2022 Year In Review: Matches of the Year PT2

As we come to the end of 2022, we are taking a look back at some of the best bits of the year, and this time, it’s the best matches of the year.

There have been over 1,400 matches shown live on SQUASHTV over the course of the year. We started with the Houston Open in January, and have been around the globe, ending the year with the Everbright Securities International Hong Kong Squash Open, and the WSF Women’s World Team Championships.

We have whittled those 1,400+ matches down to ten, and there are some absolute crackers in our list. From major finals, to group stage matches, this year has seen epic contests across the board.

Take a look at our second set of five here, following on from yesterday’s batch of amazing battles, which you can check out here.

CIB PSA World Tour Finals – Group Stages
Nour El Sherbini v Hania El Hammamy

The first match in this batch is the only best-of-three contest in our top ten matches of the season, but it was incredible. Nour El Sherbini and Hania El Hammamy had both already qualified for the semi-finals of the competition, and it showed.

Both women were relaxed as they entered the glass court at the Mall of Arabia in Cairo for their final group stage match of the 2021/2022 CIB PSA World Tour Finals, and the squash that followed was amazing.

The ‘Warrior Princess’, fresh off the back of winning her sixth World Championship crown, took an intense opening game 11-8, but some perfect squash from El Hammamy saw the World No.3 draw level. The third game went the distance, with El Sherbini eventually coming out the winner, 11-9, to claim the win, with both women having a smile on their face at the end of their contest. 

El Sherbini went on to win the title, after straight games wins over US No.1 Amanda Sobhy and World No.1 Nouran Gohar, claiming the season-ending crown for the first time since it moved to Cairo.

QTerminals Qatar Classic – Third Round
Ali Farag v Miguel Rodriguez

The first major shock of the new season came at the QTerminals Qatar Classic, and it came form one of the PSA World Tour’s favourite faces.

Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez took on World No.1 Ali Farag in the third round at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, and he rolled back the years to get the better of the Egyptian.

Farag, who had not featured in the second round due to a walkover against Mexico’s Cesar Salazar, saw the Colombian win the opening exchanges to take the first game 13-11. However, he fought back to move into the lead in the contest after 11-5 and 11-6 scorelines in the second and third, respectively.

From there, though, the former World No.4 and British Open champ found another gear. A change of top seemed to bring out some new energy, and he started racing around the court. The famous ‘Disco Time’ was too much for Farag in the end, with Rodriguez coming through to win in five to advance to the quarters having knocked out the World No.1.

Open De France De Squash – Final
Marwan ElShorbagy v Victor Crouin

For the first time in three years, the PSA World Tour returned to France, with the Open de France de Squash taking place in Nantes. The incredible Hangar 24 was the venue for one of the sport’s most unique events.

The stands were full every night, and on finals night, more than 1000 fans were treated to an absolute show. After seeing Nele down Tinne in the all-Gilis battle in the women’s final, the men’s final was an incredible showpiece for the sport.

Home favourite Victor Crouin was into his third consecutive final, and his first as the new French No.1. He took on Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy for the Bronze-level title, and to the delight of the home crowd, he came out victorious in an incredible match.

The now-World No.10 found himself 2-1 down to ‘the Jackal’, with ElShorbagy’s pace and power proving too much in that third game. However, Crouin was able to summon more energy from within himself, and buoyed by the partizan French crowd, he eventually went on to win the fifth on a tie-break, 12-10, to secure his biggest title to date, and to send the fans into raptures.

U.S. Open – Third Round
Hania El Hammamy v Sabrina Sobhy

Another tournament, another home favourite making the crowd go crazy. This time, it came at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center as Sabrina Sobhy and Hania El Hammamy went head-to-head. 

The pair did battle in the third round of the U.S. Open in Philadelphia, and Sobhy came into the contest off the back of a five-gamer with Canadian No.1 Hollie Naughton in the last 32.

The pair had only met once before, at the CIB Egyptian Open twelve months earlier, where the World No.3 had won in straight games. It was a much different story in Philly though, as Sobhy took the opening game. She then should have won the second as well, but El Hammamy fought through to win it on a tie-break 15-13.

From there, though, Sobhy delighted the home crowd, and played some of the best squash she has played so far in her fledgling career. The American went on to secure a surprise victory, and her biggest to date, beating the World No.3 in a four-game contest.

Grasshopper Cup – Semi-Finals
Nour El Sherbini v Rowan Elaraby

The last match of our top ten came at the Grasshopper Cup in Zurich, and it was a battle between two Egyptian women in the semi-finals of the first Gold-level tournament to be held in Switzerland.

Prior to this contest, Elaraby was yet to take a game off the six-time World Champion in three attempts, having lost 3-0 on two occasions, and 2-0 in the group stages of the CIB PSA World Tour Finals earlier this year.

That statistic changed almost immediately though, as a rapid start from ‘Tinkerbell’ saw her claim the first 11-4. She then won the second game 11-9, and led midway through the third game on her way to what looked like a surprise victory.

However, El Sherbini is known as the ‘Warrior Princess’ for a reason! She clinched the third game 12-10 to stay alive in the match, before then also winning both the fourth and fifth games. In front of a packed crowd in Zurich’s Halle 622, El Sherbini came through one of her toughest tests of the year, and would eventually go on to win the tournament a day later, beating Hania El Hammamy in another five-game contest.