Should Nouran Gohar reach the final at the Qatar Classic in her return to the PSA World Tour next month, it would mark exactly one year since she last played. You wouldn’t bet against her claiming the title in her first event as a mum on tour, would you?
Still only 28 (29 in September), there is still plenty left in the tank from the great Egyptian, even with a new addition and the pressures now to return and make one of the two spots available for Egyptian squash players for the LA Olympics.
READ MORE: Nouran Gohar: ‘There’s been no other player today with that relentless ‘all in’ element’
Four greats into two? It will be fascinating. The continued rise of Amina Orfi shows no sign of abating. How can Hania El Hammamy cement world No.1 status? Can Nour ElSherbini continue her record feats?
Now we can add Gohar back into the mix.
Since giving birth to her first child in April, the Egyptian has been captured on social media with those first steps back on court since playing her last event at the Egyptian Open in September 2025.
She was recently filmed at the Athlete Performance Centre at Red Bull’s headquarters in Austria, where player ambassadors can receive individual performance support and rehabilitation. She was pushing her pram as she stood beside a huge digital projection of herself in reception.
Behind closed doors, we didn’t see whether she was putting in the hard yards with that steely determination we all know on tour.
“I’ll be back next season, ready to step on court and compete again with even more love, purpose, and fight,” she said before the birth.
Now she’s back and in the draw for the Qatar Classic, where she is still seeded at six.
A head coach of New York Queen’s in the National Squash League and representing Palm Hills Sports Club, we are yet to find out her schedule as the Connecticut-based star returns full-time.
But it is clear that competing in the LA Olympics in less than two years time is the ultimate aim, given that her husband Ziad Elsissy is an Egyptian Olympian already.
Failing to reach the podium at Paris 2024 after losing out in a bronze medal bout, despite being tipped for top honours, the pair clearly have lofty ambitions to fulfil.
“It’s something our family dreams of,” Elsissy has said in an interview, “and I think if we were able to achieve that, we [would] be very happy.
“Both of us were able to medal at almost every single tournament on tour, either nationally, regionally, or at world level. I think the only one that we were missing is the Olympic medal.”
As a mother in what will be one of the most rigorous of sports at the 2028 Olympics, it would be some story should she prevail. Welcome back, Nouran.