Season Review: Diego Elias

27-year-old Diego Elias endured a staggered start to the 2023/24 season. With the stress of becoming World No.1 and being dethroned by a returning Ali Farag in the back end of the 22/23 season, Elias could enter the new campaign with renewed determination and focus to find his way back to the top of the tree. It took the Peruvian until February to claim this first silverware of the season but something far greater was on the horizon.

Elias’ first test of the season came at the first Platinum event, the Paris Squash 2023. The No.2 seed faced Wales’ Joel Makin and came through a brutal 100-minute clash to move into the semi-finals. After Mohamed Elshorbagy looked to suffer an injury after the opener, Elias eased through to a sixth final of the year and faced Ali Farag for the title. The South American took the opening game emphatically 11-2 but was worn down by the World No.1, who eventually won in four games.

Elias’ first major title of his career came back in 2021 at the Qatar Classic, with a win much needed for the Peruvian, he headed back to Doha with multiple titles on his mind. Elias surrendered just one game on route to a second successive final but would once again need to beat Farag to lift the trophy. The Egyptian was too good once again, meaning that Elias had to settle for another silver medal.

The former World No.1 then headed back to Philadelphia in a bid to defend his U.S Open title from 2022. The No.2 seed wasn’t as clinical on route to the semi-final stage, dropping games to Ramit Tandon and Marwan Elshorbagy in the earlier rounds but then squared off with Paul Coll with a third final in a row up for grabs. Elias led twice in the contest but never looked to be playing his best squash. Coll sensed this and kept plugging away and eventually took the spoils in five games.

Two tournaments in Asia would round off the calendar year for the Peruvian. Firstly, a trip to Singapore for the Vitagen Singapore Open. After beating Mostafa Asal in a scrappy semi-final, Elias again fell at the hands of the best player in the world, Ali Farag. A chance to seek revenge over Coll presented itself pretty early for Elias in the final tournament of 2023, the Hong Kong Open. The World No.2 didn’t seem 100% fit as he sparred with the Kiwi but bowed out in straight games to the eventual champion.

The former World Junior Champion would then base himself in North America for the next five events to start 2024, beginning his run in the familiar setting of Florida for the inaugural Kinetic Florida Open. Elias was looking to score a 10th successive win over Egypt’s Mazen Hesham in the semi-finals, but ‘the Black Falcon’ had been playing some of the best squash of his career and finally broke the losing streak to send Elias home early. Another title defence opportunity was next for ‘the Puma’ as he headed back to New York City for the J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions. Elias again defeated Mostafa Asal in the semi-finals but despite forcing a fifth game against World No.1 Farag in the final, couldn’t maintain his momentum.

Elias’ first title came in his next event as he continued his dominance at the Motor City Open. The Peruvian claimed a fourth title in a row at the Birmingham Athletic Club to finally claim silverware for the first time of the season. The tour then headed to Chicago for the Windy City Open 2024. Mostafa Asal was due a win over Elias and despite trailing 2-1, the Egyptian fought back to win in five games.

After another win came for Elias in Calgary at the Canadian Men’s Open, he headed to Egypt for the El Gouna International and PSA World Championships. Elias’ quarter final match with Tarek Momen took an unexpected turn as play was forced to move to an indoor court due to weather conditions affecting the outdoor all-glass court in El Gouna. This visibly disrupted the No.2 seed who went on to lose in straight games.

Preparation was far from ideal for the Peruvian heading into the World Championships but four faultless wins over Al Tamimi, Pajares, Ibrahim and Gawad took him to a first ever Worlds semi-final. Elias faced the defending champion Farag, without a legitimate win in 19 attempts. Elias exhibited one of the best performances of his career to down the top seed and heavy favourite and take his place in the World Championships final. Another clash with the heavily supported Mostafa Asal stood between Elias and his dream. The No.3 seed stormed to a 2-0 lead against a nervous looking Asal and despite the young Egyptian holding the advantage in the third game, Elias fought back to earn a match ball. Asal sent the return of serve into the tin to hand Elias the title, making him the first ever South American World Champion.

Two major events still remained for the new World Champion. The British Open in Birmingham and the Xbox PSA World Tour Finals in Seattle. A top of his game Joel Makin stopped Elias in his tracks in the quarter finals in Birmingham whilst injury forced Elias out of the World Tour Finals to bring his season to a close. All in all, a slightly disappointing season for the Peruvian but that was all forgotten once he got his hands on the World Championship trophy. He will forever be a World Champion.

The figures:

Matches played: 54
Matches won: 42
Matches lost: 12
Events won: 3
Win percentage: 77.7%

Paris Squash – Runner-up
QTerminals Qatar Classic – Runner-up
U.S Open – Semi-Finals
Singapore Open – Runner-up
Hong Kong Open – Quarter Finals
Florida Open – Semi-Finals
J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions – Runner-up
Motor City Open – Winner
Windy City Open – Semi-Finals
Canadian Men’s Open – Winner
El Gouna International – Quarter Finals
PSA World Championships – Winner
British Open – Quarter Finals
Xbox PSA World Tour Finals – Pool stages