Egypt’s top stars power ahead on the Road to Cairo
By ELLIE MAWSON
Egyptian World No.1s Ali Farag and Raneem El Welily have extended their respective advantages at the top of the men’s and women’s PSA World Tour Finals Leaderboard.
The PSA World Tour Finals will take place in Cairo, Egypt from June 9-14 and will feature both a men’s and women’s tournament.
The reigning World Champions and all seven PSA World Tour Platinum winners will qualify for the prestigious event. The remaining places are allocated to the highest ranked players on the PSA World Tour Finals leaderboard and points are on offer at all PSA World Tour events throughout the season.
Farag continued his strong run of form, which has seen him claim six PSA titles this season, after winning both the DPD Open Squash and El Gouna International this month.
The World No.1 sits at the top with 21,225 points, with compatriot and World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy in second place on 15,615, World No.3 Tarek Momen in third and Karim Abdel Gawad in fourth.
Both ElShorbagy and former World No.1 Gawad have already sealed their places at the season-ending tournament. ElShorbagy won both the U.S. Open and Hong Kong Open titles, while Gawad claimed victory at December’s Black Ball Squash Open.
Germany’s Simon Rösner, New Zealand’s Paul Coll, Peru’s Diego Elias and Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar occupy the remaining places in the top eight on the leaderboard.
Meanwhile on the women’s leaderboard, El Welily heads the standings with 16,455 points after winning three successive PSA World Tour tournaments, including the Black Ball Squash Open, DPD Open Squash and the El Gouna International.
Compatriot and World Champion Nour El Sherbini remains in second place on 12,085 points, with World No.3 Nour El Tayeb behind her on 8,360 points.
France’s Camille Serme moves up to fourth after reaching the semi-finals of the El Gouna International and DPD Open Squash while New Zealand’s Joelle King sits in fifth but has already claimed her place at the season-ending tournament after winning the Hong Kong Open in November.
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry, Egypt’s Nouran Gohar and Wales’ Tesni Evans hold the last three spots in the top eight on the women’s leaderboard.
The world’s top male and female players head to Hull, England next month for the prestigious Allam British Open. The final PSA World Tour Platinum event of the season will be held between May 20-26.
PSA World Tour Finals Leaderboard.
Article by ELLIE MAWSON (PSA Media Team). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.
Picture and graphic courtesy of PSA