LONDON — Egypt’s Mostafa Asal and Hania El Hammamy secured the Optasia Championships 2025 titles with outstanding performances, overcoming Paul Coll and Georgina Kennedy, respectively, at the PSA Squash Tour Gold-level event.
In the men’s final, Asal successfully ensured he would overtake current World No.1 Ali Farag to the summit of the World Rankings following a controlled 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 victory over World No.4 Coll.
The Egyptian started the match where he left off from his semi-final comeback over No.3 seed Joel Makin, finding his lines and lengths on the all-glass court at the Wimbledon Club and controlling the pace of play on his terms.
The opening two games both went in Asal’s favour by dominant 11-4 scorelines, before Coll stepped up the court and began to place more pressure on Asal early in the third.
Asal, though, continued to cut a relaxed and confident figure, with the top seed pouncing with relentless power whenever Coll’s length was marginally off.
Despite defending champion Coll saving two championship balls, Asal wasn’t to be denied, sealing his 19th PSA Tour title with a backhand kill into the front left court.
“I’m really happy with myself,” Asal said after the match. “And to be World No.1 again, It just hits different.
“I’m really happy and proud of myself to bounce back after all of the controversial things in the past.
“Paul [Coll] is such a legend of the game and for sure I knew that he had been touring in New Zealand and Australia and he had had some tough matches here. But still, Paul is so fit and I knew it would be a tough battle.”
Meanwhile, in the women’s final, World No.3 Hania El Hammamy stormed through to her second title of the 2024/25 season following a flawless three-game victory over England No.1 Georgina Kennedy.
El Hammamy, the top seed at the Gold-level final this week, played with incredible control throughout her 35 minutes on court, moving through to her 15th PSA Tour title by an 11-9, 11-2, 11-3 scoreline.
After overturning an early 9-6 deficit in the first game, El Hammamy continually pinned Kennedy deep in the court with some superb lines and lengths, only growing in confidence as the match progressed.
The Egyptian took a one-sided second game to the loss of just two points, before cruising to seven championship balls after a third game filled with superbly-constructed rallies.
El Hammamy sealed victory in fitting style, hitting a perfect dying length beyond the reach of Kennedy in the back forehand corner.
“The first game was really, really tough today,” El Hammamy said after the match. “I had a few nerves, and I think after that first, I relaxed a bit and was able to play my best game.
“I knew that if I got my tactics right, I got my length right, I would be able to get through in three. But obviously, the first could have gone her way and I had to battle hard.
“I found better targets from there and I found the good performance that I was looking for.”
