Paul Coll hits career-high place at eight in the world
By SEAN REUTHE
A sparkling run of form which has seen him claim three PSA World Tour titles in a row has elevated Egypt’s Mohamed ElShorbagy up to World No.2 after the release of the PSA Men’s World Rankings today (December 1).
The Bristol-based 26-year-old spent 28 months atop the World Rankings between 2015-2017, but a run of poor form last season saw him lose the coveted World No.1 ranking, slipping to No.3 last April.
However, ElShorbagy has played some of his best squash to reach six successive Tour finals, winning five of them, to move back inside the world’s top two behind Frenchman Gregory Gaultier.
U.S. Open champion Ali Farag is also on the rise, climbing to No.3, while Karim Abdel Gawad drops to No.4 ahead of his World Championship title defence later this month.
A semi-final finish at last month’s Hong Kong Open has seen Marwan, Mohamed’s younger brother, move into the top five for the second time in his career, with England’s three-time World Champion Nick Matthew dropping to No.6 – his lowest ranking since 2009 but a phenomenal achievement for a 37-year-old athlete who has been world champion three times.
The rest of the top 10 is made up of Egypt’s Tarek Momen (No.7), New Zealand’s Paul Coll (a career-high No.8), Germany’s Simon Rösner (No.9) and England’s former World No.1 James Willstrop.
Another former World No.1, Egyptian maverick Ramy Ashour, has tumbled down the rankings after a shock first round defeat to tournament wildcard Leo Au in Hong Kong, falling eight places to No.17, which is his lowest ranking since 2006.
His compatriot, Mohamed Abouelghar, moves to a career-high No.11 spot, with Peruvian Diego Elias achieving a career-best No.12 ranking. The injured Fares Dessouky drops five places to No.13, while Ryan Cuskelly (No.14) and Daryl Selby (No.15) complete the top 15.
India’s Saurav Ghosal enjoys a five-place increase to No.16 to sit ahead of Ashour, with Spain’s Borja Golan (No.18), Omar Mosaad (No.19), and Mexico’s Cesar Salazar (No.20) rounding out the top 20, which includes nine Egyptians.
PSA Men’s World Rankings Top 20 – December 2017:
Pictures and graphic courtesy of PSA