Mazen Hesham

Mazen Hesham (born 29 March 1994 in Cairo) is a professional squash player who represents Egypt. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 8 in March 2022.[1]

Mazen Hesham
Full nameMazen Hesham Al Sabry
Nickname(s)Black Falcon
CountryEgyptian
ResidenceCairo, Egypt
Born (1994-03-29) 29 March 1994
Cairo, Egypt
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Turned Pro2011
RetiredActive
PlaysRight Handed
Coached byOmar Abdel Aziz
Racquet usedEye V Lite 124
Men's singles
Highest rankingNo. 8 (December 2022)
Current rankingNo. 9 (May 2023)
Title(s)7
Tour final(s)9
World OpenR1 (2015)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  Egypt
British Open
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Hull Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Birmingham Singles

Career

Hesham first became prominent in 2012, when he secured third place in the WSF junior championships in Doha.[2] Following this victory he joined the PSA world Tour. Hesham secured his first PSA world tour title in March of the same year in the NSC scram series in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. He went on to help the Egyptian junior national team win the world title at the World junior Team Squash championships in July 2012. He helped the junior national team defend their crown against the second seed Pakistan.

Hesham went on to win his second PSA title in Hong Kong at the Crocodile Challenge cup in August 2012.[3] He upset the number one seed and defending champion Max Lee in the final 11-13, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-3. Hesham opened his second year as a part of the PSA world tour by winning the U-23 nationals for Egypt. He was crowned the best U-23 player in Egypt to start off 2013.

Hesham kept his momentum going to win his 3rd PSA world tour title in the West of Ireland Open in March 2013. He beat Steve Finitsis of Australia in four sets, in 56 minutes. Mazen had completed three World Tour titles and was now rising in the world rankings. During the year, he managed to take two more PSA world tour titles. The first was in May, when he managed to take the CCI international open in India. The second title was at the inaugural Maharashtra state PSA open. Mazen was the fourth seed, on his way to his 5th PSA title. He won this title with a win over compatriot Zahed Mohamed 11-5, 3-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8.

In April 2014, he won his sixth PSA title in Houston, defeating Stephen Coppinger of South Africa 3-1. This victory thrust Hesham into the top-30 in the world rankings for the first time in his career. In April 2015, Hesham returned to defend his title in Houston and once again beat Coppinger (in the semi-finals) before going on to defeat Adrian Grant of England in the final.[4] In the same month, Hesham won the “shot of the month” and then won another shot of the month award in the Delaware Investments U.S. Open 2015 in October.[5]

Hesham's first semi final appearance in a PSA World Series event was in the Qatar Classic 2015. He reached the semi-final after beating Ali Farag but then lost out to World #2 Grégory Gaultier.[6] This victory pushed Mazen Hesham into his highest recorded world ranking of 13. Hesham then got injured in the World Championships against Ramy Ashour, which took him out of squash for five weeks.

Hesham was the 10th seed for the 2022 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, where he reached the third round.[7] He ended 2022 with a career high ranking at the time of world number 8. Also in 2022, he reached the semi-final of the British Open Squash Championships for the first time and repeated the success the following year during the 2023 Men's British Open Squash Championship.[8]

In May 2023, he reached the quarter final of the 2023 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, before losing to number 1 seed Mostafa Asal.[9]

References
  1. "PSA World Tour Rankings | Professional Squash Association".
  2. "MAZEN HESHAM – JZ Squash World". jzsquashworld.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  3. Info, Squash. "Squash Info | Mazen Hesham | Squash". www.squashinfo.com. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  4. "MAZEN HESHAM – JZ Squash World". jzsquashworld.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  5. PSA SQUASHTV (2015-05-07), Squash: Shot Of The Month - April 2015 WINNER - Mazen Hesham, retrieved 2016-02-21
  6. "Tournaments - Professional Squash Association". psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  7. "Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag win PSA World Championship titles". World Squash Federation. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  8. "British Open Draws". British Open Squash. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  9. "2023 World Championship draws". PSA. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
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