Karim Abdel Gawad – 500 Matches: The Breakdown

Karim Abdel Gawad reached another milestone in his illustrious career last week, contesting his 500th match on the PSA Tour when defeating England’s Curtis Malik in the second round of the Optasia Championships.

Former World No.1 Gawad, 32, has enjoyed a hugely successful successful career at the top of the men’s game since making his debut back in April 2008, capturing 28 titles from his 44 finals on tour, and most memorably winning the World Championships in 2016.

We’ve broken down the stats behind Gawad’s first 500 matches and have taken a look back at some of his most notable fixtures along the way.

Career Stats

Matches: 500

Won: 349 (69.8%)

Lost: 151 (30.2%)

Tournaments: 176

Finals: 44 (25%)

Titles: 28 (15.91%)

Match Breakdown

Wins (Best of Five Only)

3-0: 120 (35.71%)

3-1: 131 (38.99%)

3-2: 85 (25.3%)

Defeats (Best of Five Only)

2-3: 35 (24.65%)

1-3: 52 (36.62%)

0-3: 55 (38.73%)

Most Frequently Played Opponent

Mohamed ElShorbagy: 25 matches

Won: 8

Lost: 17

Notable Moments:

First PSA Match…

2008 Hurghada International: First Qualifying Round – Mohamed Reda (EGY) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6 (45m)

First PSA Title…

2008 Goshen Open: Final – Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [2] Lewis Walters (ENG) 3-1: 11-13, 11-3, 14-12, 11-2 (69m)

First Title on SQUASHTV…

2016 UCS Swedish Open: Final – [2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [3] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-2: 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-4 (80m)

First Time in World’s Top 100…

December 2009

First Time in World’s Top 50…

November 2010

First Time in World’s Top 10…

December 2015

First Time At World No.1…

May 2017

First World Championship Title…

2016 Men’s Wadi Degla PSA World Championship 2016: Final – [6] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [5] Ramy Ashour (EGY) 3-1: 5-11, 11-6, 11-7, 2-1 ret. (50m)

Longest Match…

2012 Grasshopper Cup: Round One – [4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 3-2: 14-16, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 (115m)