Stars set to shine in Dubai finals
By NATHAN CLARKE
After one of the most dramatic and competitive seasons in the history of the PSA World Tour the line-up for the season-ending PSA Dubai World Series Finals has been confirmed and will see 16 of the world’s best squash players descend on Dubai from May 24-28 to compete for one of the sport’s most lucrative titles, in front of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
With an equal prize purse of $160,000 on offer in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments the five day event will bring together the cream of squash talent, including five PSA World Championship winners and seven World No.1s, in two groups of four – with players playing a round-robin best-of-three series for a place in the knockout semi-finals and beyond.
After a nail-biting week of competition at the final World Series tournament of the season, last week’s El Gouna International, it was Australian Cameron Pilley who sealed the final qualification spot in the Men’s Road To Dubai Standings to secure his maiden appearance at the tournament – with fellow debutants Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Mathieu Castagnet also confirming their qualification with impressive runs in El Gouna.
Current Men’s World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy tops the standings after taking six of seven PSA World Series titles on offer during the season and will face Rodriguez, Castagnet and England’s three-time World Champion Nick Matthew in the group stages – to be played from May 24-26.
World Champion Gregory Gaultier, who finished the season in second place on the Road To Dubai Standings behind Elshorbagy, will face Pilley, Germany’s Simon Rösner and Egyptian Omar Mosaad, the man he beat to clinch the World Championship in November, in the second men’s group.
In the Women’s Standings PSA Women’s World Championship runner-up Laura Massaro tops the list just in front of Nour El Sherbini, the 20-year-old Egyptian who beat her to claim a maiden World Championship crown last week.
El Sherbini will challenge compatriots Raneem El Welily and Onneya Abdel Kawy in the group stage with Frenchwoman Camille Serme completing the group while Massaro will challenge eight-time World Champion Nicol David, British Open runner-up Nouran Gohar and Amanda Sobhy, who will be the first US-born player ever to compete in the World Series Finals.
About the PSA Dubai World Series Finals
The PSA Dubai World Series Finals is the season-ending climax to the both the Men’s and Women’s PSA World Series Tours, featuring only the world’s best eight qualified players as they battle it out for the last title of the season.
Players compete for ‘Road To Dubai’ Ranking points at each PSA World Series Tournament in a bid to earn one of the coveted eight berths and a chance to compete in one of the sport’s most lucrative events.
The PSA Dubai World Series Finals brings eight players together in two groups of four, with players playing a round-robin best-of-three series for place in the knockout semi-finals and beyond.
Picture by