SquashLevels Power Ratings: Ibrahim, Coll, Parker and Serme All Make Moves

The latest instalment of the SquashLevels Power Ratings comes after the Qatar Classic, held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.

The SquashLevels algorithm is one that is new to a lot of people, with a ‘level’ being calculated for each player after every match. The changes to said level come from both their’s and their opponent’s level before the match, and the actual result compared to the expected result.

For instance, if a player was expected to win 3-0, with average game scores of 11-8, but they actually won 3-0 with average game scores of 11-2, the winner’s level would increase due to that difference.

There is then also weighting, depending on how important the match is (the final of the Qatar Classic will have a higher weighting than a match in the PSL, for instance) and damping, which is dialled in to try and make sure that the progress is correct. You can see all the information in more detail on the SquashLevels FAQs.

Back to Qatar, and it was Egypt’s Ali Farag that took the victory at the Khalifa Complex, retaining the title he had won two years previous, after last year’s event was foregone in place of the PSA Men’s World Championship.

Four players jumped up at least four places on the SquashLevels Power Ratings following the PSA Platinum event in Doha, including an unseeded player that reached a major quarter-final for the first time in his career…

The biggest mover on the SquashLevels Power Ratings following the Qatar Classic is the young left-handed Egyptian, Youssef Ibrahim, who rose seven spots thanks to his run to the last eight in Doha last week.

The Egyptian overcame three higher-ranked opponents to reach the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the first time, including one huge scalp. His week started with a win over Swiss No.1 Nicolas Mueller, before he then got past Mexican No.1 Cesar Salazar, who unfortunately had to retire through injury.

His fine run in Doha continued as he got the better of the tournament’s top seed, three-time Qatar Classic champion, Mohamed ElShorbagy. Ibrahim came back from 2-1 down to defeat the former PSA World No.1 before then narrowly missing out on a place in the last four, falling to a 3-2 defeat against Fares Dessouky in the quarter-finals.

As a result of some epic performance’s the 21-year-old jumped seven places on the SquashLevels Power Ratings and now sits at #40. His level rose by over 16{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885} in the biggest move on the professional tour to date!

Moving up five places on the SquashLevels Power Ratings and making a move into the top two is New Zealand’s Paul Coll, who reached a third major final, and a second in Qatar, following his run to the final of the PSA Men’s World Championship in Doha in 2019.

It was also his second trip to a major final in 2020, as he reached the same stage of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family prior to the six-month suspension of the PSA World Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After receiving a bye through to the second round, the Kiwi downed the French pair of Baptiste Masotti and Gregoire Marche, the latter of which being an 84-minute tussle, before overcoming Marwan ElShorbagy in the last eight. Coll beat another Egyptian in Fares Dessouky with ease in the semis, but unfortunately for the New Zealander, he fell to PSA World No.1 Ali Farag in the final.

Thanks to his run to the final, he jumped up five places up the SquashLevels Power Ratings and now sits at #2, as his level rose by 11{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885} over the course of the tournament. Only Farag, the man who beat him in the final in Doha, sits above him in the charts.

The first of two men to jump up four spots on the SquashLevels Power Ratings this week is Englishman George Parker, who moves into the top 25 following his exploits at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.

He overcame Frenchman Victor Crouin in a titanic tussle in the first round in Doha, before putting up a fight against former PSA World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the last 32, where he lost to the Egyptian in four games.

The Englishman’s level rose 2.5{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885} across the course of the tournament, and he has moved up four places on the SquashLevels Power Ratings to sit at #24.

Frenchman Lucas Serme is the other man to have jumped four places up the SquashLevels Power Ratings after his run to the third round of the Qatar Classic.

He got the better of United States No.1 Todd Harrity in a tight four-game affair in the opening round of the PSA Platinum level tournament, before then downing Englishman Tom Richards to reach the last 16 of a major tournament for the first time since May 2019.

Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he lost out to British No.1 Joel Makin in straight games in the third round of the event, but his level still rose thanks to his performance against the PSA World No.9. Serme jumps up four spots on the SquashLevels Power Ratings and now sits at #31, after his level rose 3{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885}.

As mentioned earlier, Paul Coll is the big mover at the sharp end of the SquashLevels Power Ratings, but Welshman Joel Makin also makes an appearance in the top eight, having risen three places after his week in Qatar.

The British No.1 saw his level rise 4.3{d0587469e8933ea5fce14b556fa40d44c2813bf7740605b59885b5a8c24d5885} and he now sits in the #8 spot, while the majority of the top eight have dropped a place, following Coll’s run to the final in Doha.

Both of the ElShorbagy brothers, Diego Elias, Tarek Momen and Karim Abdel Gawad, who did not feature in the tournament due to injury, all dropped a place.

The next tournament on the PSA World Tour will be the CIB Black Ball Open, which will feature both a women’s and men’s event back-to-back at the Black Ball Sporting Club in Cairo. The event will take place from December 7-18.

You can take a look at how all of the professionals have been getting on recently at SquashLevels, along with making your own profile and putting in your own scores.