Ali Farag

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Ali Farag
Farag at the 2017 Men's World Team Squash Championships
Full nameAli Amr Farag
Nickname(s)Mr. Fantastic, Rubber-band Man, The Raptor
Country Egypt
ResidenceCairo, Egypt
Born (1992-04-22) 22 April 1992 (age 31)
Cairo, Egypt
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned Pro2009
RetiredActive
PlaysRight handed
Coached byWael Farag, Mike Way, Basem Makram, Karim Darwish
Racquet usedDunlop HyperfibreXT Revelation Pro
WebsiteAli Farag on Twitter
dunlopsports.com/team/squash/pros/ali-farag/
Men's singles
Highest rankingNo. 1 (June 2022)
Current rankingNo. 1 (May 2023)
Title(s)22
Tour final(s)41
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  Egypt
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Chicago Singles
Gold medal – first place 2021 Chicago Singles
Gold medal – first place 2022 Cairo Singles
Gold medal – first place 2023 Chicago Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Manchester Singles
World Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Marseille Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Washington D.C. Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Tauranga Team
British Open
Gold medal – first place 2023 Birmingham Singles
Last updated: May 2023.

Ali Amr Farag (Arabic: علي عمرو فرج; born 22 April 1992) is an Egyptian professional squash player. He is the 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 World Champion. He has a highest career world ranking of world No. 1 by the Professional Squash Association (PSA).[1][2]

Education[edit]

Farag graduated from Harvard University in 2014 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.[3]

Farag also graduated as one of the best squash players in college history, suffering only two defeats in his three years. As a member of Harvard's Varsity Squash Team, Farag won two individual national titles and helped lead Harvard to its first team title in 17 years in 2014.[citation needed][3]

Professional career[edit]

After graduating, Farag returned to the pro circuit where he has since begun a rapid climb up the world rankings. He was named the PSA Player of the Month in April 2015 for reaching the main draw of the El Gouna Invitational as a qualifier and for winning back-to-back titles in Ireland.[4][5] Farag eventually established himself as one of the best in the game.[citation needed]

Farag won his first world title in 2019 beating Tarek Momen in the final continuing the recent Egyptian domination of the sport.[6] He reached the final of 2019 British Open championship but was defeated by his fellow Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy.[7]

In July 2021, he again reached to the final of 2021 British Open championship but this time he was defeated by New Zealand's Paul Coll.[8] However, just one month later in August 2021, he won his second World title, winning the 2020–21 PSA Men's World Squash Championship.

In 2022, Farag won his third World Championship title after winning the 2022 PSA Men's World Squash Championship.[9]

In 2023, Farag finally won his first British Open defeating Peruvian Diego Elías in the 2023 Men's British Open Squash Championship. It was a tough and close match with both players tiring towards the end of the third game before Farag emerged the winner. In the fourth game, Farag managed to reduce a small deficit with well timed attacking drop shots and mixing up his attack. Farag clinched the title on the first match ball.[10]

Farag's form continued as he reached his fourth world championship final. During the 2023 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, he defeated top seed Mostafa Asal in the semi final[11] and then won a fourth World crown against Karim Abdel Gawad in the final. It moved Farag up to join Amr Shabana and Geoff Hunt in the all-time list with four world title wins.[12]

Titles and Finals[edit]

Major Finals (30)[edit]

Major tournaments include:

  • PSA World Championships
  • PSA World Tour Finals
  • Top-tier PSA World Tour tournaments (Platinum/World Series/Super Series)
Year/Season Tournament Opponent Result Score
2017 U.S. Open Mohamed El Shorbagy Win (1) 12-10 11-9 11-8
2017 Hong Kong Open Mohamed El Shorbagy Loss (1) 6-11 11-5 4-11 11-7 3-11
2018 El Gouna International Marwan El Shorbagy Loss (2) 8-11 5-11 4-11
2017-18 PSA World Series Finals Mohamed El Shorbagy Loss (3) 11-9 3-11 9-11 8-11
2018 Qatar Classic Simon Rösner Win (2) 11-9 11-7 11-5
2018 Hong Kong Open Mohamed El Shorbagy Loss (4) 6-11 7-11 7-11
2018 Black Ball Open Karim Abdel Gawad Loss (5) 6-11 11-13 11-7 8-11
2019 Tournament of Champions Mohamed El Shorbagy Win (3) 10-12 6-11 11-6 11-3 11-8
2018-19 PSA World Championships Tarek Momen Win (4) 11-5 11-13 13-11 11-3
2019 El Gouna International Karim Abdel Gawad Win (5) 11-9 12-10 11-3
2019 British Open Mohamed El Shorbagy Loss (6) 9-11 11-5 11-8 5-11 9-11
2019 U.S. Open (2) Mohamed El Shorbagy Win (6) 11-4 11-7 11-2
2019 Egyptian Open Karim Abdel Gawad Loss (7) 6-11 8-11 8-11
2020 Windy City Open Paul Coll Win (7) 12-14 9-11 11-7 11-6 11-1
2020 Egyptian Open Tarek Momen Win (8) 11-9 11-3 11-4
2020 Qatar Classic (2) Paul Coll Win (9) 11-8 6-11 11-9 11-9
2020-21 PSA World Championships (2) Mohamed El Shorbagy Win (10) 7-11 12-10 11-9 11-4
2021 British Open Paul Coll Loss (8) 11-6 6-11 6-11 8-11
2021 Egyptian Open (2) Mohamed El Shorbagy Win (11) 6-11 9-11 11-2 11-6 11-5
2022 British Open Paul Coll Loss (9) 10-12 6-11 4-11
2022 PSA World Championships (3) Mohamed El Shorbagy Win (12) 9-11 11-8 7-11 11-9 11-2
2022 Egyptian Open (3) Paul Coll Win (13) 11-6 8-11 11-4 11-7
2022 U.S. Open Diego Elias Loss (10) 0-2 (retired)
2023 British Open Diego Elías Win (14) 13-11 5-11 11-8 11-9
2022-23 PSA World Championships (4) Karim Abdel Gawad Win (15) 12-10 11-6 11-6
2023 El Gouna International (2) Mostafa Asal Win (16) 12-10 10-12 11-6 11-2
2023 Paris Squash Diego Elías Win (17) 2-11 13-11 11-1 11-9
2023 Qatar Classic (3) Diego Elías Win (18) 15-13 11-5 8-11 11-9
2023 U.S. Open Paul Coll Loss (11) 7-11 7-11 11-8 11-8 10-12
2023 Hong Kong Open Paul Coll Loss (12) 12-10 3-11 8-11 11-8 9-11

Personal life[edit]

He is married to fellow squash professional Nour El Tayeb and the pair set a new record becoming the first married couple to both win the same major title on the same day after winning the US Open in 2017.[13] The couple came close to repeating the same record in the 2019 US Open, but Tayeb lost her final in a narrow 5-game thriller.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ali Farag at Squash Info Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "El Sherbini and Farag Crowned CIB PSA World Championships Cairo Champions - Professional Squash Association". www.psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  3. ^ a b "Ali Farag '14 is Now the World's Top Squash Player | Sports | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  4. ^ "PSA Player Profile". Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  5. ^ Ali Farag at Squash Info Edit this at Wikidata
  6. ^ "EGYPT'S FARAG & EL SHERBINI LIFT 2018-2019 PSA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES". PSA World Tour. Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  7. ^ "Egyptian Duo Gohar and ElShorbagy Lift 2019 British Open Titles - Professional Squash Association". psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  8. ^ "New Zealand's Coll and Egypt's El Sherbini Capture 2021 Allam British Open Titles - Professional Squash Association". psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  9. ^ "Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag win PSA World Championship titles". World Squash Federation. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Allan British Open News". Squash Site. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  11. ^ "2023 World Championship draws". PSA. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  12. ^ "FINALS : Sherbini and Farag retain titles". World Squash. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  13. ^ "US Open: Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb win titles on same day". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2018-02-14.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ali_Farag&oldid=1211140698"