NEW YORK — Egypt’s World No. 3, Hania el-Hammamy, and World No. 1, Ali Farag, have both claimed the prestigious J.P. Morgan Squash Tournament of Champions Platinum-level titles, triumphing over reigning World Champions Nouran Gohar and Diego Elias, respectively, in a thrilling final in New York.
No.3 seed El-Hammamy completed her dream run inside the spectacular Grand Central Terminal – overturning a seven-match losing streak against Gohar – to claim her first Morgan Tournament of Champions title and her first title on the PSA Squash Tour since December 2023.
In a nip-and-tuck match that saw multiple swings in momentum, it was 24-year-old El-Hammamy who came through strongest in the latter stages of the match, holding off a late charge from Gohar to take the match by an 8-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-6, 11-8 scoreline on her fourth match ball.
“It’s amazing, I’m so pleased,” El-Hammamy said after the match. “I have finally got wins over the World No.1 [Nouran Gohar] and World No.2 [Nour el-Sherbini] in a row – I haven’t had that for so long.
“There’s no better place for me to win a title in the US than here in New York in Grand Central Station,” she added according to psasquashtour.com.
“I wasn’t even enjoying squash for quite some time, so thank you so much to all of the team behind me. They’ve been through so much with me.”
Meanwhile, in the men’s final, top seed Farag claimed his fourth title at the Tournament of Champions, defeating Elias by a 9-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-1 scoreline.
Egypt’s Farag and Peru’s Elias, meeting for the seventh time already this season, delivered an opening hour of incredible quality, with defending champion Farag clinching thrilling back-to-back tie-breaks to sit within a game of the title.
Much to the disappointment of the crowd, though, the match was brought to a swift conclusion in the fourth.
When trailing in the mid-phase of the game, Elias was handed two conduct strokes by the referee – one for racket abuse and the other for dissent – with Farag subsequently moving through to wrap up the win after 64 minutes of action.
“This title means so much to me. This is one of the most iconic, if not the most iconic, tournaments that we have on the calendar year because of the location of this incredible crowd,” Farag said after the match.
“Obviously, I thought we played an incredible first three games. Diego and I have been pushing each other so hard. He’s an incredible athlete and an incredible squash player.
“I don’t want to make any judgments here and now [on the ending of the match]. I really don’t know who’s at fault. The referees have such a selfless job, and I know that they sometimes get it right, and sometimes they get it wrong, just like we do as players.”
Sarah-Jane Perry, meanwhile, knocked out No.2 seed Salma Hany to reach the Carol Weymuller Open semi-finals, where Farida Mohamed and Fayrouz Aboelkheir will meet in a rematch of last year’s final.
All four matches on quarter-finals day in Brooklyn were taking place on the East Court, with Perry and Hany taking to the court in front of a packed crowd.
No.2 seed Hany is ranked eight places higher than Perry and had beaten the experienced English player in their last two encounters, but was coming into this event on the back of a lengthy injury layoff, having been out of action since the Qatar Classic.
“She’s really dangerous when she’s got anytime, anywhere on the court,” Perry said of her opponent after the match.
“I had to try and take time away from her but not rush myself. In that first game she just picked me off. I left some loose and she’s not been top 10 in the world for no reason, she’s very, very dangerous and she beat me the last two times [we played].
