Paris Squash: Story of 2023

With the Platinum-level Paris Squash 2024 just around the corner, we’ve taken a look back at last year’s inaugural edition of the event, in which Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag crowned the champions in the French capital.

In what was an entertaining opening event of the 2023/24 season – and the first major event to take place in France since 1994 – there were plenty of shocks and surprises, along with some high-quality squash being played under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

This year’s Paris Squash gets underway on Sunday, 15 September, with 32 matches taking place across courts at the Cirque D’Hiver, Squash Horizon and Squash Montmartre on Day One, before action moves exclusively to the former of these three venues.

Every second of action will be available to watch live on
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Round One

Day one of Paris Squash 2023 saw ranking upsets across both draws, with England duo Katie Malliff and Lucy Beecroft the two notable victors in the women’s draw. Beecroft managed to overturn a 21-place ranking deficit to defeat Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe in three games and just over half an hour of action, while Malliff upset the home crowd after securing victory over French No.1 Melissa Alves in a tight four-game contest.

Meanwhile, in the men’s draw, Egypt’s former World No.7 Mohamed Abouelghar managed to recover from two games down to defeat Raphael Kandra, and USA’s Timothy Brownell upset World No.24 Patrick Rooney to reach the second round of a Platinum event for just the second time.

There were also five-game wins for French duo Sebastien Bonmalais and Auguste Dussourd, who overcame Lucas Serme and Henry Leung, respectively.

Round Two

The top seeds entered the fray in Round Two, with eventual champions El Sherbini and Farag dealt tough opening matches. El Sherbini took on compatriot Rowan Elaraby, while Farag took on Youssef Soliman on the all-glass court in Paris, but both made light work of their opposition, coming through in straight games.

In the women’s draw, World No.3 Hania El Hammamy fought back from two games down to overcome Tinne Gilis, while Olivia Weaver came through a nip-and-tuck five-game duel with Nada Abbas to progress to the third round, taking the last two games by 12-10 scorelines.

Auguste Dussourd won his second five-game match in as many days as he came from two games behind to defeat Iker Pajares, while compatriot Victor Crouin opened his account in impressive fashion with victory over Yahya Elnawasany. Elsewhere in the men’s draw, India’s Saurav Ghosal rolled back the years with a tense victory over Eain Yow Ng, winning the fifth game 11-7 to take the match after 72 minutes of action.

Round Three

Hania El Hammamy’s loss to Sabrina Sobhy was the major storyline of Round Three, with the American claiming her second victory over ‘The Leopard’ in as many seasons, as she romped her way to an 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 victory. The World No.16 shocked El Hammamy at the 22/23 US Open to reach the last eight, and she delivered again for a surprise quarter-final berth.

Egypt’s Farida Mohamed and Belgium’s Nele Gilis produced a tense finale to their third-round match on the glass court, with Gilis prevailing 14-12 in the final game to set up a meeting with Nouran Gohar.

Meanwhile, in the men’s draw England’s No.3 seed Mohamed ElShorbagy was forced to fight back from two games down to prevail against Miguel Rodriguez in a pulsating clash. The former World No.1 won all three of the last games by 11-4 scorelines to secure his spot in the quarter-finals after 64 minutes of play.

World No.1’s Ali Farag and Nouran Gohar continued their blemish-free starts to the event with routine wins over Greg Lobban and Olivia Weaver.

Quarter-Finals

A 100-minute blockbuster between Diego Elias and Joel Makin awaited the crowd in the quarter-finals, with some brutally physical squash being played between the pair. Despite Welsh No.1 Makin throwing absolutely everything at Elias, it was ‘The Peruvian Puma’ who came away with the win by a 7-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 7-11 scoreline.

Sabrina Sobhy played her part in yet another brilliant match, but this time didn’t quite have enough to progress to the last four, as the American was edged out by England No.1 Georgina Kennedy in five games. This victory would see Kennedy advance to a career-first Platinum semi-final. Egyptian duo Nouran Gohar and Nour El Sherbini both advanced to the last four without any major worries, and they were joined by American No.1 Amanda Sobhy, who clinched victory in five games over Joelle King.

The other three men’s players to advance to the semi-finals were Paul Coll, Mohamed ElShorbagy, and Ali Farag, after all claiming victories in three games.

Semi-Finals

For the 25th time in their PSA Tour careers, Ali Farag and Paul Coll went head-to-head – and the match certainly didn’t disappoint. In a 96-minute epic, Farag eventually managed to edge out the New Zealand No.1 12-10 in the fifth game.

After a career-best run in Paris, Georgina Kennedy would finally fall to defeat at the hands of eventual champion Nour El Sherbini. Despite having pushed ‘The Warrior Princess’ all the way to five games at the 22/23 British Open, El Sherbini ensured that history didn’t repeat itself as she cruised into the final in just 25 minutes, taking the match 11-7, 11-2, 11-5.

The other two semi-finals saw Diego Elias and Nouran Gohar score comfortable victories over Mohamed ElShorbagy and Amanda Sobhy, respectively. After being edged out in a tight opening game 11-9, ElShorbagy required physio treatment for an injury which would affect him for the remainder of the match. Elias barely had to leave second gear as he secured his berth in the title decider, dropping just two points over the subsequent two games. Meanwhile, Gohar looked in top form as she wrapped up victory over Sobhy in 41 minutes.

Finals

Both finals held extra significance as, in addition to the Paris Squash titles, the World No.1 spots were also on the line, with Diego Elias and El Sherbini hoping to take top spot off Farag and Nouran Gohar.

The women’s final was up first and it would be the 15th time that the Egyptian duo would be facing off in a final. El Sherbini was dominant in the head-to-head for finals, winning 11 times against Gohar’s three. The World No.1 started in aggressive style and was determined to let El Sherbini know that she meant business. The No.2 seed weathered the Gohar storm to lead 8-3, but the resilience of Gohar set in to force errors from El Sherbini, which handed Gohar game one.

Again, the World Champion was not deterred. She continued to find her targets in the back corners, giving Gohar no chance to impose her hard-hitting game as the ball was always tight to the side and back walls. El Sherbini was able to move ahead in the court and cut out Gohar’s drives, finding winner after winner to win the next three games confidently 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 to claim the opening Platinum event of the season.

A repeat of the British Open final was up next in the men’s final as Farag took on ‘Peruvian Puma’ Elias for the title. 

The question leading into the match was how Farag would be feeling physically after his 96-minute semi-final clash with Coll and whether Elias could capitalise if Farag was not at his best. The expected sluggish start from the World No.1 occurred and the World No.2 pounced to take it 11-2. The South American continued to play smart, accurate squash in game two to build up a 9-6 lead, and he looked certain to take a crucial 2-0 advantage. Farag battened down the hatches, however, and forced errors from the Peruvian to score seven of the next nine points, taking the game 13-11 to equalise.

The reality of not taking the second game from such a promising position seemed to devastate Elias as play commenced in game three. The body language of the 26-year-old was extremely negative, with shoulders slumped and movement slow. Farag steamrolled through the game to win 11-1 to take the lead for first time in the final. Elias picked himself up after some stern words from his father in between games and was much more competitive in game four to give himself a lifeline in the final. A brutal rally at 6-5 seemed worked in Farag’s favour as he pressed on, later moving ahead to 10-7. Elias clawed two points back, but at 10-9, Farag sealed the win with an inch-perfect backhand volley drop to claim the title and remain as World No.1.