Egyptian Squash Stars Dominate at the 2018 PSA Awards

Already ranked no. 1 of the Professional Squash Association's men's and women's world rankings, hard-hitting heroes, Mohamed El Shorbagy and Nour El Sherbini, have also swept up the biggest prizes at the annual PSA Awards in Dubai this week.

In recognition of their achievements and overall badass-ery during the 2017/208 PSA World Tour, El Shorbagy was awarded the Men's Player of the Year award, while El Sherbini nabbed the women's award on the eve of season closer, the ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals a - competition that El Shorbagy is defending champion of.

If he is to retain the crown, it will be El Shorbagy's eighth major title of a season that saw him win the 2017 PSA World Championship title. It's been a memorable year for El Sherbiny, too, who won four PSA World Series titles, while also achieving the feat of of being one of only two female players to win multiple World Series titles, with the other being another Egyptian, Nour El Tayeb.

While both players' achievements speak for themselves, the PSA awards come with their own prestige. The awards committee is made-up of influential former players, PSA board representatives, tournament promoters and members of the media, while the final decision also took into account a public vote via social media - so the accolades come from every corner of the squash world.

There were also wins for Egypt's other squash stars. Women’s World Champion, Raneem El Welily, won the Female Spirit of Squash Award, given to her by her peers for demonstration of sportsmanship both on and off-court.

Egyptians were also involved in the men's and women's Matches of the Year; Nour El Tayeb's epic face-off with New Zealand’s Joelle King in the finale of the Windy City Open and El Shorbagy's quarter-final match at the 2018 Allam British Open. El Tayeb also received the women's Shot of the Year Award.

The future of Egyptian squash is looking bright, too, with up-and-comers, Mostafa Asal and Hania El Hammamy, named runners up of the men's and women's Young Player of the Year awards. 

Images: PSA World Tour