Tribune News Network
Doha
As many as 64 of the world’s best players looking to come away victorious in the 21st edition of the Q-Terminals Qatar Classic which gets underway at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on Monday.
It is the second Platinum event of the 2024/25 PSA Squash Tour season.
This year will once again see both a men’s and women’s taking place, with reigning champions Ali Farag and Hania El Hammamy returning in an attempt to defend their titles.
The Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) Secretary-General Tariq Zainal has affirmed that Doha is ready to stage an exceptional edition of the QTerminals Qatar Classic Squash Championship. "The tournament committee has completed all preparations to host the competition,” Zainal said.
"This further solidifies the country’s position as a host of major international sporting events,” Zainal added.
Farag, the men’s top seed and three-time winner of the Qatar Classic, will be looking to bounce back from defeats in the finals of the Egyptian Open and Paris Squash to Mostafa Asal. The World No.1 starts his campaign against the dangerous Youssef Ibrahim. Behind Farag in the seedings lie Paul Coll, Mostafa Asal and Diego Elias – all of whom were multiple event winners on the PSA Tour last season. Asal has started the new campaign in scintillating form, capturing back-to-back titles, and now sits within almost 500 points of Farag at the top of the men’s world rankings.
Coll and Elias, meanwhile, will be looking for revenge against Asal and Farag, respectively, after being edged out in tense semi-final matches at Paris Squash last week. In particular, Elias will likely arrive in Qatar quietly confident of a strong run after delivering potentially his best week of squash since winning the PSA World Championships earlier this year.
In the women’s draw, World No.1 Nour El Sherbini will be the player to beat, after recording ten straight victories to start off the 2024/25 campaign. ‘The Warrior Princess’, who was defeated by El Hammamy in the Qatar Classic final last year, has clinched title victories over fierce rival Nouran Gohar in the first two finals of the season, and will look to continue this form when she begins her tournament against Sarah-Jane Perry.
Defending champion El Hammamy sits in the same half of the draw as El Sherbini and could prove a potential semi-final opponent if the event were to go to seeding.
The 24-year-old will be looking to return to the winner’s circle after nine months without a title on the PSA Squash Tour. El Hammamy will get her campaign underway against Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe.
World No.2 Nouran Gohar will be another major title contender in the women’s event and will be hoping for a strong performance in Qatar to close the gap with El Sherbini in the World Rankings.