Nour El Sherbini will aim to match Nicol David’s record of eight world titles on home soil after Egypt was handed hosting rights for the 2024 world championships in May.
The 2023-24 CIB PSA world championships will be staged between May 9-17, the PSA announced on Tuesday. With only three months to go, the city and venue has yet to be revealed to Squash Mad, although Cairo was stated on the PSA website calendar.
This will be the first worlds — there will be a $1.15m prize purse on offer — to take place since the Olympic vote last year. And given Egypt’s stranglehold in the sport’s biggest showcase, this edition will be an interesting one to forecast who may be a 2028 medal prospect (or even those who may be playing for a different nation).
It will be the third time since 2016 in the men’s edition that Egypt has hosted the event — and fifth time since 2014 with the women’s worlds.
Meanwhile Egyptian men and women have won every championships since 2015, stretching back eight editions.
El Sherbini is searching for an eighth world title and sixth in a row. Should she achieve it, she will equal David’s record, which was achieved over a decade.
PSA chief executive Alex Gough said: “Egypt is undoubtedly a powerhouse in the sport, with five players inside the top 10 of both the men’s and women’s PSA World Rankings, while some of the greatest players in the history of the sport have hailed from the nation. I’m sure we will witness an incredible atmosphere.
“It’s great to have CIB on board as title sponsors once again. We have a fantastic relationship with CIB, whose support for squash in Egypt has been nothing short of incredible. We look forward to working with them in the coming months and to announcing details of the venue for the event soon.”
CIB chief executive Hussein Abaza added: “The squash community in Egypt is thriving and I’m sure that staging the pinnacle of the sport here will help inspire the younger generation, who will be able to cheer on their heroes in person.”