Mostafa Asal (born 9 May 2001) is an Egyptian professional squash player, formerly ranked World No. 1, nicknamed "The Raging Bull" for his play style and controversial on-court behavior, which includes three suspensions from the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour.[1][2] He became number one in the world in January 2023 and is currently ranked third.[3][4]
 Mostafa Asal in 2023. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Raging Bull | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Egypt | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 9, 2001 Cairo, Egypt | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | 6th of October City | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 80 kg (176 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | Active | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Ibrahim Assal | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Racquet used | Tecnifibre | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's singles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (January 2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | No. 3 (Jan 2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tour final(s) | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| World Open | Semifinalist | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| PSA profile | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on July 2023. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Career
editMostafa Asal won the British Junior U17 Open 2018,[5] the PSA10 2018 Mar del Plata Open,[6][7] PSA10 2018 Regatas Resistencia Open,[8][9] the 2021 Men's PSA World Tour Finals, and the 2021 U.S. Open Squash Men's Championship.
In January 2021, Asal accepted a two-month suspension from the PSA following on-court disciplinary matters.[10]
Asal reached the semi-final of the 2022 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, where he lost to the eventual champion Ali Farag.[11]
In the 2022 U.S. Open, Asal lost a match for inflicting an injury on Lucas Serme, his opponent, by hitting him with a shot up the middle of the court, striking Serme in the head and resulting in a concussion and perforated eardrum.[12]
In the CIB Egyptian Open in September 2022, where Asal lost to Ali Farag in the semi-finals, Asal's father, Mahmoud Asal, was suspended after the loss until November 2023 for a courtside confrontation of Husseum Abaza, CEO of CIB Bank and a major squash benefactor.[13]
In January 2023, at the Houston Open, Asal's elbow connected with the groin area of appeared to connect with Marwan El Shorbagy groin area with him being taken off on a stretcher and then to the hospital with El Shorbagy commenting, "If this is the future of our sport then good luck."[14][15]
In March 2023, Asal was suspended for 6 weeks by the PSA for violating the code of conduct. Asal also received a fine of £2,000.[16]
However, he returned as the number 1 seed for the 2023 PSA Men's World Squash Championship and reached the semi-final where he was knocked out by Ali Farag.[17]
In August 2023 Asal received a 12-week suspension from the PSA tour for abuse of racket or equipment, physical abuse, and dangerous play during his match against Joel Makin in the 2023 world championships and unsportsmanlike conduct in the same event's match with Mazen Hesham.[18] The suspension start date was post-dated to July 18, 2023, and Asal did not appeal the suspension. Mahmoud Asal's father Mostafa released a statement that the suspension was due to a conspiracy by Karim Darwish and an attempt to destroy the future of Asal and prevent him from reaching the top position again.[19]
The Guardian named Asal as one of The Anti-Sports Personality of the Year awards 2023.[20] He spent 18 weeks of the year 2023 suspended from play.
In September 2024 Asal won the Paris Squash tournament, beating Ali Farag in the final.[21]
Titles and finals
edit| Year/Season | Tournament | Opponent | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | PSA World Tour Finals | Mohamed El Shorbagy | Win (1) | 12-14 11-4 11-7 11–3 |
| 2021 | U.S. Open | Tarek Momen | Win (2) | 5-11 5-11 11-9 12-10 11–3 |
| 2022 | El Gouna International | Paul Coll | Win (3) | 11-8 11-9 11–5 |
| 2021-22 | PSA World Tour Finals (2) | Paul Coll | Win (4) | 13-11 11-8 11–7 |
| 2022 | Hong Kong Open | Diego Elías | Win (5) | 6-11 6-11 12-10 11-9 11–4 |
| 2023 | El Gouna International | Ali Farag | Loss (1) | 10-12 12-10 6-11 2–11 |
| 2022-23 | PSA World Tour Finals (3) | Diego Elías | Win (6) | 9-11 11-6 11-3 11–5 |
References
edit- ^ "Mostafa Asal - Professional Squash Association". psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Woodburn, Doug (2023-02-07). "Mostafa Asal: The Young Champion Polarising Squash Opinion". Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ Coles, Matt (2023-01-16). "Asal Rises On Road To Egypt Standings". PSA World Tour. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Mostafa Asal, Author at PSA World Tour". PSA World Tour. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ "Squash Info | Men's British Junior U17 Open 2018". Squash. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Squash Info - Men's Mar del Plata Open 2018 - Squash". www.squashinfo.com. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Mar del Plata Open Squash 2018". squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Squash Info | Men's Regatas Resistencia Open 2018". Squash. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Resistencia Open Squash 2018 Argentina". squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Asal Accepts Two-Month Suspension". PSA World Tour. 2022-01-11.
- ^ "Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag win PSA World Championship titles". World Squash Federation. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ Thatcher, Alan (2022-10-10). "Mostafa Asal disqualified from the U.S. Open after bursting opponent Lucas Sermes's eardrum with a wayward shot". Squash Mad. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ Dale, Mike (2023-01-17). "Mostafa Asal's father banned from PSA Tour". Squash Mad. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ stevecubbins (2023-12-18). "Anti-Sports Personality of the Year". SquashSite - all about Squash. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ Asal vs Marwan - controversy at Houston Open 2023, retrieved 2024-01-08
- ^ "Mostafa Asal Handed Six-Week Suspension". PSA World Tour. 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ "2023 World Championship". PSA. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ Reuthe, Sean (2023-08-03). "Mostafa Asal Handed 12-Week Suspension". PSA World Tour. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ "أول تعليق لوالد مصطفى عسل بعد صدور قرارالايقاف | اوان مصر" (in Arabic). 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ Burnton, Simon (2023-12-17). "The Anti-Sports Personality of the Year awards 2023". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ stevecubbins (2024-09-19). "Paris Squash 2024 : It's Sherbini and Asal again". SquashSite - all about Squash. Retrieved 2024-09-25.