The draws for the first Diamond-level event of the 2025-26 PSA Squash Tour season have been announced, with World No.1s Mostafa Asal and Nouran Gohar set to headline the CIB Egyptian Open 2025 from 12th to 19th September.
The CIB Egyptian Open will be held in front of the famous Great Pyramid of Giza during the latter stages of the event, with the opening stages of the tournament taking place at Club O West. It’s the first time the CIB Egyptian Open has been held in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza since 2022.
World Champion Asal is not only the top seed for the event but also the defending champion after his win at the beginning of last season. The 24-year-old was the standout men’s player throughout the 24-25 season, winning seven titles from 11 finals. He’ll be looking to continue his top form and extend his unbeaten streak on home soil which currently stands at 14 matches.
World No.2 Diego Elias is at the bottom of the draw as the No.2 seed, looking to put together a similar run which saw him claim the most recent Diamond title at the GillenMarkets British Open in June. The Peruvian exhibited a masterclass performance to beat Asal in the final and will look to use that to start the season in strong style.
Elias is situated in the same half as No.3 seed Paul Coll, who hasn’t tasted major event glory since December 2023. The reigning Commonwealth Games champion knows what it takes to win and will be itching to hunt down Asal and Elias at the top of the world rankings. Wales’ Joel Makin is the No.4 seed and is in Asal’s half of the draw. Makin ended last season with his biggest event win at the SmartCentres PSA Squash Tour Finals, a breakthrough triumph for the 30-year-old.
Two Egyptians and two Englishmen occupy the 5/8 seeding positions, with Karim Gawad and Youssef Soliman joined by the ElShorbagy brothers Mohamed and Marwan. Gawad is the only player in the men’s draw who has claimed victory at the Pyramids with wins in 2016 and 2019. He’s set to face Makin in the quarter finals if he can navigate past tricky opposition before then.
Women’s World No.1 Gohar won at the Pyramids in 2021 and enters this year’s CIB Egyptian Open as the top seed. ‘The Terminator’ was in ruthless form last season, claiming a record-equalling eight World Event titles throughout the campaign and cementing herself at the top of the World Rankings. She lost out in the final of this event last season and will be determined to rectify that this time around and continue her dominance.
Defending champion Nour ElSherbini will certainly have a part to play in this year’s event as she eyes a third Pyramids title in her illustrious career. The eight-time World Champion can never be written off and got the better of Gohar on three occasions last season, including the final last year. ElSherbini’s wins at this venue in 2019 and 2020 will give her confidence heading into the event and she’ll be determined to claw back the deficit between herself and Gohar in the rankings starting with a successful title defence in the first Diamond event of the season.
Seeded in the same half as Gohar is World No.3 Hania El Hammamy. The 24-year-old is also a Pyramids winner after her Egyptian Open triumph back in 2022, where she defeated both Gohar and ElSherbini on route to lifting the trophy. El Hammamy was struggling for titles during 2024 but bounced back this year to win the Tournament of Champions and Optasia Championships titles. USA’s Olivia Weaver is seeded at No.4 and is seeded to play El Sherbini in the semi-finals.
Dangerous 5/8 seeds Satomi Watanabe, Amina Orfi, Sivasangari Subramaniam and Tinne Gilis will all be looking to make their marks in the first Diamond event of the season. Watanabe enjoyed her best season so far on the PSA Squash Tour last season whilst Orfi has already beaten three of the world’s top four and will be hungry for more.
The CIB Egyptian Open will be preceded by a qualifying competition staged at Club O West from 8th to 10th September.
As well as the on-court action, the Squash United Foundation Squash Summit will also take place during the CIB Egyptian Open. Held between September 13-14 in Cairo, the summit will feature talks from stakeholders across the squash community, who will share insights on the present and future of the sport.
Matches from the glass show court at the Great Pyramid of Giza and matches at Club O West will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV, with the semi-finals and finals being shown live by PSA’s broadcast partners.
Men’s Main Draw
[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) ByeSebastien Bonmalais (FRA) v [WC] Islam Kouritam (EGY)
Ramit Tandon (IND) v Juan Vargas (COL)
Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) Bye
Dimitri Steinman (SUI) Bye
Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) v Mazen Hesham (EGY)
Raphael Kandra (GER) v Qualifier
[8] Youssef Soliman (EGY) Bye
Iker Pajares (ESP) v Qulifier
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v Kareem El Torkey (EGY)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) Bye
Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) Bye
Timothy Brownell (USA) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
Greg Lobban (SCO) v Karim El Hammamy (EGY)
[4] Joel Makin (WAL) Bye
Curtis Malik (ENG) v [WC] Adam Hawal (EGY)
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v Bernat Jaume (ESP)
Fares Dessouky (EGY) Bye
Victor Crouin (FRA) Bye
Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v Qualifier
Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Qualifier
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) Bye
Alex Lau (HKG) v Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT)
Jonah Bryant (ENG) v Velavan Senthilkumar (IND)
Leonel Cardenas (MEX) Bye
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) Bye
Abhay Singh (IND) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
Declan James (ENG) v Nick Wall (ENG)
[2] Diego Elias (PER) Bye
Women’s Main Draw
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) ByeHana Moataz (EGY) v [WC] Sohayla Hazem (EGY)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v Qualifier
Nada Abbas (EGY) Bye
Sana Ibrahim (EGY) Bye
Lucy Beecroft (ENG) v Melissa Alves (FRA)
Tomato Ho (HKG) v Qualifier
[7] Tinne Gilis (BEL) Bye
Tesni Murphy (WAL) v [WC] Malak Samir (EGY)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY)
Nele Gilis-Coll (BEL) Bye
Salma Hany (EGY) Bye
Aifa Azman (MAS) v Rachel Arnold (MAS)
Aira Azman (MAS) v Nadine Shahin (EGY)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) Bye
Menna Hamed (EGY) v Zeina Mickawy (EGY)
Ka Yi Lee (HKG) v Qualifier
Farida Mohamed (EGY) Bye
Georgina Kennedy (ENG) Bye
Grace Gear (ENG) v Hana Ramadan (EGY)
Malak Khafagy (EGY) v Nour Heikal (EGY)
[8] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) Bye
Torrie Malik (ENG) v Lucy Turmel (ENG)
Kenzy Ayman (EGY) v Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) Bye
Amanda Sobhy (USA) Bye
Marina Stefanoni (USA) v Qualifier
Georgia Adderley (SCO) v Mariam Metwally (EGY)
[2] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) Bye
