Battle For World No.1: El Sherbini v Gohar

8 September 2023

Once again, there is the possibility of the World No.1 spot changing hands in the women’s World Rankings this week as a major women’s event heads back to Doha for the QTerminals Qatar Classic.

Nour ElSherbini reclaimed the World No.1 spot this week as she defeated Gohar in the final of the opening Platinum event of the new season – the Paris Squash 2023 – last Saturday. The points are extremely tight between the two as we head into the second major event of the PSA World Tour season. El Sherbini currently has an average of 2,182.778 whilst Gohar is less than 2 points behind her at 2,181.111.

The next ranking update after the Qatar Classic will take effect on Monday September 18 after the event has finished and with Nouran Gohar losing her winner’s points from last season’s South Western Women’s Open, the task is a little tougher for the World No.2.

For Gohar to Reclaim the World No.1 Spot:
She must win the event
OR
She must reach the final, while El Sherbini goes out in the semi-finals or earlier

For El Sherbini to Stay at World No.1:
She must match or better Gohar’s results.

El Sherbini finished as runner-up in the 2015 Qatar Classic, falling to England’s Laura Massaro in the final.

The 27-year-old will face the winner of Alexandra Fuller and Zeina Zein in round two. From there, she is predicted to play Rowan Elaraby, Nele Gilis and Joelle King en route to the final as she aims to win the first Qatar Classic title for eight years.

Gohar reached the quarter-finals the last time the Qatar Classic had a women’s draw, also being knocked out by Massaro.

The Egyptian will have a chance to claim her first title of the season as she starts her campaign against either Ineta Mackevica or Emily Whitlock in round two. American duo Olivia Fiechter and Amanda Sobhy are also in Gohar’s path to the final, while she is seeded to play World No.3 Hania El Hammamy in the last four.

The Qatar Classic takes place from September 9-16 in Doha, and you can watch all the action on SQUASHTV.

For more information on the Qatar Classic, follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

The full draws are available here.