World #1s head star-studded Palm Hills field
World Number Ones Mostafa Asal and Nouran Gohar have been named as the top seeds for the inaugural Palm Hills Squash Open, PSA Squash Tour Gold-level event, which will take place in Cairo from 22nd to 27th May.
After playing host to the prestigious 2023–24 CIB PSA World Championships, the Palm Hills Club is once again set to welcome world-class squash talent through its doors. Leading the charge across the two packed draws are a host of renowned Egyptian stars, including Asal and Gohar, as well as four-time World Champion Ali Farag (Update : Farag withdrew on 20th May) and current World No.3 Hania El Hammamy (Update : Hammamy withdrew on 21st May)
The event will be split across the Palm Hills Club and the Golf Central Mall – the latter of which will entertain a showpiece all-glass court – with action available to watch live on SQUASHTV.
Top seed Asal, who has already picked up four titles on the PSA Squash Tour this season, could face a host of Egyptian compatriots in his bid to pick up the Palm Hills title, with sixth seed Youssef Soliman named in his quarter of the draw, and third and seventh seeds Tarek Momen and Fares Dessouky potential semi-final opponents.
Elsewhere, recent Australian Open champion Karim Abdel Gawad occupies the fourth seed position, and joins Momen and Farag as one of three former World Champions in the men’s draw.
In the women’s draw, long-standing rivals Gohar and El Hammamy enter as the top two seeds, setting up the possibility of a blockbuster final should they each progress through their respective halves. Gohar, the reigning World Champion, may face a tough challenge in the semi-finals, where she could meet up-and-coming star Amina Orfi, the third seed at the event. Whilst El Hammamy, is seeded to face Japan’s ever-improving Satomi Watanabe.
World #5 Orfi, 17, has stormed through the PSA Rankings this campaign and has proven a handful to the world’s very best players – including a thrilling victory over El Hammamy in the final of the Singapore Open. One of the few milestones that is missing from Orfi’s superb season, which has yielded three World Event titles, is a win against either Gohar or Nour El Sherbini.
The other two seeded players in the top half of the women’s draw are Egyptian duo Nada Abbas and Fayrouz Aboelkheir, who are the sixth and seventh seeds.
Recent Manchester Open champion Salma Hany joins El Hammamy, foirth seed Watanabe and fifth seed Nele Gilis-Coll in the bottom half of the draw, as she looks to continue her push to return to the top ten in the women’s rankings. Hany, who defeated British #1 Gina Kennedy in a thrilling five-gamer last week to lift the Bronze-level title in Manchester, is seeded to face off against El Hammamy in the quarter-finals.
