Ali Farag takes over as Men’s #1 as Eygpt claim a 1-2-3 in the Women’s World Rankings …
Farag dethrones ElShorbagy to become new #1
Egypt’s Ali Farag has overtaken compatriot Mohamed ElShorbagy to become the new men’s World No.1 after the PSA Men’s World Rankings for March were released.
Farag, the 26-year-old Harvard-graduate, will be the sixth Egyptian male to top the rankings, following in the footsteps of ElShorbagy, Karim Abdel Gawad, Ramy Ashour, Karim Darwish and Amr Shabana.
Cairo-born Farag earned top spot after coming back from two games down to beat ElShorbagy in the final of January’s J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions.
That win, coupled with ElShorbagy’s ranking points for the Windy City Open expiring yesterday, means Farag now boasts a higher points average. His first match as the World No.1 will be against Germany’s Simon Rösner in the semi-finals of the sport’s biggest tournament – the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family.
ElShorbagy, Tarek Momen and Karim Abdel Gawad make it an all-Egyptian top four, while Rösner drops a place to No.5.
Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez rises to No.6, swapping places with New Zealand’s Paul Coll, with Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar rising a place to a career-high No.8 ranking.
Peru’s Diego Elias has moved up to a career-high ranking of No.9, while Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy drops two places to No.10.
France’s Gregory Gaultier rises one spot to No.11, swapping places with India’s Saurav Ghosal, with Omar Mosaad staying at No.13. Zahed Salem enjoys an eight-place increase to a career-high No.14 ranking, while former World No.1 James Willstrop rises to No.15.
Victory at the Pittsburgh Open has seen Frenchman Gregoire Marche rise 13 places to No.17 – marking the first time he has featured inside the top 20 – and he sits behind Germany’s Raphael Kandra.
Joel Makin celebrates a career-high ranking of No.18, while English duo Tom Richards and Declan James complete the top 20.
El Tayeb makes it an all-Egyptian top three
The PSA Women’s World Rankings for March feature an all-Egyptian top three after Nour El Tayeb moved up a spot to sit behind compatriots Raneem El Welily and Nour El Sherbini.
El Tayeb had dropped down to No.4 last month after being overtaken by New Zealand’s Joelle King, but the 25-year-old has reclaimed her place amongst the top three once again on the same day that husband Ali Farag has become the men’s World No.1.
Her fellow Egyptian, Raneem El Welily, celebrates her fourth month at the summit of the women’s rankings. El Tayeb and El Welily will go head-to-head in the semi-finals of the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family tonight as they do battle in Chicago’s Union Station.
Nour El Sherbini stays at No.2 and the 23-year-old plays Camille Serme in the night’s other women’s semi-final, with the French No.1 leap-frogging New Zealand’s Joelle King to rank No.4.
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry stays at No.6 and is followed by compatriot Laura Massaro, while Egypt’s Nouran Gohar retains her No.8 ranking ahead of Alison Waters and Wales’ Tesni Evans, who moves back into the top 10 at the expense of United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy.
Sobhy drops three spots to No.13 – meaning she is overtaken by Hong Kong’s Annie Au and Egypt’s Salma Hany, with the latter reaching a career-high ranking of No.12.
England’s Victoria Lust moves up a place to No.14, while Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy rises three places to a career-high No.15 ranking.
India’s Joshna Chinappa drops two places to No.16 and is followed by Egypt’s Yathreb Adel (No.17), Hong Kong’s Joey Chan (No.18), America’s Olivia Blatchford Clyne and England’s Emily Whitlock.