Breaking: Mohamed ElShorbagy Wins First Black Ball Squash Open

England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy put in crushing performance to beat Egypt’s Tarek Momen and win his first Black Ball Open title.

Going into the match, it was former World No.1 ElShorbagy who was felt to be the favourite, with 77 percent of respondents from a poll of 950 squash fans picking him as the likely winner ahead of tonight’s clash.

That confidence was perhaps understandable, given former World No.1 ElShorbagy’s strong form this season after a troubled previous campaign, with ‘the Beast’ winning four PSA titles already this season and putting in a stunning performance to down No.2 seed Elias in yesterday’s semi final.

2019 World Champion Tarek Momen, meanwhile, went into tonight’s clash on a nine-match losing streak against ElShorbagy and hunting a first title since the 2020 Canada Cup, though the 35-year-old will have been buoyed by his fightback from 2-0 down to beat Joel Makin yesterday.

In a fast paced and entertaining opener, Momen was at his deceptive best as he went toe-to-toe with ‘the Beast’, saving three game balls to force a tie break.

ElShorbagy then upped the intensity to earn game ball at 11-10, only for Momen to save again and have a game ball of his own at 12-11.

This time it was ElShorbagy’s turn to save, with the 32-year-old keeping his cool to level at 12-12 before taking the lead with a 14-12 win in 16 minutes.

The England No.1 kept the pressure up well in the second game, taking advantage of Momen’s faltering length, pushing up the court and playing some typically powerful squash as he stormed into a dominant position with an 11-8 victory.

After a spirited tactical discussion with coach Omar Abdel Aziz, Momen made a rapid start to the third game, taking the first three points as his accuracy returned.

ElShorbagy looked to be responding, only for Momen to put work into ‘the Beast’s’ legs as he moved him around the court and went 6-1 up.

After weathering this storm, ElShorbagy returned to the relaxed style that served so well yesterday and earlier today, with the imposing World No.4  attacking early and going on a brutal run of points to eviscerate Momen’s lead and secure the title in three games with an 11-7 win that moved him joint fourth alongside Peter Nicol in the all-time titles list.

Afterwards, ElShorbagy said: “First I’d like to speak about Tarek. We go way back and have played so many times over the years. We’ve been great rivals, with respect.

“His journey is very inspiring. I know he’s had his struggles in recent months and for him to come and play the way he did this week is inspiring.

“In Egypt, there have been a lot of great champions, in the past present and, I’m sure, in the future. For me, Tarek is by far the most consistent and best ever Egyptian player to have played in his 30s. By far.”

ElShorbagy added his congratulations to women’s champion Nouran Gohar and thanked the crowd, sponsors and his coaching team, promising them that he was going to keep fighting to reclaim the World No.1 ranking.

For both ElShorbagy and Momen, attention turns to next week’s Gold-level GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic 2023, where they are again seeded fifth and seventh, respectively.

A replay of tonight’s final will shortly be available on SQUASH.TV.

Result: 2023 Black Ball Squash Open Men’s Final

[5] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bt [7] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-0: 14-12, 11-8, 11-7 (41m)