New world squash champion El Sherbini lights up Dubai field

Some of the best women’s squash players in the world will arrive in Dubai for the lucrative season-ending PSA Dubai World Series Finals, which will be held from May 24-28 in Burj Park, Downtown Dubai.

Heading the line-up is the newly-crowned world champion Nour El Sherbini who dethroned Laura Massaro at the Naza PSA Women’s world Championship in Malaysia last month.

El Sherbini, 20, become the youngest ever and the first Egyptian female to become world champion.

It came just a month after she became the first female Egyptian to win the prestigious Allam British Open.

El Sherbini’s win also pushed her to the number one position on the rankings and is hot favourite to take out the PSA World Series Finals in Dubai.

In 2009, she became the youngest ever world junior champion when she claimed the title at just 13 years old.

She broke into the world’s top 50 at just 14 years of age, and won her first tour title in June 2009.

In 2012 she captured the squash world’s attention when she made it to the final of the British Open before losing to Nicol David in the final.

In 2013 she lifted her third World Junior Championship, becoming the first player ever to do so.

El Sherbini will now look to the Dubai PSA World Series Finals as a tournament in which she can further stamp her credentials as world’s best female player.

But with a field which includes one of the legends of world squash Nicol David, as well as Massaro, and former world number one and the woman who ended David’s nine-year streak as world no.1, Raneem El Welily, El Sherbini will have to be at her best to take out the title.

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 place in the knockout semi-finals.

In the women’s pools announced last week, Group A will see Massaro up against Nicol David, former world junior champion and 2016 British Open runner-up Nouran Gohar and Amanda Sobhy – also a former world junior champion who will be the first US born player ever to compete in the World Series Finals.

Group B will see El Sherbini challenge compatriots Raneem El Welily, and former world junior champion Omneya Abdel Kawy, with Frenchwoman Camille Serme completing the line-up.

Serme came to the world’s attention when in 2015 she became the first Frenchwoman to take out the British Open, defeating home favourite Massaro.

In the men’s competition, current Men's World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy will face Colombia’s Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Mathieu Castagnet of France and England's three-time World Champion Nick Matthew in Group A, while world Champion Gregory Gaultier of France will face Australia’s dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist Cameron Pilley, Germany's Simon Rösner, and 2015 World Championships runner- up, Egypt’s Omar Mosaad in Group B.

Tickets to see the top eight men and women in the world compete for one of the most important titles on the world tour, the PSA Dubai World Series Finals are on sale now through Ticketmaster:https://www.ticketmasteruae.ae/etkinlik-grup/699890/ALL/en.

Tickets start at Dh25 per session for general entry.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.