Draws Released for London Squash Classic

The draws have been announced for the inaugural GillenMarkets London Squash Classic, with New Zealand’s Paul Coll and Egypt’s Nour ElSherbini named as top seeds for the PSA Word Tour Gold event taking place from 27th March to 1st April.

The event is taking the place of the Canary Wharf Classic, which saw its final edition take place in March 2023. The new event will start at Coolhurst Squash Club before moving to the famous Alexandra Palace for round two onwards.

Tickets are available to buy right now and will also be streamed live on SQUASHTV.

CW Champion Coll tops men’s draw

World No.3 Paul Coll has won six times on English soil, making up 50% of his total World Tour titles, including last year’s GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic. A happy hunting ground for the 31-year-old. Coll has claimed two Platinum titles this season as well as the New Zealand Open, but will be determined to continue his fine form in the best-of-three format to return to winning ways. He’ll be up against either USA’S Timothy Brownell or Egypt’s former Canary Wharf Classic winner Fares Dessouky in round two on Thursday 28^th March.

The No.2 seed in the men’s event will be World No.4 Mostafa Asal. The Egyptian claimed the first World Tour silverware on offer in 2024 as he captured the Florida Open title in emphatic fashion. ‘The Raging Bull’ is also no stranger to success in the best-of-three format, having won the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals on the last three occasions. He’ll be looking to repeat his success in the format to claim a second title this year as he kicks off his title challenge on Friday 29^th March against Abdulla Al-Tamimi or Nick Wall.

Having put his injury issues behind him, No.3 seed Karim Abdel Gawad has already won three titles this season, winning at the Grasshopper Cup, Malaysia Cup and Pittsburgh Open. The 2016 World Champion will be hoping to continue his fine form as he faces the winner of Ramit Tandon and Eain Yow Ng in his opening match after a round one bye.

Former World Champion and World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy completes the top four seeds as he looks to claim silverware for the first time since the Black Ball Open in March 2023. Elshorbagy has lost out in a fifth game in seven of his last nine events, the last two coming at the hands of Mazen Hesham. Elshorbagy will be determined to bounce back strongly and use the experience of his 710 career matches to put together a confident week in London. He will start his campaign in round two against either England’s Adrian Waller or bogey player Youssef Ibrahim.

The wildcard for the men’s event is former World No.15 Declan James. The 30-year-old James is making a comeback from an injury plagued two years, which saw him drop outside the world’s top 100 for the first time since 2013. He is back competing again now and determine to climb back up the rankings. He has been drawn against Egypt’s Mohamed Elsherbini in round one.

Sherbini heads new women’s draw

For the first time in over a decade there is a major women’s event in the capital and, fittingly, World No.1 and World Champion Nour ElSherbini heads the draw. The 28-year-old is enjoying one of her most successful seasons to date, having already claimed five wins from six finals. The top seed will be determined to add a sixth title to her tally for the season and stretch her lead at the top of the world rankings ever further. Emilia Soini or Tesni Murphy will be ElSherbini’s opponent in round two on the Thursday of the event after an opening round bye.

World No.2 Hania El Hammamy is the second seed for the event, as she looks to put together a strong week to try and win her first trophy of 2024 and third of the 2023/24 season. It’s hard to believe that El Hammamy is only 23 years old. With nearly 300 matches to her name including 20 World Tour final appearances, the Egyptian is always a force to be reckoned with if she pulls together the best elements of her game.

Over the winter, World No.3 Nouran Gohar spent four months away from the PSA World Tour due to injury but returned at the Florida Open in January, where she picked up right where she left off to reach the Gold event final. From there, Gohar lead 2-0 against Nour ElSherbini in the final of the J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions but couldn’t convert. The determination and competitiveness of the former World No.1 always makes her a threat in any event as she’ll be looking to capture a first title of the season in London.

Belgium’s Nele Gilis occupies the fourth seeding position. The Belgian is another who has had previous success in the best-of-three format, as she beat sister Tinne in the Open de France de Squash final in 2022. The 28-year-old has lost exited early in her opening two events of 2024 so will be as determined as ever to respond in strong style to challenge the top three.

Alicia Mead is the Women’s wildcard and World No.54. Mead will be competing in her sixth World Tour event at the London Squash Classic. The 28-year-old has been steadily moving up the rankings and now sits at her highest position of World No.54, having won the London Open back in November. The Englishwoman faces tough opposition her opening match as she faces Malaysia’s top ten-hunting Sivasangari Subramaniam on day one.