Asal Becomes Third Youngest Men’s World No.1 Ever

16 January 2023

Egypt’s Mostafa Asal has become the third youngest man to reach World No.1 in the history of professional squash after the 21-year-old reached the final of the Houston Open last week.

Asal, who has overtaken Ali Farag to reach World No.1, went on to beat England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy in the Houston title decider last night to win his 11th PSA title and has reached the top of the PSA World Rankings less than five years after making his debut on the tour.

Only the great Pakistani legends, Jahangir Khan (18 years) and Jansher Khan (18 years and six months), have reached the summit of the men’s World Rankings at a younger age than Asal, who has already amassed five major title wins.

Speaking after last night’s Houston Open final triumph, Asal said: “I’m so happy to claim this spot. Mohamed knows this spot very well for sure.

“I’ve always been looking up to him, he was my idol since I was a kid, and I would always go to events in Egypt to watch him and cheer for him, so to play with him at any point is a pleasure for me.”

ElShorbagy’s runner-up finish sees him rise a spot to No.3 – his highest ranking since November of last year – with New Zealand’s Paul Coll falling to No.4.

Elsewhere, Mazen Hesham has risen to No.9, replacing Frenchman Victor Crouin, who drops to No.10, while Crouin’s compatriot Gregoire Marche swaps places with Karim Abdel Gawad, with the former moving back inside the world’s top 15.

In the PSA Women’s World Rankings, England’s Georgina Kennedy has risen three places to No.11 after beating USA’s Olivia Fiechter to win the Carol Weymuller Open yesterday, her first title win in 12 months.

Nouran Gohar stays at No.1 for a 42nd successive week, with Nour El Sherbini, Hania El Hammamy, Joelle King and Amanda Sobhy completing the top five.

The biggest mover on the women’s tour is Japan’s Risa Sugimoto, who rises 25 spots to No.191 after she won the 1st Yokohoma Open Squash Championships last week.