)
Mohamed ElSherbini 3-0 [wc] Christian Capella (Usa) w.o.
Grégoire Marche (Fra) 3-2 [6] Karim Gawad 8-11, 11-4, 15-13, 5-11, 11-8 (76m)
[3] Diego Elias (PER) 3-1 Mohamad Zakaria 11-13, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (66m)
Mohamed Abouelghar 3-0 Ramit Tandon (IND) 11-8, 12-10, 15-13 (41m)
Youssef Ibrahim 3-0 Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 17-15, 11-6, 11-8 (48m)
[7] Tarek Momen3-1 Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 10-12, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (38m)
Fares Dessouky3-0 Declan James (ENG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-2 (34m)
[2] Mostafa Asal 3-0 Aly Abou Eleinen 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 (45m)[1] Nouran Gohar 3-1 Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 13-15, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (46m)
[8] Amina Orfi3-0 Fayrouz Aboelkheir 11-5, 11-8, 11-3 (41m)
[5] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-1 Hana Ramadan 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4 (38m)
Sana Ibrahim 3-0 Aira Azman (MAS) 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 (30m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Lisa Aitken (SCO) : 11-4, 11-5, 11-2 (27m)
Nada Abbas 3-0 Laila Sedky (USA) 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 (23m)
[7] Rowan Elaraby 3-0 Farida Mohamed 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (32m)
Malak Khafagy 3-0[WC] Charlotte Pastel (USA) 11-3, 11-2, 11-8 (20m)
[2] Nour ElSherbini3-0 Hollie Naughton (CAN) 11-5, 11-2, 11-4 (21m)
🗣️ "That is OUTRAGEOUS" 🙌
Defending champ @noursherbini is on fire here in her opening match of @TOCsquash 🔥#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/yKPXhDzjbp
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 24, 2025
This squeeze from Mohamad Zakaria 🤌
The World Junior Champion leads the current World Champion after a spicy 21-minute opening game 🌶️
Watch live on @SquashTV 📺#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/Vs85XrZ2LW
— SQUASHTV (@SquashTV) January 24, 2025
In the men’s event, World No.2 Mostafa Asal got his 2025 Tournament of Champions campaign underway in impressive style, delighting the crowd with an 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 win over compatriot Aly Abou Eleinen. After losing out to Eleinen in the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open earlier this season, Asal exacted his revenge with a powerful but equally accurate performance on the all-glass court within Grand Central Terminal.
After the match, Asal said: “It’s amazing to be back in New York, it’s like a second home for me.
“It’s so difficult to play someone who has been playing so well and is your age as well. I’m always playing with older guys, so that does bring some tension to me. At the U.S. Open, he had such an amazing match, and I knew it was going to be so hard today.”
Meanwhile, former World Champion Tarek Momen got the better of Nicolas Mueller in a highly entertaining four-game duel, coming from a game behind to record a 10-12, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 victory. The 36-year-old, a former finalist at the Tournament of Champions, will face Fares Dessouky in the second round.
There were also wins in the evening session for Egyptian trio Youssef Ibrahim, Mohamed Abouelghar and Fares Dessouky.
Women’s World No.3 Hania El Hammamy eased into the second round of the Platinum-level event after defeating Scotland’s Lisa Aitken in straight games. The Egyptian will be joined by compatriots Nada Abbas and Malak Khafagy after the pair saw off the respective threats of American Wildcards Laila Sedky and Charlotte Pastel.
PSA preview
Three-time champion Ali Farag will be looking to join Canadian legend Jonathon Power on four titles this year. The World No.1 is the defending champion having beaten former winner Diego Elias in last year’s final.
Not only will Farag be determined to win the title for its prestige but also to keep the advances of World No.2 Mostafa Asal at bay. The younger Egyptian has moved to within touching distance of Farag in the World Rankings and can overtake him if he wins the event and Farag doesn’t reach the final.
Nouran Gohar has been a beaten finalist in the last two editions of the event and enters this event as the World No.1 and World Champion. She’ll be determined to maintain her fine form and keep the advances of five-the ‘ToC’ winner Nour El Sherbini at bay. El Sherbini recently lost the World No.1 mantle to Gohar and will be looking for another strong performance in one of her favourite venues to reduce the deficit to Gohar.
Hania El Hammamy is the No.3 and knows that only special performances will be enough to defeat Gohar or El Sherbini.
Five-Time ToC Winner ElSherbini Looks Ahead To One Of Her Favourite Events On The Calendar
Nouran Gohar “hungry to win more” As She Starts 2025 As World No.1