The 2024 calendar year was the year in which Nour El Sherbini and Nouran Gohar’s rivalry on the PSA Squash Tour hit new incredible heights.
Never have two women dominated the squash landscape quite like the Egyptian duo did throughout 2024, having competed in an unprecedented series of matchups that lit up courts all across the globe.
From January’s Tournament of Champions to December’s Hong Kong Open, every single Platinum, Diamond, World Championship and World Tour Finals event – 11 in total – saw El Sherbini and Gohar go head-to-head in the final.
For fans, it was a year-long feast of brilliant battles and contrasting styles: El Sherbini’s precision and tactical nouse versus Gohar’s relentless power and sheer tenacity. Each meeting added a new chapter to their compelling rivalry, but which matches stood out to you?
Tournament of Champions
Nour El Sherbini 3-2 Nouran Gohar 9-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (64m)
A dramatic start to the year in the Grand Central Terminal in New York, where El Sherbini defied the odds by battling through a troublesome back injury to pick up the title.
Not only was El Sherbini fighting injury, but she also managed to recover from 2-0 down in the title decider with a scintillating spell of squash. The then-World No.1 certainly lived up to her nickname as ‘The Warrior Princess’.
Windy City Open
Nour El Sherbini 3-1 Nouran Gohar 11-7, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4 (50m)
El Sherbini continued her winning start to the 2024 calendar year by claiming back-to-back victories over Gohar, this time at the Windy City Open in Chicago.
This match – El Sherbini’s 40th title win on the PSA Tour – was the 30th time the pair had come head-to-head during their professional careers. This match was the shorted meeting of the year between the pair, with El Sherbini battling her way to victory after 50 minutes.
El Gouna International
Nouran Gohar 3-1 Nour El Sherbini 11-6, 11-13, 11-6, 11-6. (81m)
Gohar managed to defend her El Gouna International crown with a thrilling victory over El Sherbini on the stunning outdoor all-glass court, taking the 81-minute match in four games.
The then-World No.2, who was playing in her fifth consecutive El Gouna International final, was at her destructive best as she earned her first win over El Sherbini since the 2023 PSA World Tour Finals.
CIB PSA World Championships
Nouran Gohar 3-1 Nour El Sherbini 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5 (81m)
Arguably, the biggest and most notable match of the year, the PSA World Championships final, had a lot hanging on the line for both players.
For El Sherbini, this final was a chance to etch her name in the history books and match the great Nicol David’s eight World Championship titles, while Gohar was eying up her first World Championships crown from her fourth consecutive final.
In the end, it was Gohar who triumphed in front of a packed home crowd, taking a high-quality bout in four games.
British Open
Nouran Gohar 3-2 Nour El Sherbini 11-6, 17-15, 3-11, 7-11, 11-4 (91m)
The Gohar winning run continued as the PSA Squash Tour headed to The Rep Theatre in Birmingham for the prestigious British Open.
In what was the longest British Open women’s final on record at 91 minutes, Gohar held off a late charge from defending champion El Sherbini to win her second British Open crown.
This was Gohar’s fourth straight title victory since claiming the Black Ball Open in April.
Xbox PSA World Tour Finals
Nouran Gohar 3-1 Nour El Sherbini 7-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-10 (57m)
Gohar continued her sensational run of form as she claimed her fourth straight win over El Sherbini to win the season-ending Xbox PSA World Tour Finals.
This four-game win over El Sherbini took Gohar’s winning run on the PSA Squash Tour to 25 matches.
CIB Egyptian Open
Nour El Sherbini 3-1 Nouran Gohar 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (70m)
El Sherbini ended a four-match losing run against Gohar as she captured the first-ever Diamond-level title on the PSA Squash Tour with victory in the final of the 2024 CIB Egyptian Open.
In what was the pair’s 35th meeting and the 22nd in a final, it was El Sherbini who overcame an early one-game deficit to lift the title in front of a capacity crowd at Cairo’s Club O West.
Paris Squash
Nour El Sherbini 3-2 Nouran Gohar 6-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4 (64m)
El Sherbini came through a see-saw five-game battle inside the Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione to defend her crown at the Platinum-level Paris Squash.
In a match where both players’ levels peaked and dropped at numerous points, it was ‘The Warrior Princess’ who clinched victory after 64 minutes of play.
Qatar Classic
Nour El Sherbini 3-2 Nouran Gohar 10-12, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (96m)
El Sherbini’s unbeaten start to the 2024/25 campaign continued with a magnificent five-game comeback against Gohar at the QTerminals Qatar Classic.
In the pair’s ninth straight major final, El Sherbini managed to storm back from 2-0 down to take a 96-minute thriller inside the Khalifa International Squash Complex.
U.S. Open Championships
Nouran Gohar 3-1 Nour El Sherbini 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7 (51m)
Gohar claimed her first 2024/25 campaign title with a hard-fought four-game win over El Sherbini.
Despite Gohar missing out on three Championship Balls for potentially the first straight game victory between the pair in 2024, she managed to recover early in the fourth to take the match and clift the U.S. Open title for the fourth time in her career.
Hong Kong Squash Open
Nouran Gohar 3-1 Nour El Sherbini 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 (55m)
Gohar and El Sherbini fought it out for the World No.1 position in the women’s rankings in the last Platinum event of the 2024 calendar year at the Hong Kong Squash Open.
Gohar, whose 2016 triumph at the Hong Kong Open was her first major win on the PSA Squash Tour, managed to claim her sixth victory of the year over El Sherbini in four games, and with it, returning to the summit of the Women’s World Rankings.
