Anahat clashes against World No.1 Hammamy in first round of El Gouna International 2026

Teenage sensation Anahat Singh has her task cut out as she meets World No.1 Hania El Hammamy in the first round of the El Gouna International 2026 in Egypt. El Hammamy has been in tremendous form this season and will definitely look to cash on home advantage even as she pursues yet another title conquest.

The final Platinum event of the 2025-26 PSA Squash Tour season is just a day away, with the El Gouna International 2026 returning for the 14th men’s edition and the 9th women’s edition in its illustrated history.

Anahat and Abhay crowned squash champions

The event will take place from April 4 to 10, 2026 on the stunning all-glass court at the El Gouna Conference & Culture Center, with early round action coming from the El Gouna Squash Complex in Egypt.

Hania El Hamammy has four major titles to her name so far during the 2025-26 campaign and will be determined to make that five

The women’s game has produced a number of incredible battles at major events so far this season, with World No.1 Hania El Hammamy certainly playing her part in a number of these. The 25-year-old has four major titles to her name so far during the 2025-26 campaign and will be determined to make that five and become the fourth multiple-time champion in El Gouna. She opens up with a first-round match against Indian teenage sensation Anahat Singh.

Two-time El Gouna International champion Nour ElSherbini has rediscovered her top form in recent months, winning the Hong Kong Open, Windy City Open and Texas Open to return to World No.2. ‘The Warrior Princess’ won the first-ever women’s El Gouna International back in 2017 but hasn’t won the event since 2021.

World No.3 and 4 Amina Orfi and Olivia Weaver head to another major event, desperate to break the hold of ‘The Big Three’. Both have come agonisingly close in the last two major events. Weaver led 9-3 in the final game of the Tournament of Champions final, whilst Orfi led 2-0 in the Windy City Open final. Both went on to lose out on the titles.

These disappointments will only spur the pair on for the remainder of the season, and with the next opportunity to claim major event silverware coming this week in El Gouna, could this be the event where the six-year record for ‘The Big Three’ ends?

Asal on the hunt for his third El Gouna title

Runaway World No.1 Mostafa Asal will be on the hunt for his third El Gouna title this year, drawing him level with legends Ramy Ashour and Ali Farag as the most decorated players in the event’s history. The 24-year-old has reached the El Gouna International final in each of the last four years, whilst also winning five of the six major events this season, the last three of which were without dropping a single game.

Mostafa Asal will be on the hunt for his third El Gouna title this year, drawing him level with legends Ramy Ashour and Ali Farag as the most decorated players in the event’s history. Pics: PSA Squash Tour

Six-time major event winner and World No.2 Paul Coll is yet to add the El Gouna International title to his trophy haul. The New Zealander reached the final in 2021 and 2022 but suffered 3-0 losses to Asal and Mohamed Elshorbagy. The 2022 event was Coll’s last appearance in the final, but as the No.2 seed for this year and a four-time Platinum finalist this season, he’ll be hopeful once again of capturing another major title.

The No.3 and No.4 seeds in the men’s event are two-time runner-up Karim Gawad and 2024 World Champion Diego Elias. ‘The Peruvian Puma’ looked back to near his best at the Optasia Championships, taking Mostafa Asal deep into a fifth game in the title decider and, in turn, ending Asal’s incredible 22-match 3-0 winning streak.

Elias can be found in the same half of the draw as Asal, with Coll named in the bottom half of the draw alongside Gawad, who has been in vintage form this year and reached four major semi-finals already this campaign.

Elsewhere, the likes of World No.5 Joel Makin and World No.8 Mohamad Zakaria could be set for a second-round showdown, just weeks after their 125 and 108-minute epics Down Under, while No.6 seed Youssef Ibrahim, No.7 seed Victor Crouin and No.8 seed Marwan ElShorbagy will all be eying strong runs on the Red Sea.