Barrington Predicts Which Players Can Upset Established Order This Season – Part Two

The 2024/25 PSA Squash Tour season is well and truly underway, with Nour El Sherbini and Mostafa Asal capturing the first-ever Diamond event titles at the 2024 CIB Egyptian Open in Cairo.

In the men’s event, World No.2 Asal upturned World No.1 Ali Farag to take home the title at Club O West, with ‘The Raging Bull’ looking in terrific form in a high-quality final. This continued the trend of Platinum and Diamond winners coming from the top four ranked players on the men’s tour, Farag, Asal, Paul Coll, and Diego Elias – but who could potentially force their way into this mix over the 2024/25 season?

As we look ahead to what should be one of the most exciting and competitive seasons ever on the PSA Tour, we spoke to SQUASHTV’s Joey Barrington to see which players could mount a challenge on those at the top of the world rankings on both the women’s and men’s tours.

Take a look at Joey’s preview of the women’s tour by clicking here while continue reading below for his verdict on the men’s game.

The Big Four

Barrington: “I would say there’s a little bit more predictability at the top end of the men’s game. You’ve got the big four, with Ali Farag leading the way. I was impressed by the way he bounced back after losing the World Champs and British Open at the end of last season to then win the World Tour Finals for the first time. That shows a great mental toughness and hunger, so Ali is always going to be a tough player to beat, particularly in the outdoor events in warm environments such as Egypt. We do only have two outdoor events this year of a major level though, with the Diamond-level Egyptian Open and then the El Gouna International taking place.

“Mostafa Asal, he’s always one to watch given the way he finished last season, winning the British Open. I personally feel that there are still question marks over his physicality. I know we keep harping on that he needs to be fitter, which he does with the size that he is, but he’s naturally got a bigger frame than other players and in longer matches in warmer environments, he needs to have a bit of extra fitness to help him.

“Paul Coll is always Mr Consistent. You always know he’ll be incredibly well prepared for every event, and he had a great season last year. I think he’ll be very much in the mix in the major events again.

“And Diego Elias, within reason, you don’t necessarily know what you’re going to get. He made his mind up that he wanted to win the World Championships and he did it in the Lions’ Den, which is extraordinary. The last non-Egyptian to win a major outdoor event was Gregory Gaultier, back in El Gouna in 2016/17, so the fact that he did that in the way he did in Cairo, to me is worth a couple of World Championship wins.

However, he didn’t back it up after that. Diego will have flashes of winning these major events because of the player that he is, but I’d love to see him try and step up and be a bit more consistent, but that’s hanging in the balance again for me.”

Egyptian Threats

JB: “Mazen Hesham is probably the biggest threat to the established order. If he’s had a good summer with his body, you know he is a maverick, you know he’s mentally a maverick as well, so he’s a very different player to everyone else. But if he puts it together he’s a danger. There’s an edginess about him because of his quality into the front, and if you add that to the consistency of his base game – which a lot of people would perceive as a boring game, which is ignorant because you need those foundations – that’s where he can cause some issues.

“If guys are going to be playing a Mazen Hesham who got through the early rounds feeling fresh, particularly on colder courts, they’re going to be very edgy playing him. He’s at World No.5, always a danger, a crowd favourite and very popular wherever he goes. He can always turn someone over. He proved that last year when he won against Mohamed Elshorbagy in Chicago.”

“You’ve also got people like Tarek Momen, who’s still in the top ten at 36 years of age, what a career he’s had. He’s always in the mix in quarters and semi-finals of big events. 

“And one person I must mention, who can always be a bit of an anomaly, but he’s one of my favourite players ever, is Karim Abdel Gawad.  He is just one of the most universally loved players. He can come out of nowhere and cause problems if he’s had a good run with training and preparation. So Gawad’s one player that they won’t be underestimating him. He beat Paul Coll last year in El Gouna and has had top results here and there. But again I must reiterate on Gawad, he’s not a spring chicken.

ElShorbagy Brothers

JB: “You can never write off the old beast, Mohamed ElShorbagy, who is battling away with age and body. He’s gone through the mileage, from the age of 15 he’s played through all these different amazing periods against all these great players, which has to be mentioned. He’s crossed over into these generations and in one-off matches he could be a danger; I do not know if he’s able to have the ability now to be able to come through and win a major, I’m not sure with these top four, I think that will be tough.

“However, in terms of getting a couple of big wins and going into semis and possible finals, I think we can still see that from Mohamed. I would say Mohamed can bring that too purely because of the presence that he has. I don’t think that any of them will underestimate Mohamed.

“Then let’s see what Marwan [Elshorbagy] can bring as well, because he’s been up and down, but has the experience; you’re looking at a former World No.3, there’s great experience there, and on his day, if everything’s organised and he’s happy with everything outside of the court, he can still be a bit of a danger man. He’s played well here at the Egyptian Open, beating Karim Abdel Gawad, Victor Crouin, and Paul Coll. 

“There’s not really many English players coming through and we’re going to go through phases like that. We’re still waiting for the US men to come to the top as well which we hope we do get at some point with the Olympics on the horizon.”

Further Afield

JB: “Then there’s the players coming through. Victor Crouin was showing some signs the season before last, but he’s found it a little bit tougher in this last period. Baptiste Masotti, the consistency factor has got to be there for him to challenge.

“Mohamad Zakaria is a few years off yet but hopefully we’ll see him come into the mix, but again, it’s another Egyptian player. It would be nice to see some other younger players from other countries coming through.”

The PSA Squash Tour rolls into Paris this week, with the Platinum-level Paris Squash 2024 set to take place at the Cirque d’Hiver Bouglion – the oldest active circus in the world – between September 15th to 21st. 

To find more information on this event and all the other action coming your way from the PSA Squash Tour, you can follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Threads, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, or TikTok.