On the evening of the rest day after qualifying, players, organisers and dignitaries assembled for the Tournament Opening ceremony and the PSA Hall of Fame inductions.
After an introduction from Tournament Promoter Amr Mansi, drawing out who the Qualifiers would meet in the first round proper was the next priority.
Then it was over to PSA’s Lee Beachill to introduce and interview the newest inductees to the PSA’s Hall of Fame, Egyptian Squash Legends Amr Shabana and Raneem El Welily.
PSA Media Report :
Squash icons Raneem Welily and Amr Shabana have been inducted as the newest members of the PSA Hall of Fame during a gala dinner at Aurara, Club O West, on the eve of the main draw of the CIB Egyptian Open 2025 tonight.
El Welily and Shabana have become the ninth and tenth members of the PSA Hall of Fame, which was launched in June 2024 to recognise the achievements of the game’s most influential characters, past and present.
The Egyptian pair join previous inductees Jahangir Khan, Susan Devoy, Nicol David, Jansher Khan, Geoff Hunt, Michelle Martin, Jonah Barrington & Sarah Fitz-Gerald.
A pioneering figure in the sport, El Welily made history in 2015 by becoming the first Arab female in any sport to become World No.1, ending Nicol David’s record nine-year reign atop the World Rankings and going on to hold this position for a total of 23 months.
Throughout her 18-year career, El Welily captured a total of 24 PSA titles, including the 2017/18 PSA World Championships.
A member of Egypt’s World Team Championship winning side on four occasions, El Welily entered the history books again in 2019 after her husband Tarek Momen won the 2019/20 PSA Men’s World Championship – making them the first married World Champions in any sport, a feat recognised by the Guinness World Records.
“I think it’s going to take a while to sink in,” sais Raneem. “It hasn’t sunk in yet, but it’s pretty amazing. It’s something you never work for when you’re a player but to get this recognition, it means a lot to me, not just as a player but as a person. I’m very happy to get it and I’m very grateful to get the recognition.
“I’m in in awe of getting it next to Shabana as well. I grew up looking up to him, he was a role model in so many ways and to get it next to him today was pretty special.”
Shabana is widely considered to be one of the greatest players to grace the sport, having won the majority of the top accolades the sport has to offer and also becoming the first Egyptian to reach the coveted World No.1 spot.
Nicknamed ‘The Maestro’, Shabana was crowned World Champion on four occasions in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
Competing in over 180 tournaments and playing over 500 matches, left-handed Shabana is one of the most decorated players in the history of the sport, having won 33 PSA Tour titles and having topped the world rankings for a total of 33 months.
“It’s a total honour. It’s not something you plan or put as a target. I feel privileged to be chosen in this award ceremony, and I want to thank everybody involved for giving me this opportunity,” Shabana said.
“It’s amazing [to see the rise of Egypt since Shabana’s era]. We’ve always had amazing players, but we never had the results. I came from nowhere and won that first world open. And I think that opened the floodgates. I’m just so proud to see all the other Egyptian players stepping up and I hope that that those other nations can catch up as well, and Egypt and nations around the world put on amazing performances for all the crowds and all the fans.”
The first Diamond event of the season, the CIB Egyptian Open 2025, gets underway on Friday and will see action split between the spectacular glass show court at the Great Pyramid of Giza and early round matches at Club O West. Squash fans can watch every second live on SQUASHTV.
