Mohamed El Shorbagy

Mohamed Elshorbagy (born January 12, 1991 in Alexandria) is a professional squash player who represents Egypt. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 1 in November 2014, March 2018 and again in February 2020.

Mohamed El Shorbagy
El Shorbagy in 2012
Nickname(s)The Beast of Alexandria
Country Egypt
ResidenceBristol, England
Born (1991-01-12) January 12, 1991
Alexandria, Egypt
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
Turned Pro2006
RetiredActive
PlaysRight Handed
Coached byJonah Barrington, David Palmer, Hadrian Stiff, Graham Williams
Racquet usedTecnifibre Carboflex 125 NS X-Speed
WebsiteMohamed El Shorbagy on Facebook
Men's singles
Highest rankingWorld No. 1 (November 2014)
Current rankingWorld No. 1 (March 2020)
Title(s)41
Tour final(s)63
World OpenF (2012, 2014) W (2017)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  Egypt
World Championships
2017 Manchester Singles
2012 Doha Singles
2014 Doha Singles
2013 Manchester Singles
2016 Cairo Singles
2018–19 Chicago Singles
2019–20 Doha Singles
World Team Championships
2011 Paderborn Team
Last updated on: December, 2018.

Career Overview

One of the most talented players on the PSA World Tour, Mohamed Elshorbagy has flown up the world rankings since joining the PSA in 2006 as a 15-year old schoolboy under the tutelage of the legendary Jonah Barrington.

The Alexandria-born star rose to prominence in 2007 after he became the first player in history to secure a maiden PSA World Tour title at a five star event.

He then entered the record books again soon after, becoming only the second man after Ramy Ashour to win the World Junior Championship twice when he triumphed in 2008 and 2009. The Egyptian came close to winning the senior World Championship in 2012 after beating James Willstrop in a five-game semi-final thriller but lost out to compatriot Ramy Ashour in the final.

In 2013 he claimed his first World Series win in the Qatar Classic and exhibited some supreme form throughout the 2014 campaign, winning five events including World Series tournaments at the Hong Kong and US Opens.

Elshorbagy entered the record books behind only Pakistani legends Jahangir and Jansher Khan, who both topped the charts aged 18, and compatriot Ramy Ashour who became number one aged 22, courtesy of his victory over Grégory Gaultier in the semi-finals of the 2014 Delaware Investments US Open and Nick Matthew's defeat to four-time World Champion Amr Shabana in the other last four encounter. "It feels unbelievable right now," said Elshorbagy. "It's been a dream to get to that spot and I can't believe I'm there right now. I came into this tournament knowing there was a big chance to get that World No.1 ranking for the first time in my life." His younger brother Marwan Elshorbagy is the current World number 7. In 2013, Mohamed made it to the semifinals at the Kuwait PSA Cup, a now defunct World Series Platinum event.

In 2014, Elshorbagy opened his year by making the semifinals of Tournament of Champions; he lost to Grégory Gaultier in four games. In the PSA World Series Finals, Elshorbagy recorded his first win over Ramy Ashour, beating Ashour 11–5, 11–5 in the round-robin stage. Elshorbagy lost a heartbreaking match against Tarek Momen after having match points. Elshorbagy then beat James Willstrop 11–9, 11–7, recording his second win in the round-robin stage and also qualifying him for the semifinals. In the semifinals Elshorbagy beat Nick Matthew in five games to reach the final. Elshorbagy was playing Ramy Ashour, whom he beat earlier that week; Ashour recorded two wins after their match to qualify to the semis, and then Ashour beat Gaultier to set up a rematch. Ashour this time was the victor, winning in a tough 4 games. El Shorbagy made the semifinals of the Windy City Open, again losing to Gaultier in four games. El Shorbagy continued good form by making the final of the 2014 El Gouna International. He got revenge on Gaultier, beating him in four games, but lost in the final to countryman Ramy Ashour in four games.

He lost a second World Championship final, against compatriot Ashour, during the 2014 tournament in Qatar in what was dubbed one of the greatest squash matches ever. The Egyptian recovered from his World Championship heartbreak to lift the Tournament of Champions title in January 2015 and, after finishing runner-up at both the Windy City Open and the El Gouna International, he won the British Open for the first time in his career, beating Gaultier in the final. Elshorbagy lifted the British Grand Prix title in September 2015 before celebrating 12 months at the summit of the World Rankings the following month. After claiming another PSA World Series triumph at the Qatar Classic in November, he dropped out of the World Championship at third round stage after a shock exit to James Willstrop as his search for the sport's biggest prize continued.

However, a spell-binding run of form from December 2015 to April 2016 saw Elshorbagy dominate the PSA World Tour, bringing him up to six successive World Series title wins, including defending his crown at the British Open after ending a four-match winless run against Ramy Ashour. During that period, Elshorbagy also broke Ashour's record for the highest ever World Rankings points average in April, a record he then shattered again a month later. A superb season was rounded off in style when he was crowned the 2016 PSA Men's Player of the Year.

Elshorbagy started the 2016/17 season fairly strongly with another victory at the U.S. Open, but he missed out on becoming the first player to win the Qatar Classic on three successive occasions after a final defeat to compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad - just a month after Gawad had beaten him in the World Championship semi-final. However, the following month saw Elshorbagy become only the third Egyptian player to spend a whole year at the summit of the World Rankings after he topped the December 2016 World Rankings. Elshorbagy suffered a slump in form during the 2016/17 season with the former World No.1 suffering from his longest title drought in three years. The Egyptian lost in the semi-final of the British Open to England's Nick Matthew and then exited at the quarter final stage of the El Gouna International Squash Open after defeat by young brother, Marwan Elshorbagy. However, Elshorbagy's fortunes changed at the season-ending PSA Dubai World Series Finals as he downed England's James Willstrop 3–0 in the final to finish the season with a title.

Elshorbagy dominated the early part of the 2017/2018 season, winning seven on his first nine tournaments including the Netsuite Open, the Channel VAS Championships, the Qatar Classic, the Hong Kong Open, the Canary Wharf Classic, and the Windy City Open.

Elshorbagy's family name is derived from an old Turkish military rank, Çorbacı.

World Open final appearances

1 title & 2 runner-up
Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2012Doha, Qatar Ramy Ashour2-11, 11–6, 11–5, 9-11, 11-8
Runner-up2014Doha, Qatar Ramy Ashour13–11, 7-11, 5-11, 11–5, 14-12
Winner2017Manchester, England Marwan Elshorbagy11–5, 9-11, 11–7, 9-11, 11-6

Major World Series final appearances

British Open: 4 finals (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2015 Grégory Gaultier11–9, 6-11, 5-11, 11–8, 11-5
Winner2016 Ramy Ashour11–2, 11–5, 11-9
Runner-up2018 Miguel Ángel Rodríguez11–7, 6-11, 8-11, 11–2, 11-9
Winner2019 Ali Farag11–9, 5-11, 11–5, 11-9

Hong Kong Open: 3 finals (3 titles, 0 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2014 Grégory Gaultier11–9, 11–2, 4-11, 8-11, 11-4
Winner2015 Cameron Pilley11–6, 11–8, 11-6
Winner2017 Ali Farag11–6, 5-11, 11–4, 7-11, 11-3

Tournament of Champions: 4 finals (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2015 Nick Matthew5-11, 11–9, 11–8, 12-10
Winner2016 Nick Matthew8-11, 11–6, 11–8, 6-11, 11-6
Runner-up2019 Ali Farag12–10, 11–6, 6-11, 3-11, 8-11
Winner2020 Tarek Momen9-11, 11–7, 11–7, 11-5

Qatar Classic: 4 finals (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2013 Nick Matthew11–5, 5-11, 11–6, 6-11, 11-4
Winner2015 Grégory Gaultier11–5, 11–7, 5-11, 12-10
Runner-Up2016 Karim Abdel Gawad12–10, 15–13, 11-7
Winner2017 Tarek Momen11–8, 10–12, 11–7, 11-7

US Open: 5 finals (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2014 Amr Shabana8-11, 11–9, 11–3, 11-3
Winner2016 Nick Matthew10–12, 12–14, 11–1, 11–4, 3-0 rtd
Runner-up2017 Ali Farag12–10, 11–9, 11-8
Winner2018 Simon Rösner8-11, 11–8, 7-11, 11–9, 11-4
Runner-up2019 Ali Farag11–4, 11–7, 11-2

Windy City Open: 3 finals (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2015 Nick Matthew11–7, 11–2, 11-7
Winner2016 Nick Matthew11–6, 11–3, 2-0 rtd
Winner2018 Marwan El Shorbagy11–8, 11–8, 11-6

El Gouna International: 3 finals (1 title, 2 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2014 Ramy Ashour11–7, 12–10, 8-11, 11-8
Runner-up2015 Ramy Ashour11–9, 11–6, 4-11, 10–12, 12-10
Winner2016 Grégory Gaultier7-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-8
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References
    Sporting positions
    Preceded by
    Grégory Gaultier

    Grégory Gaultier

    Ali Farag    		 World No. 1
    November 2014 - November 2015
    January 2016 - March 2017
    March 2018 - January 2019
    February 2020 -    		 Succeeded by
    Grégory Gaultier

    Ali Farag

    "Current Holder"
    Awards and achievements
    Preceded by
    Omar Mosaad    		 PSA Young Player of the Year
    2009-10    		 Succeeded by
    Nicolas Müller
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