Defending Champions Farag and Gohar Lead 2023 Tournament of Champions Draws

World No.1’s Nouran Gohar and Ali Farag will return to New York City between January 18-26 to defend their J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions crowns as the PSA World Tour Platinum tournament celebrates its 25th year of being staged at the iconic Grand Central Terminal.

The iconic event will return to its Platinum-level status in 2023, after last year’s Gold event, where Egypt’s Farag and Gohar were victorious under the chandeliers of Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall. Gohar defeated home favourite Amanda Sobhy in the final, while Farag came through a great battle with Peruvian Diego Elias to lift the men’s title.

Gohar will lead a star-studded cast in the women’s draw. Three-time ‘ToC’ winner Nour El Sherbini will be the No.2 seed, with compatriot Hania El Hammamy and the in-form Joelle King also in contention.

Gohar will take on US No.2 and World No.10 Olivia Fiechter in the second round, with the pair both receiving byes through the opening day’s action. The World No.1 could then face compatriot Nour El Tayeb in the quarter finals, before a meeting with King in the last four.

El Sherbini will start her week in New York against either fellow Egyptian Nadine Shahin or the second women’s wildcard. Possible meetings with Welshwoman Tesni Evans or US No.1 Amanda Sobhy could follow for El Sherbini, before a potentially massive semi-final battle with World No.3 El Hammamy.

Sobhy and Fiechter will be just two of five Americans in the women’s draw. Sobhy’s younger sister, Sabrina, and Olivia Clyne could meet in the second round if the latter defeats Ka Yi Lee on the opening day. Meanwhile, wildcard Caroline Fouts takes on England’s Jasmine Hutton in the first round.

Farag will be aiming for a third ‘ToC’ crown in January, and he will start his run in New York against either England’s Patrick Rooney or American wildcard Dillon Huang in the second round. Frenchman Victor Crouin and compatriot Marwan ElShorbagy could then follow, before a semi-final clash with old rival Mohamed ElShorbagy.

In the bottom half of the draw, Paul Coll and Mostafa Asal could meet once more in the semis. The Kiwi will start off against either France’s Baptiste Masotti or Englishman Nathan Lake, before potentially meeting Peru’s Diego Elias in the quarters. Asal could do battle with Tarek Momen in the last eight if he gets past Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann or Frenchman Auguste Dussourd in his opening match.

The American duo of Shahjahan Khan and Todd Harrity will lead the home hopes in the men’s draw. Khan will take on former World No.5 Borja Golan in his opening match of the competition, while Harrity will take on Qatari No.1 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi in the first round.

Elsewhere, Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim and England’s Georgina Kennedy will both be aiming to return from injury. The Egyptian has not featured on tour since the El Gouna International in June, while Kennedy had to withdraw from the England team currently featuring at the WSF Women’s World Team Championships in Cairo.

Mohamed Abouelghar will also continue his comeback from injury. The former World No.7 jumped up over 640 places in the PSA World Rankings following his quarter-final appearance at the Hong Kong Football Club Open on Monday, and is now currently just outside the world’s top 200.

There will be playoffs for the second wildcard spot in each draw. They will take place on January 17, the day before the tournament starts, at the Yale Club of New York. Hollis Robertson will face Peter Creed in the men’s match, with Anna Shumway and Akanksha Salunkhe doing battle in the women’s match.

Action from New York City will be streamed live on SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and finals will also be shown on the channels of PSA’s broadcast partners.

You can stay up to date with anything related to the event by following the PSA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. You can also follow the event’s channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and purchase tickets here.

Men’s First Round Draw: J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) – [Bye]
[WC] Dillon Huang (USA) v [17/32] Patrick Rooney (ENG)
[17/32] Shahjahan Khan (USA) v Borja Golan (ESP)
[9/16] Victor Crouin (FRA) – [Bye]
[9/16] Joel Makin (WAL) – [Bye]
[9/16] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) – [Bye]
[9/16] Gregoire Marche (FRA) – [Bye]
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) – [Bye]
[8] Mazen Hesham (EGY) – [Bye]
[9/16] Fares Dessouky (EGY) – [Bye]
[17/32] Moustafa El Sirty (EGY) v Yahya Elnawasany (EGY)
Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) v [17/32] Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
[17/32] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) v Cesar Salazar (MEX)
Henry Leung (HKG) v [17/32] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[9/16] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) – [Bye]
[4] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) – [Bye]
[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) – [Bye]
Auguste Dussourd (FRA) v [17/32] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI)
[17/32] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v Lucas Serme (FRA)
Ramit Tandon (IND) v [17/32] Raphael Kandra (GER)
[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) – [Bye]
[9/16] Youssef Soliman (EGY) – [Bye]
[17/32] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) v James Willstrop (ENG)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) – [Bye]
[5] Diego Elias (PER) – [Bye]
Adrian Waller (ENG) v [17/32] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[17/32] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v Karim El Hammamy (EGY)
Todd Harrity (USA) v [17/32] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
[17/32] Greg Lobban (SCO) v George Parker (ENG)
[Qualifier] v [17/32] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA)
[17/32] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v Nathan Lake (ENG)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) – [Bye]
[9/16] Olivia Fiechter (USA) – [Bye]
[17/32] Mariam Metwally (EGY) v Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) v [17/32] Sana Ibrahim (EGY)
[17/32] Olivia Clyne (USA) v Ka Yi Lee (HKG)
[9/16] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) – [Bye]
[17/32] Yathreb Adel (EGY) v Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY)
[6] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) – [Bye]
[8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) – [Bye]
[9/16] Salma Hany (EGY) – [Bye]
[17/32] Hollie Naughton (CAN) v Jana Shiha (EGY)
Nicole Bunyan (CAN) v [17/32] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
[17/32] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) v Georgia Adderley (SCO)
[9/16] Nele Gilis (BEL) – [Bye]
[17/32] Emily Whitlock (WAL) v Marie Stephan (FRA)
[4] Joelle King (NZL) – [Bye]
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) – [Bye]
Lucy Beecroft (ENG) v [17/32] Hana Ramadan (EGY)
[17/32] Lisa Aitken (SCO) v Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY)
[WC] Caroline Fouts (USA) v [17/32] Jasmine Hutton (ENG)
[9/16] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) – [Bye]
[9/16] Tinne Gilis (BEL) – [Bye]
[17/32] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) v Enora Villard (FRA)
[7] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) – [Bye]
[5] Amanda Sobhy (USA) – [Bye]
Zeina Mickawy (EGY) v [17/32] Aifa Azman (MAS)
[9/16] Tesni Evans (WAL) – [Bye]
[9/16] Nada Abbas (EGY) – [Bye]
[17/32] Lucy Turmel (ENG) v Hana Moataz (EGY)
Tomato Ho (HKG) v [17/32] Melissa Alves (FRA)
[17/32] Nadine Shahin (EGY) v [Qualifier]
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) – [Bye]