Hesham Breaks Into Top 10 of PSA Men’s World Rankings

Egypt’s Mazen Hesham has broken into the top 10 of the PSA Men’s World Rankings for the first time following his run to the final of the Houston Open in January.

The 27-year-old has struggled with a number of injury problems in recent years – even dropping out of the top 50 in 2017 after previously reaching a career-high of No.13 two years prior – but was in magnificent form to reach a first PSA World Tour Gold final last month in Houston, and he has been rewarded with a three-place rise to No.10.

The man he lost out to in the Houston final – fellow Egyptian Ali Farag – stays at No.1 for a sixth consecutive month and a 26th month in total and he is followed by World No.2 Paul Coll. Coll will usurp Farag at the summit of the World Rankings on March 1, with Farag set to lose ranking points from the 2020 Qatar Classic and the 2020 CIB Black Ball Squash Open at the end of this month.

Mohamed ElShorbagy stays at No.3 ahead of his return to the court at the Squash on Fire Open later this month following a four-month hiatus. Meanwhile, Mostafa Asal has risen above former World Champion Tarek Momen to reach a career-high ranking of No.4 after he reached the semi finals in Houston.

Peru’s Diego Elias – who lifted the Motor City Open title last week – stays at No.6, while Marwan ElShorbagy (No.7), Joel Makin (No.8) and Fares Dessouky (No.9) complete the top 10.

Hesham’s rise has seen Miguel Rodriguez (No.11), Gregoire Marche (No.12) and Karim Abdel Gawad (No.13) all fall, while Mohamed Abouelghar stays at No.14. Saurav Ghosal rises a place to No.15, with Youssef Soliman moving up two places to a career-high ranking of No.16.

Youssef Ibrahim falls two spots to No.17, while Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng drops to No.18. Baptiste Masotti retains his No.19 ranking, while Germany’s Raphael Kandra returns to the top 20 at the expense of Masotti’s fellow Frenchman Victor Crouin.

The biggest mover on the men’s tour this month is Malaysia’s Shamiel Haeyzad. The 17-year-old has risen 284 places to No.370. Sri Lanka’s Ravindu Laksiri has also enjoyed a big rise in his ranking this month, moving up 156 spots to No.498 after winning the Sri Lanka Senior National Squash Championship in January.

PSA Men’s World Rankings Top 20 – February 2022