Mohamed El Shorbagy

Mohamed ElShorbagy (Arabic: محمد الشوربجي, born 12 January 1991 in Alexandria) is an Egyptian-English professional squash player. He represented Egypt from a young age until June 2022, when he switched to represent England.[2] He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 1 in November 2014, March 2018, February 2020, and again in July 2021 and was the 2017 World Squash champion.

Mohamed El Shorbagy
El Shorbagy in 2009
Nickname(s)The Beast of Alexandria
Country England[1]
 Egypt
ResidenceBristol, England
Born (1991-01-12) 12 January 1991
Alexandria, Egypt
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
Turned Pro2006
RetiredActive
PlaysRight-handed
Coached byJonah Barrington, David Palmer, Hadrian Stiff, Graeme Williams, Rodney Martin
Racquet usedTecnifibre Carboflex 125 Airshaft
WebsiteMohamed El Shorbagy on Facebook
Men's singles
Highest rankingWorld No. 1 (November 2014)
Current rankingWorld No. 2 (May 2023)
Title(s)49
Tour final(s)76
World OpenF (2012, 2014) W (2017)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  Egypt
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Manchester Singles
Silver medal – second place 2012 Doha Singles
Silver medal – second place 2014 Doha Singles
Silver medal – second place 2020–21 Chicago Singles
Silver medal – second place 2022 Cairo Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Manchester Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Cairo Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2018–19 Chicago Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2019–20 Doha Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Chicago Singles
World Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Paderborn Team
British Open
Gold medal – first place 2015 Hull Singles
Gold medal – first place 2016 Hull Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Hull Singles
Last updated: May 2023.

Early life

El Shorbagy attended Millfield School from 2006 to 2009.[3]

Career overview

ElShorbagy joined the PSA tour in 2006, as a 15-year old schoolboy under the tutelage of the legendary Jonah Barrington. The Alexandria-born star rose to prominence in 2007 after he became the first player in history to secure a maiden PSA World Tour title at a five star event.[4]

He became only the second man after Ramy Ashour to win the World Junior Championship twice, when he triumphed in 2008 and 2009.[5] The Egyptian came close to winning the senior World Championship in 2012 after beating James Willstrop in a five-game semi-final thriller but lost out to compatriot Ramy Ashour in the final.[6]

In 2013, he made it to the semifinals at the Kuwait PSA Cup, a now defunct World Series Platinum event. He also claimed his first World Series win in the Qatar Classic and exhibited some supreme form throughout the 2014 campaign, winning five events including World Series tournaments at the Hong Kong and US Opens.[4]

In 2014, El Shorbagy opened his year by making the semifinals of Tournament of Champions, where he lost to Grégory Gaultier in four games. In the 2013 PSA World Series Finals (held in March 2014) ElShorbagy recorded his first win over Ramy Ashour, beating him 11–5, 11–5 in the round-robin stage. In the semifinals ElShorbagy beat Nick Matthew in five games to reach the final but this time lost to Ashour in a tough 4 games. ElShorbagy made the semifinals of the Windy City Open, again losing to Gaultier in four games. ElShorbagy continued good form by making the final of the 2014 El Gouna International.[4]

In November 2014, ElShorbagy became the world number 1 for the first time at the age of 23, courtesy of his victory over Grégory Gaultier in the semi-finals of the 2014 Delaware Investments US Open. "It feels unbelievable right now," said ElShorbagy. "It's been a dream to get to that spot and I can't believe I'm there right now. I came into this tournament knowing there was a big chance to get that World No.1 ranking for the first time in my life."

He was the second seed for the 2014 Men's World Open Squash Championship and reached his second World Championship final, against compatriot Ramy Ashour. The final during the 2014 tournament in Qatar was regarded as one of the greatest squash matches ever.[7]

The Egyptian recovered from his World Championship heartbreak to lift the Tournament of Champions title in January 2015 and, after finishing runner-up at both the Windy City Open and the El Gouna International, he also won the British Open for the first time in his career, beating Gaultier in the 2015 final. ElShorbagy lifted the British Grand Prix title in September 2015 before celebrating 12 months at the summit of the World Rankings the following month. After claiming another PSA World Series triumph at the Qatar Classic in November, he dropped out of the World Championship at third round stage after a shock exit to James Willstrop as his search for the sport's biggest prize continued.[4]

However, a significant run of form from December 2015 to April 2016 saw ElShorbagy dominate the PSA World Tour, bringing him up to six successive World Series title wins, including defending his crown at the British Open after ending a four-match winless run against Ramy Ashour. During that period, ElShorbagy also broke Ashour's record for the highest ever World Rankings points average in April, a record he then shattered again a month later. A superb season was rounded off in style when he was crowned the 2016 PSA Men's Player of the Year.[8][4]

ElShorbagy started the 2016/17 season strongly with another victory at the U.S. Open, but he missed out on becoming the first player to win the Qatar Classic on three successive occasions after a final defeat to compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad - just a month after Gawad had beaten him in the World Championship semi-final. However, the following month saw ElShorbagy become only the third Egyptian player to spend a whole year at the summit of the World Rankings after he topped the December 2016 World Rankings.[4]

ElShorbagy reached his third world final in November 2017 but this time became the world champion after winning the 2017 Men's World Squash Championship in Manchester. As the third seed he defeated his brother Marwan El Shorbagy in the final.[9][10]

ElShorbagy dominated the early part of the 2017/2018 season, winning seven of his first nine tournaments including the Netsuite Open, the Channel VAS Championships, the Qatar Classic, the Hong Kong Open, the Canary Wharf Classic, and the Windy City Open. In 2019, he won his third British Open after winning the 2019 Men's British Open Squash Championship.[11]

He won the Manchester open on 22 September 2020 after 192 days of recess due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for his 42nd PSA title, and winning the El Gouna Classic on 28 May 2021 for his 43rd PSA title, moving him to fifth on the all-time squash win list. In July 2021, he lost the World final to Ali Farag during the 2020–21 PSA Men's World Squash Championship. In May 2022, he lost his second consecutive World Championship final, after losing to Farag again in the 2022 PSA Men's World Squash Championship.[12]

On 6 June 2022, ElShorbagy decided to change allegiance to represent England.[13] On 8 June 2022, he won his first game since allegiance change at the Mauritius Open defeating compatriot James Willstrop.[14]

ElShorbagy’s victory in New Zealand in November 2022, for his 47th PSA title, also sees him become the youngest man ever to reach 500 PSA wins at the age of 31 years and 10 months. While he is only the third man to achieve that milestone after his coach Gregory Gaultier (587) and Nick Matthew (518), he backed up his New Zealand win with a win over Diego Elias at the MARIGOLD Singapore open on the 20th of November, 2022, to mark his 505th PSA win, and his 48th title in 75 finals. He has since surpassed this feat, recording his 49th title (joint 4th in titles) in the 2023 black ball gold tournament.

In May 2023, he reached the semi final of the 2023 PSA Men's World Squash Championship before being knocked out by Karim Abdel Gawad.[15]

Titles and Finals

Major Finals (39)

Major tournaments include:

  • PSA World Championships
  • PSA World Tour Finals
  • Top-tier PSA World Tour tournaments (Platinum/World Series/Super Series)
Year/Season Tournament Opponent Result Score
2012 PSA World Championships Ramy Ashour Loss (1) 11-2 6-11 5-11 11-9 8-11
2013 Qatar Classic Nick Matthew Win (1) 11-5 5-11 11-6 6-11 11-4
2013 PSA World Series Finals Ramy Ashour Loss (2) 17-15 7-11 4-11 5-11
2014 El Gouna International Ramy Ashour Loss (3) 7-11 10-12 11-8 8-11
2014 Hong Kong Open Grégory Gaultier Win (2) 11-9 11-2 4-11 8-11 11-4
2014 U.S. Open Amr Shabana Win (3) 8-11 11-9 11-3 11-3
2014 PSA World Championships Ramy Ashour Loss (4) 11-13 11-7 11-5 5-11 12-14
2015 Tournament of Champions Nick Matthew Win (4) 5-11 11-9 11-8 12-10
2015 Windy City Open Nick Matthew Loss (5) 7-11 2-11 7-11
2015 El Gouna International Ramy Ashour Loss (6) 9-11 6-11 11-4 12-10 10-12
2015 British Open Grégory Gaultier Win (5) 11-9 6-11 5-11 11-8 11-5
2015 Qatar Classic (2) Grégory Gaultier Win (6) 11-5 11-7 5-11 12-10
2015 Hong Kong Open (2) Cameron Pilley Win (7) 11-8 11-6 11-8
2016 Tournament of Champions (2) Nick Matthew Win (8) 8-11 11-6 11-8 6-11 11-6
2016 Windy City Open Nick Matthew Win (9) 11-6 11-3 2-0 (retired)
2016 British Open (2) Ramy Ashour Win (10) 11-2 11-5 11-9
2016 El Gouna International Grégory Gaultier Win (11) 7-11 9-11 11-3 11-9 11-8
2016 U.S. Open (2) Nick Matthew Win (12) 10-12 12-14 11-1 11-4 3-0 (retired)
2016 Qatar Classic Karim Abdel Gawad Loss (7) 10-12 13-15 7-11
2016-17 PSA World Series Finals James Willstrop Win (13) 12-10 11-9 11-8
2017 U.S. Open Ali Farag Loss (8) 10-12 9-11 8-11
2017 Qatar Classic (3) Tarek Momen Win (14) 11-8 10-12 11-7 11-7
2017 Hong Kong Open (3) Ali Farag Win (15) 11-6 5-11 11-4 7-11 11-3
2017 PSA World Championships Marwan El Shorbagy Win (16) 11-5 9-11 11-7 9-11 11-6
2018 Windy City Open Marwan El Shorbagy Win (17) 11-8 11-8 11-6
2018 British Open Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Loss (9) 7-11 11-6 11-8 2-11 9-11
2017-18 PSA World Series Finals (2) Ali Farag Win (18) 9-11 11-3 11-9 11-8
2018 U.S. Open (3) Simon Rösner Win (19) 8-11 11-8 6-11 11-8 11-4
2018 Hong Kong Open (4) Ali Farag Win (20) 11-6 11-7 11-7
2019 Tournament of Champions Ali Farag Loss (10) 12-10 11-6 6-11 3-11 8-11
2019 British Open (3) Ali Farag Win (21) 11-9 5-11 11-5 11-9
2019 U.S. Open Ali Farag Loss (11) 4-11 7-11 2-11
2020 Tournament of Champions (3) Tarek Momen Win (22) 9-11 11-7 11-7 11-5
2021 El Gouna International (2) Paul Coll Win (23) 11-5 11-2 11-7
2020-21 PSA World Tour Finals Mostafa Asal Loss (12) 14-12 4-11 7-11 3-11
2020-21 PSA World Championships Ali Farag Loss (13) 11-7 10-12 9-11 4-11
2021 Egyptian Open Ali Farag Loss (14) 11-6 11-9 2-11 6-11 5-11
2022 PSA World Championships Ali Farag Loss (15) 11-9 8-11 11-7 9-11 2-11
2022 Qatar Classic (4) Victor Crouin Win (24) 11-4 11-6 7-11 11-8

References

  1. "Former world no.1 to represent England", psaworldtour
  2. "Mohamed ElShorbagy: Former squash world number one changes allegiance to England". BBC. 6 June 2022.
  3. "Notable Alumni". Millfield School. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  4. "Mohamed ElShorbagy". PSA. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  5. "2009 Chennai : Historic Egyptian Double in Chennai". WSF world juniors. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. "Squash World Championship: Egypt's Ramy Ashour wins title". BBC. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  7. "Egypt's Ashour Is 2014 Squash World Champion". World Squash Federation. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  8. "Elshorbagy Is 2016 El Gouna International Champion". World Squash Federation. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  9. "Welily and ElShorbagy crowned World Champions". World Squash Federation. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  10. "Egyptians Raneem el-Welily, Mohamed el-Shorbagy Named the 2017 World Squash Champions". Egyptian Streets. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  11. "EGYPTIAN DUO GOHAR AND ELSHORBAGY LIFT 2019 BRITISH OPEN TITLES". PSA World Tour. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  12. "2022 World Champs for Cairo". psaworldtour.com. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  13. "ElShorbagy Excited To Represent England". Professional Squash Association. 6 June 2022.
  14. Brennan, Eliott (8 June 2022). "El Shorbagy claims first victory since allegiance change at Mauritius Open". Inside The Games. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  15. "2023 World Championship draws". PSA. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
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