EL-GOUNA, Egypt – World No. 1s Nouran Gohar and Mostafa Asal of Egypt clinched the titles at the 2025 El-Gouna International Squash Open.
They defeated first-time Platinum finalist Amina Orfi and four-time World Champion Ali Farag, respectively, to claim victory in the final Platinum event of the 2024/25 PSA World Tour season.
Both finals carried added significance beyond the tournament titles. Asal’s triumph was particularly crucial, as it secured his position as World No. 1, which he recently claimed from Farag following his victory at the Optasia Championships.
In the women’s final, Orfi had the chance to make history as the youngest ever winner of a women’s Platinum event but Gohar spoilt her party.
The women’s final was up first with two similar styles of play treating the El Gouna crowd as Gohar hunted a third El-Gouna International title in a row. The teenager came out to a flying start leafing 7-2 after a somewhat slow start by Gohar.
The World Champion worked her way back in however and suddenly the score was 7-7. Orfi moved ahead to 9-7 and took the game 11-7 to shock the El Gouna crowd.
Another strong start followed for the 17-year-old as she won four of the first five points to lead 4-1. ‘The Terminator’ responded however and showed why she is the current World No.1 and World Champion. She started to hit her lines to perfection and took away the weapons that Orfi possesses around the middle. It wasn’t long before she captured the next two games 11-7, 11-6.
“I can definitely say that this is my favourite tournament,” said Gohar according to psasquashtour.com.
“I struggled to win the tournament. I had to reach four finals to win my first El Gouna title but since then, it has been a lucky charm for me. It opened me up to play really well in the World Championships so I’m hoping that its before the Worlds every season.
“I’m super happy, this crowd is just amazing, not just Egyptian there’s lots of nationalities here and that just highlights how good El-Gouna is. Thank you to everyone who makes it possible to come back every year because it’s a favourite of all the players.
“Egyptian women’s squash is in a great place. Someone that we need to mention is Raneem El-Welily. She was the first ever Arab female athlete to be ranked World No.1 in any sport. She taught me a lot of lessons on and off court.
Whenever I need someone to help me, she’s always there for me. Omneya [Abdel Kawy] also, has been so generous with advice and I think that’s the reason that we have all of the champions in our sport.”
With the World No.1 spot on the line between the two, the stakes could not have been higher in the men’s final between Asal and Farag. Both players started in great style, using all four corners of the court with a mixture of paces, showcasing their skill level for the El Gouna crowd.
Asal took a narrow lead in the mid stage to lead 6-5 but a flurry of errors from the current World No.1 allowed Farag to win six points in a row to lead 1-0.
Farag continued his web-weaving in game three and looked to be frustrating Asal, who was struggling to find winners against the three-time El Gouna champion.
“I was super lucky today to get over the line,” said Asal.
“It was such a battle today between me and Ali. Ali is such a legend of the sport and he’s one of a kind. I’m happy with my performance, I wanted to dig in and that’s what Jimbo [James Willstrop] was telling me and I’m really proud of myself.
“I want to thank everyone for watching us here, it’s such a unique tournament and we love coming her every year. There’s lots of tournaments every season but its a good thing. We’re very proud that there are so many events for fans to watch us and hopefully mine and Ali’s rivalry can continue,” Asal added.
“James was telling me to stay calm and it’s a credit to him and all of my team. My fitness coach, the physio, my father, my uncle. Everyone.”
Farag looked to be storming to victory as he led 7-4 but the current World No.1 was not done yet. He capitalised on some loose Farag drops to thunder the ball past the top seed and levelled at 7-7.
