Published: April 11, 2026 at 8:07 am
World No.3 Diego Elias became the first non-Egyptian winner of the Platinum-level El Gouna International Squash Open 2026 since France’s Gregory Gaultier in 2017 as he trounced World No.8 Mohamad Zakaria in the final.
In the women’s final, World No.1 Hania El Hammamy defeated World No.2 Nour ElSherbini to emerge victorious. The evening’s opening match featured the tournament’s top two seeds, Hania El Hammamy and Nour ElSherbini, going head-to-head in a straight shootout for the World No.1 position in the women’s rankings.
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Blockbuster duel better Hania and Nour
In yet another blockbuster meeting between the two Egyptian greats, it was El Hammamy who battled back from 2-1 down to lift her second El Gouna International title, taking the thrilling title decider by an 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9 scoreline.
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El Hammamy picked up where she left off from her three-game semifinal win over Amina Orfi, finding her targets across the court and racing into a quick-fire 7-2 lead. ElSherbini began to grow into the first as it progressed, managing to get more of a foothold on the ’T’ and reeling off four quick points to sit just 7-6 down.
The contest featured significant momentum swings and high drama throughout, with El Hammamy fending off a late surge from the eight-time World Champion, who rallied from 5-1 down to lead 7-6 in the deciding game. However, it was El Hammamy who ultimately prevailed with some quality squash in the pressure moments of the match, moving through to lift her fifth major title of the PSA Squash Tour season after 78 minutes of play.
“It was an amazing match,” El Hammamy said. “It was up and down. I think I had phases where I was comfortable and then she had patches where she was controlling the whole game.
“When I watch it back, I’m sure I’ll be entertained with the quality we both produced. In the moment, I just really wanted the match to be over. It was full of emotions, full of pressure and I felt my quality was really tense. I’m really glad that I managed to win in those conditions.
“I just tried to tell myself to keep bouncing, keep moving my body. I wasn’t moving at my best, but I knew how much effort I was putting into her legs by getting all these balls back. Last night’s match definitely put a bit of heaviness on my movement today.”
Elias claims maiden title of 2025-26 season
Meanwhile, No.4 seed Elias stormed through to his first title of the 2025-26 PSA Squash Tour season after dispatching Mohamad Zakaria in straight games. Peru’s Elias scored a one-sided 11-1, 11-7, 11-1 victory over the 18-year-old World Junior Champion.
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The 2024 World Champion backed up his thrilling semifinal victory over World No.1 Mostafa Asal in devastating style, outclassing a war-weary Zakaria and ending the teenager’s hopes of becoming the third-youngest male winner of a major title on the PSA Squash Tour.
No.4 seed Elias stormed through to his first title of the 2025-26 PSA Squash Tour season after dispatching Mohamad Zakaria in straight games. Peru’s Elias scored a one-sided 11-1, 11-7, 11-1 victory over the 18-year-old World Junior Champion. Pics: PSA Squash Tour
“I’m super happy with my whole week,” Elias said after the match. “I went back to my game, I stopped making errors and just starting playing as solid as I could.
“I’m feeling really good physically. The whole game is different. I’m way more comfortable on court and I’m in a good position almost every time.
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“I’m also really pleased with the way I felt after that tough match yesterday (against Mostafa Asal). It shows that all the hard work paid off.”
The next stop on the PSA Squash Tour is the Copper-level STARR Bermuda Open 2026, which takes place between April 14 and 18.
Result (finals): Men: 4-Diego Elias (PER) beat Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) 3-0 (11-1, 11-7, 11-1).
Women: 1-Hania El Hammamy (EGY) beat 2-Nour ElSherbini (EGY) 3-2 (11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9).
