El Hammamy and Coll top 2026 London Classic Draws

El Hammamy and Orfi set to renew rivalry as Coll returns to defend London Classic title

The draws for the first Gold event of the 2026/27 PSA Squash Tour season are out as Paul Coll and Hania El Hammamy are named as top seeds for the London Squash Classic 2026. Coll is the defending men’s champion whilst El Hammamy is aiming to claim the title for the first time in her career.

The event will once again be staged at the famous Alexandra Palace, with squash adding to the venue’s long list of incredible events. All matches from round two onwards will take place from ‘Ally Pally’ whilst first round matches will all take place at Coolhurst LT & SC. The event will run from 1-6 September with all matches live on SQUASHTV.

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Women’s Draw

The women’s draw features an extremely strong group, with four of the world’s top six making up the top four seeding places, including the current World No.1 El Hammamy and No.2 Amina Orfi. The pair were involved in several high-quality battles last season, including the longest women’s 3-1 match ever at the British Open, lasting 110 minutes. The pair are on a collision course once again in London, with their fierce rivalry set to add another chapter.

Top seed El Hammamy was a beaten finalist in this event in 2024 as she lost out to Sivasangari Subramaniam in what was a spectacular event victory for the Malaysian. As the current rankings leader, El Hammamy will be determined to start the season on the front foot and claim a fifth title of 2026.

Her main title challenge, Orfi, is the defending champion of the women’s event. The current World Champion only dropped one game on route to victory last season and will need to back that performance up this year to keep pace with El Hammamy in the hunt for the World No.1 position. Orfi’s 2025 London Classic victory was one of six titles last season and she will no doubt be hungry for more as her season gets underway in the same place as the last campaign.

2024 champion Subramaniam and Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe are the third and fourth seeds for the event. Subramaniam is in the bottom half with Orfi whilst Watanabe is seeded to face El Hammamy in the top-half semi-final. Orfi will be out for revenge if she is to face Subramaniam in the bottom-half semi-final after the Malaysian ended Orfi’s 11-match win streak and ended her hopes of ending the season at World No.1.

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, home interest is led by World No.8 Georgina Kennedy as she looks to bring her A game in front of a familiar London crowd. Kennedy grew up playing in Bexley, less than 20 miles away from the Alexandra Palace, and will want to make her home advantage count. She’s seeded to face Watanabe in the quarter-finals, if she can navigate her way past either Rachel Arnold or Sana Ibrahim in round two.

Men’s Draw

Two-time champion Paul Coll is back to defend his London Classic title this year, leading the men’s field. Of Coll’s 33 PSA titles, a third have come on UK soil, with his most recent coming in Birmingham at the British Open where he became a 3x champion of the event. The British Open victory is one of four titles for Coll this year, he’ll be hoping to make it five in a few weeks and successfully defend his crown.

Coll will open his account in the second round, where he is seeded to face former World Champion and World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy. A matchup that has been seen 25 times on the PSA Tour, with Elshorbagy still leading the head-to-head record despite losing to Coll on the last six occasions.

Situated in the bottom half of the draw is No.2 seed and World No.6 Victor Crouin. The French No.1 has never competed in the London Squash Classic before, with his last competitive visit to London coming at the 2023 Canary Wharf Classic. Crouin was one of only three players to claim a Gold event title for the first time last season as he won the Texas Open in February. He didn’t end the season as strongly as he would have liked, but the analytical 27-year-old will have left no stone unturned before he starts his season.

English duo Marwan Elshorbagy and Jonah Bryant are seeded to be Coll and Crouin’s semi-final opponents. Former World No.3 Elshorbagy is regarded as one of the most intelligent players on tour and will need to be on his mettle from the start of the event with the likes of Declan James and Mohamed Aboouelgahr potentially in his path. Hot prospect Bryant was forced to finish his 25/26 season early due to sustaining a shoulder injury at the Optasia Championships against Diego Elias. The current World No.10 will be itching to return to competitive action for the first time in five months but also faces a tough route to a potential semi-final against Coll.

A name that fans will be delighted to see in the draw again is that of Abdulla Al-Tamimi. The flamboyant Qatari ruptured his Achilles tendon in his home event – the Qatar Classic – last season but will make his return in London in a few weeks’ time. Al-Tamimi will be up against Indian Ramit Tandon in the opening round, with the winner set to face No.5 seed Aly Abou-Eleinen.

For more information on the London Squash Classic, visit the event website. To learn more about the PSA Squash Tour, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn.