World No.1s Ali Farag & Nour ElSherbini Headline 12th El Gouna International Squash Open

Dominant Egyptian duo Ali Farag and Nour El Sherbini have been named as the No.1 seeds for the 12th edition of the El Gouna International Squash Open 2024 after the draws were released. 

The event will run from 19 – 26 April, with early round action coming from the El Gouna Squash Complex before  a glass court will be introduced from round three onwards at the El Gouna Conference and Culture Center. You can watch the action live on SQUASHTV.

Defending champion Farag has been in terrific form all season, reaching the final of all Platinum events so far and winning four of the six. Farag defeated Mostafa Asal in 2023’s final, a win that saw Farag claim a fourth title in a row in an amazing run to end the season back at World No.1. The Egyptian will be hoping to secure back-to-back titles in El Gouna and faces either Ramit Tandon or Mohamed ElSherbini after receiving a first round bye.

Only one player has managed to defeat Ali Farag all season, New Zealand’s Paul Coll. The World No.2 has scored three wins over Farag and will be full of confidence after his recent win from 2-0 down at the Optasia Championships. Coll’s accurate, attritional play partnered with his developing attacking game has caused problems for the World No.1 and many other players. He’ll be looking continue this form and claim a first El Gouna title.

2022 champion Mostafa Asal returns as the No.4 seed for this years event. ‘The Raging Bull’ hasn’t claimed a Platinum event since winning the Hong Kong Open in December 2022. The 22-year-old has been changing his game slightly but will be determined to be lifting major silverware once again and with an impressive record on home soil, he can pose a big threat to Coll, who he is seeded to meet in the semi-finals.

Another player who has gone a year without claiming a major title is No.3 seed Diego Elias. The Peruvian achieved the childhood dream of becoming World No.1 in April 2023 but since losing it to Ali Farag, has found it hard to find a way past the Egyptian. The World No.1 has beaten Elias in four finals this season, two of which in Platinum event title deciders. The 27-year-old’s quality is undoubted and a strong end to the season will be at the front of the Peruvian’s mind as he heads into the seventh Platinum event of the season.

Runaway World No.1 Nour ElSherbini tops the women’s draw, looking to claim a second El Gouna International title and fourth title in a row. ElSherbini has been almost unstoppable this season, losing only two matches throughout the campaign so far, claiming six titles in the process. The World Champion will be determined to add another major title to her tally in El Gouna and close in on a record-breaking season. 

2022 champion Hania El Hammamy is the No.2 seed for the event, looking to score a third Platinum event of the season and eighth in her career. El Hammamy is in the same side of the draw as rival and defending champion Nouran Gohar. The battles between the pair have been some of the most intense matches that the women’s game has ever seen and is set to be reignited once again. After both receiving a round one bye, El Hammamy will look to inflict her revenge on Sivasangari Subramaniam who beat El Hammamy in the London Squash Classic final whilst Gohar will play Marie Stephan or Sana Ibrahim in her opening match.

Belgium’s Nele Gilis recorded her best ever finish in a Platinum event in this tournament last year, finishing runner up to Nouran Gohar having defeated Nour ElSherbini in the round before. Since then, Gilis has stayed very consistent to keep hold of her top four ranking. Recent results haven’t gone the way of the Belgian but there is no breaking the 27-year-old’s spirit and fight. She’ll open her campaign against Tesni Murphy or Nicole Bunyan in round two.

The 5/8 seeds in the women’s event are all hunting down that treasured World No.4 spot and aren’t far behind in the rankings and are all capable of producing upsets on their day. European duo Georgina Kennedy and Tinne Gilis have both reached career-high rankings this season. USA’s Olivia Weaver has claimed two World Tour titles whilst Nour El Tayeb is always a danger given her racket skills and retrieval abilities. 

The wildcards for the event are Egyptian duo Moustsfa Elsirty and Salma Elalfy who will face Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio and Egypt’s Mariam Metwally in round one. There are also a qualifying spot in each draw which will be filled nearer to the event starting. 

For updates on the El Gouna International Squash Open 2024, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Men’s Draw:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bye
Ramit Tandon (IND) v [17/32] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY)
[17/32] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v Curtis Malik (ENG)
Faraz Khan (USA) v [17/32] Raphael Kandra (GER)
[17/32] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) v Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bye
[17/32] Iker Pajares (ESP) v Simon Herbert (ENG)
[6] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) bye
[8] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Farkas Balazs (HUN) v [17/32] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[9/16] Joel Makin (WAL) bye
[Qualifier] v [17/32] Leonel Cardenas (MEX)
[9/16] Victor Crouin (FRA) bye
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) v [17/32] Patrick Rooney (ENG)
[9/16] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bye
[3] Diego Elias (PER)
[4] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
Karim El Hammamy (EGY) v [17/32] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY)
[17/32] Adrian Waller (ENG) v Juan Camilo Vargas (COL)
Leung Chi Hin Henry (HKG) v [17/32] Auguste Dussourd (FRA)
[9/16]Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) bye
[WC] Moustafa Elsirty (EGY) v [17/32] Leandro Romiglio (ARG)
[9/16] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) bye
[7] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bye
[5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bye
Fares Dessouky (EGY) bye
[17/32] Greg Lobban (SCO) v Rory Stewart (SCO)
[9/16] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bye
[17/32] Gregoire Marche (FRA) v Shahjahan Khan (USA)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) v [17/32] Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
[17/32] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) v Andrew Douglas (USA)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL)

Women’s Draw: 
[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY)
Katie Malliff (ENG) v [17/32] Rachel Arnold (MAS)
[9/16] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bye
Nada Abbas (EGY) bye
[17/32] Nadine Shahin (EGY) v Malak Khafagy (EGY)
Grace Gear (ENG) v [17/32] Zeina Mickawy (EGY)
[17/32] Mariam Metwally (EGY) v [WC] Salma Elalfy (EGY)
[5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG)
[8] Tinne Gilis (BEL)
Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bye 
[9/16] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bye
Emilia Soini (FIN) v [17/32] Tomato Ho (HKG)
[17/32] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v Ka Yi Lee (HKG)
Salma Hany (EGY) bye
[17/32] Tesni Murphy (WAL) v Nicole Bunyan (CAN)
[4] Nele Gilis (BEL) bye
[3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bye
Marie Stephan (FRA) v [17/32] Sana Ibrahim (EGY)
[17/32] Hana Ramadan (EGY) v Aira Azman (MAS)
Enora Villard (FRA) v [17/32] Georgia Adderley (SCO)
[17/32] Lucy Turmel (ENG) v Kenzy Ayman (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bye
[17/32] Melissa Alves (FRA) v Cindy Merlo (SUI)
[7] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bye
[6] Olivia Weaver (USA) bye
Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) v [17/32] Hollie Naughton (CAN)
[17/32] Aifa Azman (MAS) v Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY)
Salma Eltayeb (EGY) v [17/32] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY)
[17/32] Hana Moataz (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Amina Orfi (EGY) bye
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bye
[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bye