Three-time British Open champion Mohamed ElShorbagy will compete at the ‘Wimbledon of Squash’ as an English player for the first time when the event returns to Birmingham next month.

ElShorbagy – a former World No.1 and World Champion who won the British Open in 2015, 2016 and 2019 – switched allegiance to England from Egypt last June and will now line up at the iconic tournament as England No.1 for the first time and will be seeded fifth. The event takes place between April 9-16.

The British Open has moved back to Birmingham for the first time since 2001 and will take place at the Birmingham Rep from round three onwards, with the opening two rounds being staged at the Edgbaston Priory Club. 

ElShorbagy is one of six former champions returning to compete for their share of the $358,000 prize pot, which is split equally between the male and female draws.

Headlining the men’s draw is World No.1 and top seed Mostafa Asal, with the 21-year-old Egyptian – who in January became the third youngest man in squash history to reach World No.1 – set to play the winner of an all-Egyptian battle between Karim El Hammamy and Omar Mosaad in round two.

Should the tournament go to seedings, he will face the in-form Diego Elias in the final, with the Peruvian No.2 seed set to play Wales’ Joel Makin in the second round.

In the women’s draw, the Egyptian trio of Nouran Gohar, Nour El Sherbini and Hania El Hammamy are tipped to go deep.

Gohar, who has been World No.1 since April 2022, was the British Open champion in 2019 and will play the winner of the clash between Cindy Merlo and Melissa Alves in round two.

Defending champion El Hammamy, pictured above, who beat Gohar 3-1 in last year’s final to claim her maiden British Open title, will play either Danielle Letourneau or Alexandra Fuller in the second round.

Birmingham-born Sarah-Jane Perry will look to go one better than her 2017 runner-up spot, while World No.9 Georgina Kennedy returns to the city where she won a Commonwealth Games gold medal last summer.

Tickets for the British Open are on sale and available for purchase here.