World No.1s Nouran Gohar and Mostafa Asal have claimed the El Gouna International Squash Open 2025 titles, beating first-time Platinum finalist Amina Orfi and four-time World Champion Ali Farag.
In the final Platinum event of the PSA Squash Tour season, both matches held significance. A win for Asal would see him retain his World No.1 position after he recently overtook Farag after his Optasia Championships win. In the women’s final, Orfi had the chance to make history as the youngest ever winner of a women’s Platinum event but Gohar spoilt her party.
The women’s final was up first with two similar styles of play treating the El Gouna crowd as Gohar hunted a third El Gouna International title in a row. The teenager came out to a flying start leafing 7-2 after a somewhat slow start by Gohar. The World Champion worked her way back in however and suddenly the score was 7-7. Orfi moved ahead to 9-7 and took the game 11-7 to shock the El Gouna crowd.
Another strong start followed for the 17-year-old as she won four of the first five points to lead 4-1. ‘The Terminator’ responded however and showed why she is the current World No.1 and World Champion. She started to hit her lines to perfection and took away the weapons that Orfi possesses around the middle. It wasn’t long before she captured the next two games 11-7, 11-6.
The fourth game started in quite scrappy fashion with a couple of refereeing decisions interrupting play. Gohar handled the stoppages better than Orfi and marched through the game, knowing a third consecutive El Gouna title was within sight. Gohar fired in a terrific forehand drop to led 5-3 and stormed ahead to set herself up with five championships balls at 10-5. At the third time of asking, a trademark backhand kill sealed a fourth title of the season and third El Gouna International in a row.
“I can definitely say that this is my favourite tournament” said Gohar.
“I struggled to win the tournament. I had to reach four finals to win my first El Gouna title but since then, it has been a lucky charm for me. It opened me up to play really well in the World Championships so I’m hoping that its before the Worlds every season.
“I’m super happy, this crowd is just amazing, not just Egyptian there’s lots of nationalities here and that just highlights how good El Gouna is. Thank you to everyone who makes it possible to come back every year because it’s a favourite of all the players.
“Egyptian women’s squash is in a great place. Someone that we need to mention is Raneem El Welily. She was the first ever Arab female athlete to be ranked World No.1 in any sport. She taught me a lot of lessons on and off court. Whenever I need someone to help me, she’s always there for me. Omneya [Abdel Kawy] also, has been so generous with advice and I think that’s the reason that we have all of the champions in our sport.”
With the World No.1 spot on the line between the two, the stakes could not have been higher in the men’s final between Asal and Farag. Both players started in great style, using all four corners of the court with a mixture of paces, showcasing their skill level for the El Gouna crowd. Asal took a narrow lead in the mid stage to lead 6-5 but a flurry of errors from the current World No.1 allowed Farag to win six points in a row to lead 1-0.
The second game followed a similar pattern with both players eager to try and dictate the pace. Asal was trying to increase it whilst Farag looked to trying to slow it but inject pace at the right time. The four-time World Champion’s tactics were working perfectly as he took a huge 2-0 lead, winning 11-7.
Farag continued his web-weaving in game three and looked to be frustrating Asal, who was struggling to find winners against the three-time El Gouna champion. Farag looked to be storming to victory as he lead 7-4 but the current World No.1 was not done yet. He capitalised on some loose Farag drops to thunder the ball past the top seed and levelled at 7-7. As the score reached 9-9, another thunderous cross court followed by a devastating kill sealed the game for Asal to breathe more life in the contest. Asal continued his momentum from winning the third game and rattled off the winners in game four to level the tie at 2-2.
Asal found top form in the fifth game, he twisted and turned the fading Farag, moving the No.1 seed into all four corners at pace, which Farag was struggling to keep up with. Asal stormed to a 7-1 lead in the decider and looked sure to be lifting the trophy. Despite Farag claiming a few more points, the ‘Raging Bull’s’ charge couldn’t be halted. He took the final game 11-5 to win a second El Gouna International title and a fifth title of the season.
“I was super lucky today to get over the line,” said Asal.
“It was such a battle today between me and Ali. Ali is such a legend of the sport and he’s one of a kind. I’m happy with my performance, I wanted to dig in and that’s what Jimbo [James Willstrop] was telling me and I’m really proud of myself today.
“I want to thank everyone for watching us here, it’s such a unique tournament and we love coming her every year. There’s lots of tournaments every season but its a good thing. We’re very proud that there are so many events for fans to watch us and hopefully mine and Ali’s rivalry can continue.
“James was telling me to stay calm and it’s a credit to him and all of my team. My fitness coach, the physio, my father, my uncle. Everyone.”
Result: El Gouna International Squash Open 2025 – women’s final
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [8] Amina Orfi (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 (52m)
Result: El Gouna International Squash Open 2025 – men’s final
[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [1] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-2: 6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 (91m)