A new World Champion will be crowned today as the CIB PSA World Championships 2023/24 conclude, with two mouthwatering finals to look forward to in front of the iconic National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Cairo, Egypt.
Play gets underway at 19:30 (GMT+3) and will be available to watch live on SQUASHTV and on the channels of the PSA’s broadcast partners. You can read all about both match-ups and the head-to-head stats below.
Follow the latest scores from the World Championship Finals via the PSA livescores page.
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Nour El Sherbini V Nouran Gohar
In the first final, old rivals and Egyptian compatriots Nour El Sherbini and Nouran Gohar lock horns for the 32nd time on the PSA World Tour.
World No.1 and reigning World Champion El Sherbini, who with a win tonight would equal Nicol David’s all-time record haul of eight World Championship titles, holds the superior record, with the 28-year-old winning 22 of their meetings so far.
World No.2 Gohar, aiming for a first World Championship title after three painful consecutive defeats to El Sherbini in World Championship finals, will take huge confidence from her dominant victory in the most recent match between the pair, which came in the final of last month’s El Gouna International Squash Open.
That win typified the ‘Gohar 2.0’ who has quietly built a real head of steam after returning from injury this season, with the 26-year-old – nicknamed ‘the Terminator’ for her intensity of play and character – looking relaxed and enjoying her squash in recent weeks while still achieving spectacular results, as demonstrated by her 94-minute 3-1 win over personal rival Hania El Hammamy in yesterday’s semi-final.
El Sherbini, meanwhile, endured a testing encounter with USA’s World No.7 Olivia Weaver in her semi-final yesterday, with ‘the Warrior Princess’ having to come from behind twice as she eventually recorded a 7-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5 win.
Will Gohar finally snatch the crown from El Sherbini to claim a maiden win after so much heartbreak? Or will El Sherbini somehow find yet another level in a World Championship final as she so often does?
Diego Elias V Mostafa Asal
In the men’s final, a new World Champion is guaranteed after Peru’s World No.4 Diego Elias and Egypt’s World No.3 Mostafa Asal reached the biggest match in squash for the first time in their careers.
Both men proved the doubters wrong with incredible semi-final performances yesterday.
27-year-old Elias put in what many have described as a ‘career best’ showing as he finally downed World No.1 and reigning World Champion Ali Farag, ending a dismal streak of just one win in 20 attempts against the Egyptian to become the first ever South American to reach the World Championship final.
23-year-old Asal, meanwhile, showed determination, skill and his trademark flair in abundance in a 3-2 win over New Zealand’s former World No.1 Paul Coll, with Asal holding off a tenacious Coll fightback to clinch a five-game battle on a tie break.
Despite being two of the best movers on tour when in full flow, with both men possessing large frames and unwilling to be physically dominated, previous encounters between Elias and Asal have at times descended into bad-tempered contests, with space in the centre a premium.
The young Egyptian, who is back to his brilliant best after retooling his game with the help of English former World No.1 James Willstrop, holds the superior head-to-head record, winning nine of their twelve clashes on tour, with the most recent of those wins a come-from-behind 3-2 victory in the quarter-final of this year’s Windy City Open.
Elias, however, will be brimming with confidence both from his wins in the two matches against Asal prior to Windy City and after ending his Farag hoodoo yesterday.
Will the Peruvian become South America’s first World Champion? Or can Asal become the youngest man to win it since the great Ramy Ashour in 2008?
