Elkabbani Wins Seventh Tour Title at Bremer Schlüssel 2024

Ibrahim Elkabbani maintained his 100% record in PSA Tour finals, beating Alejandro Enriquez to clinch the Bremer Schlüssel 2024 title. 

The 21-year-old Egyptian came into this event – where he was the No.1 seed – looking to win a third 15k title this season, and his seventh tournament overall, having come out on top in each of his previous six PSA Tour finals. 

He had, by his own admission, been far from his best in the first two rounds, but put in a more accomplished display in the semi-finals, beating his housemate and close friend Yassin Elshafei 3-0. 

Enriquez, in contrast, produced a stunning comeback to beat Mazen Gamal 3-2, saving match balls at 10-9 down in both games three and four, eventually completing victory in 93 minutes. 

The Guatemalan won himself a host of new fans in the process at the Fitness & Squash Center Achim-Baden, but they were powerless to help him in the early exchanges of Saturday’s final, as Elkabbani cruised into a one-game lead in only 10 minutes.

Playing in the biggest final of his career and nearly 10,000km from home, Enriquez was never going to make life easy for Elkabbani, and he was soon back on level terms, dominating game two. 

A backhand winner down the line at 10-4 closed out the game, drawing a warm round of applause from the crowd, with Elkabbani cutting a frustrated figure as they players headed off court. 

Those frustrations were quickly dispelled, though, as the No.1 seed raced into a 6-0 lead in game three, with some untimely tins not helping Enriquez’s cause. 

6-0 soon became 11-3 and Elkabbani was in no mood to let his opponent back in, setting the tone for game four with a dominant opening rally, which he won with a crosscourt winner that sent Enriquez the wrong way. 

He soon had glory within his grasp at 9-3 up, and while the No.4 seed did threaten another unlikely comeback – winning four of the next five points – he’d left himself too much to do, as Elkabbani slammed a forehand winner beyond his reach on match ball. 

Both players left the court to a loud ovation from the crowd, and speaking after collecting his trophy, Elkabbani was delighted to have kept his perfect record in finals intact.

“As we said yesterday, 15k is my lucky number,” he said. 

“So I’m just happy with the way I performed and the way I fought today. I was feeling kind of sore, but I’m just happy I managed to play with the circumstances that happened on court today, and I’m happy to win my seventh PSA title. 

“I was actually thinking today that I don’t want [my perfect record in finals] to go, so I just fought hard and I’m grateful that I finished my season with one of the biggest titles, here in Bremen.” 

Result: 
[1] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) bt [4] Alejandro Enriquez (GUA) 3-1: 11-4, 4-11, 11-3, 11-7 (50m)