Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic Main Draw Released

The main draw of March’s Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic was released today, with World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy set to begin his title defence against either fellow Egyptian Omar Mosaad or Spain’s Borja Golan at London’s East Wintergarden.

ElShorbagy made his return to the PSA World Tour Gold tournament after a five-year absence last March and battled through a top-class draw to become the first Egyptian to get his hands on the prestigious trophy.


Along with the rest of the top eight seeds, ElShorbagy will receive a bye into round two, where a win over former World No.3 Mosaad or Golan could pit him against younger brother Marwan ElShorbagy in the quarter-finals.


“We are delighted to see a truly world class field grace this year’s event. It fantastic to have the World No.1 top the draw in our first year as title partner of the tournament and we are sure there is going to be some amazing squash for the fans in March,” said Mirka Potrykus, Marketing at Citigold Wealth Management.


2018 runner-up Tarek Momen is seeded to meet Mohamed in the last four, but will need to negotiate a draw which also features Germany’a Raphael Kandra, four-time winner James Willstrop and No.8 seed Ryan Cuskelly.



No.2 seed Simon Rösner is on the opposite side of the draw as the ElShorbagys. The World No.4 will contest his round two fixture with either 2016 champion Mathieu Castagnet or tournament wildcard Sam Todd, the U17 British Junior Open runner-up who hails from Pontefract.



2017 runner-up Fares Dessouky is seeded to play Rösner in the quarter-finals, while World No.6 Paul Coll - the New Zealander whose stunning retrievals saw him go viral during the 2016 Canary Wharf Classic - and Hong Kong’s Max Lee also feature.



In addition to Yorkshiremen Willstrop and Todd, there will be a quintet of Englishmen in action, with Colchester’s Daryl Selby, Hersham’s Tom Richards, Nottingham’s Declan James, Leicester’s George Parker and Enfield’s Adrian Waller all competing.



The 2019 Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic takes place between March 10-15 and will see a best-of-three games format trialled for a second successive year up until the semi-finals.



All of the action from East Wintergarden will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world) and Eurosport Player (Europe only). Semi-final fixtures will also be broadcast on BT Sport, Fox Sports Australia, Astro and more.



Follow the Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Squash Classic on Twitter or visit the tournament website.



Main Draw – 2019 Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic

[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) (bye)

Borja Golan (ESP) v [9/16] Omar Mosaad (EGY)

[9/16] Declan James (ENG) v Greg Lobban (SCO)

[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) (bye)

[8] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) (bye)

Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [9/16] James Willstrop (ENG)

[9/16] Raphael Kandra (GER) v Adrian Waller (ENG)

[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) (bye)

[4] Paul Coll (NZL) (bye)

Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [9/16] Tom Richards (ENG)

[9/16] Joel Makin (WAL) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)

[6] Max Lee (HKG) (bye)

[7] Fares Dessouky (EGY) (bye)

George Parker (ENG) v [9/16] Daryl Selby (ENG)

[9/16] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [WC] Sam Todd (ENG)

[2] Simon Rösner (GER) (bye)

King Rises into Top Three of Women’s World Rankings

New Zealand’s Joelle King has claimed a career-high ranking of World No.3 after the PSA Women’s World Rankings for February were released today (February 1).


Cambridge-based King, 30, has been in superb form this season after claiming her first ever PSA Platinum title, the Hong Kong Open in November. She followed that up with a semi-final finish at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions last month in New York to move ahead of Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb.

Reigning World Champion Raneem El Welily stays at No.1 ahead of her World Championship title defence this month, while Tournament of Champions winner Nour El Sherbini remains at No.2. France’s Camille Serme completes the top five.


English trio Sarah-Jane Perry, Laura Massaro and Alison Waters stay at No.6, No.7 and No.9, respectively, with Egypt’s Nouran Gohar remaining at No.8.


United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy returns to the top 10. The 25-year-old was ranked as high as No.6 in the world before an achilles injury sustained in March 2017, and she will now celebrate her highest ranking since September of that year.


As a result, Wales’ Tesni Evans drops out of the top 10 and is followed by Hong Kong’s Annie Au (No.12), Egypt’s Salma Hany (No.13), India’s Joshna Chinappa (No.14) and England’s Victoria Lust (No.15).



Hong Kong’s Joey Chan moves up a spot to No.16, ahead of Egypt’s Yathreb Adel, Hania El Hammamy (No.18) Olivia Blatchford Clyne (No.19) and Emily Whitlock, who returns to the top 20 after three months outside.



Meanwhile, Malaysia’s eight-time World Champion Nicol David has dropped eight places to No.21, marking the first time since November 2003 that she hasn’t featured inside the top 20.

PSA Women's World Rankings Top 20 – February 2019

RANK	NAME	NATIONALITY	POINTS	UP/DOWN
1	Raneem El Welily	EGY	1,655.556	=
2	Nour El Sherbini	EGY	1,213.889	=
3	Joelle King	NZL	907.778	↑1
4	Nour El Tayeb	EGY	897.222	↓1
5	Camille Serme	FRA	716.111	=
6	Sarah-Jane Perry	ENG	698.333	=
7	Laura Massaro	ENG	545.556	=
8	Nouran Gohar	EGY	495.000	=
9	Alison Waters	ENG	490.556	=
10	Amanda Sobhy	USA	432.222	↑1
11	Tesni Evans	WAL	428.333	↓1
12	Annie Au	HKG	425.000	=
13	Salma Hany	EGY	363.889	↑3
14	Joshna Chinappa	IND	321.667	=
15	Victoria Lust	ENG	308.333	=
16	Joey Chan	HKG	301.667	=
17	Yathreb Adel	EGY	293.333	↑1
18	Hania El Hammamy	EGY	276.111	↓1
19	Olivia Blatchford Clyne	USA	274.444	=
20	Emily Whitlock	ENG	263.889	↑1

Coll Rises to Career-High Ranking as Gaultier’s Record Streak Ends

New Zealand’s Paul Coll has risen to a career-high ranking of World No.6 after the PSA Men’s World Rankings for February were released today (February 1).


Coll, the highest ranked Kiwi male since Ross Norman in 1993, reached the quarter-finals of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions at New York’s Grand Central Terminal in January. As a result, the 26-year-old has risen a place to overtake Colombia’s Miguel Angel Rodriguez, who moves down to No.7.

Meanwhile, Frenchman Gregory Gaultier has seen his record 154-month unbroken run inside the world’s top 10 come to an end after the 36-year-old fell three places to No.12.


Gaultier, a former World No.1 and World Champion, has been out of action since October due to knee surgery, and he is replaced inside the top 10 by Peru’s Diego Elias.


Egypt’s Mohamed ElShorbagy stays atop the rankings for a 12th consecutive month, but he is guaranteed to lose top spot to World No.2 Ali Farag on March 1. ElShorbagy’s ranking points for the Windy City Open - which he won - will expire at the end of this month, meaning Farag’s points average will be higher going into March.



Tarek Momen makes it an all-Egyptian top three after overtaking Germany’s Simon Rösner, while Karim Abdel Gawad completes the top five. ElShorbagy’s younger brother, Marwan, and Mohamed Abouelghar take the other spots inside the top 10.



India’s Saurav Ghosal rises a place to a joint career-high No.11 ranking, with Omar Mosaad moving up four places to No.13. Hong Kong’s Max Lee drops a place to No.14, while Germany’s Raphael Kandra stays at No.15.



England’s former World No.1 James Willstrop remains at No.16 ahead of compatriot Daryl Selby, with Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly dropping four places to No.18.



Welshman Joel Makin rises four spots to No.19 - marking the first time he has featured inside the top 20 - with England’s Declan James claiming the final spot inside the top 20.



Meanwhile, Egypt’s three-time World Champion Ramy Ashour has fallen 11 places to No.35. The 31-year-old hasn’t featured on the PSA Tour since March 2018 due to a knee injury and he now resides at his lowest ranking since January 2006.

PSA Men's World Rankings Top 20 – February 2019

RANKING	PLAYER	COUNTRY	AVERAGE	UP/DOWN
1	Mohamed ElShorbagy	EGY	1,743.500	=
2	Ali Farag	EGY	1,712.000	=
3	Tarek Momen	EGY	1,034.545	↑1
4	Simon Rösner	GER	949.500	↓1
5	Karim Abdel Gawad	EGY	918.500	=
6	Paul Coll	NZL	774.000	↑1
7	Miguel Rodriguez	COL	756.000	↓1
8	Marwan ElShorbagy	EGY	691.500	=
9	Mohamed Abouelghar	EGY	559.500	↑1
10	Diego Elias	PER	519.545	↑1
11	Saurav Ghosal	IND	464.545	↑1
12	Gregory Gaultier	FRA	460.500	↓3
13	Omar Mosaad	EGY	405.909	↑4
14	Max Lee	HKG	391.000	↓1
15	Raphael Kandra	GER	381.000	=
16	James Willstrop	ENG	379.091	=
17	Daryl Selby	ENG	359.000	↑2
18	Ryan Cuskelly	AUS	346.500	↓4
19	Joel Makin	WAL	321.000	↑4
20	Declan James	ENG	319.500	↑1

Pittsburgh Open Main Draw Released

The main draw for February’s Three Rivers Capital Pittsburgh Open has been released with Australia’s World No.14 Ryan Cuskelly and Switzerland’s World No.18 Nicolas Mueller seeded to meet in the final of the PSA World Tour Bronze tournament, which will take place between February 6-10.



The 2019 edition of the Pittsburgh Open will be a Bronze tier tournament for the first time, while prize money has more than doubled to $52,000, with a high-quality draw battling it out for the title at the Rivers Club.

Cuskelly is seeded on the same side of the draw as Hong Kong’s World No.26 Leo Au, Mexico’s World No.30 Cesar Salazar and France’s World No.32 Gregoire Marche.


The Australian, along with the other top eight seeds, receives a bye into the second round and will face either Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann or Mexico’s Arturo Salazar for a place in the last 16.


Mueller, meanwhile, is seeded to meet Egypt’s Zahed Salem in the semi-finals, but will first have to navigate through a draw which includes the likes of Egypt’s Youssef Soliman and Malaysia’s Nafiizwan Adnan.



Home interest comes in the form of United States No.1 Todd Harrity and World No.63 Chris Hanson, who will face India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar and Scotland’s Alan Clyne in the opening round.



England’s Lyell Fuller and Egypt’s Mustafa Nawar occupy the wildcard spots and will face Wales’ World No.59 Peter Creed and England’s World No.57 Richie Fallows in round one.



The event is open to the public to attend and will be held at the Rivers Club in Pittsburgh.



For more information about the tournament, contact:-



Saul Markowitz, Local Press Coordinator: saul@markowitzcommunications.com

Mike Schroeder, Deputy Local Press Coordinator:  mschroeder@markowitzcommunications.com



Main Draw: Pittsburgh Open

[1] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) [Bye]

Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) v [9/16] Arturo Salazar (MEX)

[9/16] Richie Fallows (ENG) v [WC] Mustafa Nawar (EGY)

[6] Gregoire Marche (FRA) [Bye]

[5] Cesar Salazar (MEX) [Bye]

Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) v [9/16] Todd Harrity (USA)

[9/16] Alan Clyne (SCO) v Chris Hanson (USA)

[4] Leo Au (HKG) [Bye]

[3] Zahed Salem (EGY) [Bye]

Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v [9/16] Campbell Grayson (NZL)

[9/16] Peter Creed (WAL) v [WC] Lyell Fuller (ENG)

[8] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) [Bye]

[7] Youssef Soliman (EGY) [Bye]

Ramit Tandon (IND) v [9/16] Vikram Malhotra (IND)

[9/16] Ivan Yuen (MAS) v Alfredo Avila (MEX)

[2] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) [Bye]

EL SHERBINI BOOKS PLACE AT PSA WORLD TOUR FINALS

Egypt’s World No.2 Nour El Sherbini has booked her place at the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals after her victory over World No.1 Raneem El Welily in the final of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions last week.

The PSA World Tour Finals will be held in June 2019 and will host both a men’s and women’s tournament. The reigning World Champions and all seven PSA World Tour Platinum winners will qualify for the prestigious event. The other qualifying spots will go to the next highest-ranked players on the PSA World Tour Finals leaderboard.

Former World No.1 El Sherbini captured her first Platinum title of the season as she successfully retained her crown in New York at the Tournament of Champions, courtesy of a straight-games victory over compatriot and the woman who took her World No.1 ranking, El Welily.

El Welily remains top of the women’s leaderboard with 8,925 points after reaching her fifth consecutive final this season and sits ahead of El Sherbini, who has now moved up to second place.

New Zealand’s Joelle King sits in third, while England’s Sarah-Jane Perry (4th), France’s Camille Serme (5th), Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb (6th), Nouran Gohar (7th) and England’s Alison Waters all reside in the top eight.

The men’s leaderboard sees Egypt’s World No.2 Ali Farag remain in first place with 13,120 points after claiming his first Tournament of Champions title last week, while compatriot Mohamed ElShorbagy is in second place.

Egypt’s Karim Abdel Gawad sits in fourth position but has already secured his place at the PSA World Tour Finals after winning the CIB Black Ball Squash Open last month, while Tarek Momen (3rd), Germany’s Simon Rösner (5th), New Zealand’s Paul Coll (6th), Peru’s Diego Elias (7th) and Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar (8th) all occupy the rest of the top eight.

The world’s top players will head to Chicago for the 2018-19 PSA World Championships next, which will take place between February 23-02 March in the Grand Hall at Union Station.