World’s Best to Do Battle in Doha For Qatar Classic

The Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex will host the world’s greatest players once again between October 29 - November 3 when the 2017 Qatar Classic, World Series tournament takes place in Doha. A record $165,000 will be up for grabs as the likes of World No.1 Gregory Gaultier, defending champion Karim Abdel Gawad, two-time winner Mohamed ElShorbagy and 2009 champion Nick Matthew battle it out for the second World Series title of the 2017/18 season. Egyptian maverick Ramy Ashour will appear at the Qatar Classic for the first time since the 2011 edition as he returns to the scene of his second and third PSA Men’s World Championship triumphs in 2012 and 2014, respectively, with ElShorbagy losing out in both finals. Meanwhile, Qatari No.1 and World No. 42 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi takes the tournament wildcard spot for the fifth instalment in succession as he aims to progress beyond the opening round for the first time in his career. In addition to the lucrative prize fund, players will also earn points for the World Series Standings, where only the top eight players will qualify for a coveted berth at the PSA World Series Finals in June. The qualifying stages will be held between October 27-28, while the main draw starts the following day and finishes with the final on Friday November 3. Entry to the tournament is free of charge. Action from every round of the tournament will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe Only), while the semi-finals and finals will be shown live on mainstream broadcast channels around the world, including BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro. 2017 Qatar Classic - Entry List 1) Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 2) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3) Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) 4) Nick Matthew (ENG) 5) Ali Farag (EGY) 6) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 7) James Willstrop (ENG) 8) Tarek Momen (EGY) 9) Fares Dessouky (EGY) 10) Paul Coll (NZL) 11) Simon Rösner (GER) 12) Daryl Selby (ENG) 13) Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 14) Ramy Ashour (EGY) 15) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 16) Borja Golan (ESP) 17) Diego Elias (PER) 18) Cameron Pilley (AUS) 19) Zahed Mohamed (EGY) 20) Cesar Salazar (EGY) 21) Gregoire Marche (FRA) 22) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 23) Omar Mosaad (EGY) Wildcard) Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)