Ali Farag
 Farag at the 2023–24 PSA World Tour Finals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Ali Amr Farag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Mr. Fantastic, Rubber-band Man, The Raptor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Egypt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 April 1992 Cairo, Egypt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Cairo, Egypt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Nour El Tayeb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | Active | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plays | Right handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Wael Farag, Mike Way, Basem Makram, Karim Darwish | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Racquet used | Dunlop Sonic Core Revelation Pro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Ali Farag on Twitter dunlopsports | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (June 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | No. 1 (June 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tour final(s) | 41 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| PSA profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 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, and began 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][1]
Farag won his first world title at the 2018–19 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, beating Tarek Momen in the final and continuing the recent Egyptian domination of the sport.[5] He reached the final of the 2019 British Open championship, but was defeated by his fellow Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy.[6]
In July 2021, he again reached the final of the British Open championship, but this time he was defeated by New Zealand's Paul Coll.[7] However, just one month later, in August 2021, he claimed his second World title at the 2020–21 PSA Men's World Squash Championship.
Farag won his third World title at the 2022 PSA Men's World Squash Championship.[8]
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.[9]
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[10] 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.[11]
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 | 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. The pair set a new record by becoming the first married couple to both win the same major title on the same day after winning the US Open in 2017.[12] The couple came close to repeating the feat in the 2019 US Open, but Tayeb lost her final in a narrow 5-game thriller.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ali Farag at Squash Info
- ^ "El Sherbini and Farag Crowned CIB PSA World Championships Cairo Champions - Professional Squash Association". www.psaworldtour.com. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- ^ a b "Ali Farag '14 is Now the World's Top Squash Player | Sports | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "PSA Player Profile". Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- ^ "EGYPT'S FARAG & EL SHERBINI LIFT 2018-2019 PSA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES". PSA World Tour. 3 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
- ^ "Egyptian Duo Gohar and ElShorbagy Lift 2019 British Open Titles - Professional Squash Association". psaworldtour.com. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ^ "New Zealand's Coll and Egypt's El Sherbini Capture 2021 Allam British Open Titles - Professional Squash Association". psaworldtour.com. 22 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ^ "Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag win PSA World Championship titles". World Squash Federation. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "Allan British Open News". Squash Site. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "2023 World Championship draws". PSA. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "FINALS : Sherbini and Farag retain titles". World Squash. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "US Open: Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb win titles on same day". BBC Sport. 15 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
External links
[edit]- Ali Farag – PSA World Tour profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 2013-12-13)
- Ali Farag at the Professional Squash Association (archived)
- Ali Farag at Squash Info
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