Hania El Hammamy reached her first ever world championship final after ending the defence of rival Nouran Gohar in Chicago. Ali Farag, with his eighth win in their last nine meetings, did the same against Diego Elias.
El Hammamy will appear in a debut title decider following a 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 win over long-term rival Gohar. El Hammamy had won just one of her nine previous matches against Gohar coming into today’s match, but she produced a magnificent comeback from a game down to earn a spot in the final of the biggest tournament in professional squash.
“I feel great, but I’m not going to stop here,” said El Hammamy.
“Today is the second biggest day of my life so far, tomorrow is going to be the biggest. I’m over the moon and I’m so proud of how I managed my emotions. I kept calm, I wasn’t too up or too down and it was a challenge.
“It’s really big to come through and beat the defending champion. I’ve lost to her the last two times after I beat her at the ToC, as much as that was heartbreaking, I told myself that today would be the day I came out on top, so it’s a massive proud moment.”
El Hammamy’s final opponent will be seven-time World Champion Nour El Sherbini after she reached a 10th final in a row.
The World No.2 was just three points away from defeat after finding herself 8-3 down in the fourth game after a terrific performance from World No.4 Oliva Weaver put her on the brink of becoming the first American ever to reach the title decider.
However, El Sherbini raised her game as she does so often at this tournament and fought back to secure a victory which sees her move to within one win of matching Nicol David’s record of eight World Championship titles in the women’s game.
“I was almost out and I don’t know how I came back,” said El Sherbini.
“I’m proud and happy to win this match. I tried to be calm and tried to have a good mindset. The last phase I wasn’t that calm and I was too emotional and everything wasn’t coming together. I tried to work on my mental game, tried to think positive and tried to relax a little bit to make sure I could produce the performance I wanted to produce.”
In the men’s event, World No.2 Farag has reached his fifth World Championship final after he overcame Elias in a one-sided 3-0 victory.
Farag has won all four of the World Championship finals he has played, with three of those coming in Chicago. If he beats compatriot Mostafa Asal in tomorrow’s final, he will surpass Amr Shabana to become the only Egyptian to win this tournament five times.
“He [Diego Elias] had an injury for two months in a crucial time of the season, so I don’t think he’s as fit as he’d like to be coming into the World Championships,” he said.
“Even if I lost the first it was important to put some mileage into both of our legs and I knew I had that advantage with his injury that had him sidelined for a while. At the very end I could see he was struggling, but I was nervous because I know he can come up with some incredible winners. I’m certainly very happy to be through.”
Standing between Farag and the title is World No.1 Asal, who booked his place in the final for a second season in a row following a comprehensive 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 triumph over New Zealand’s World No.4 Paul Coll.
Asal lost out to Elias in last season’s title decider but will come into tomorrow’s match with Farag as the favourite after winning four of his last five matches against the 33-year-old. If Farag beats Asal, he will reclaim Asal’s World No.1 spot.
“Paul [Coll] is definitely an unbelievable player and it’s tough to play against him… he’s been World No.1, he’s been in finals and winning Platinums,” said Asal.
“I will take it smoothly. If it [the title] comes tomorrow then that’s a bonus. I’m really happy to be in the final. I’m the current World No.1 but we’ll be playing for World No.1 as well, and it’s always an honour to play against Ali [Farag]. It’s one more.”
Results – Men’s Semi-Finals: 2024-25 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [3] Diego Elias (PER) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (41m)
[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [4] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 (41m)
Draw – Men’s Finals: To Be Played May 17th
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [2] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
Results – Women’s Semi-Finals: 2024-25 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (75m)
[2] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) bt [4] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-2: 11-1, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 (53m)
Draw – Women’s Finals: To Be Played May 17th
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)