Egypt’s Nour El Sherbini has matched Nicol David’s incredible tally of eight PSA World Championship titles after a sublime performance saw her beat World No.3 Hania El Hammamy on finals night in Chicago.
El Sherbini marked her 10th successive World Championship final with an 11-5, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7 victory over her fellow Egyptian at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness to ensure she has now won all four World Championships held in the Windy City.
After ending World No.1 Nouran Gohar’s title defence in the previous round, El Hammamy came into today’s final – her first World Championship title decider – in fine form.
El Sherbini, meanwhile, showed signs of brittleness in her semi-final match with United States No.1 Weaver, at one point finding herself 8-3 down in the fourth game and just three points away from defeat.
The former World No.1 usually reserves her finest performances for the sport’s most prestigious tournament though and that was certainly the case today as she stormed out of the blocks, using the hold to perfection to stunt El Hammamy’s movement and knock her out of her rhythm.
El Hammamy was able to fight back in the third game as she put El Sherbini under relentless pressure and found multiple winners on the backhand volley in particular.
However, El Sherbini stormed back in the fourth to hold a 6-2 lead, at which point El Hammamy required treatment for a twisted ankle after slipping. El Hammamy reduced the deficit to a point but that only served to delay her opponent’s victory march momentarily.
El Sherbini resumed control and before too long she found herself with three championship balls. It only took her one, as El Hammamy slammed the ball into the tin to bring an end to the contest.
What El Sherbini Had to Say
“It’s amazing, I never thought I would be winning eight,” said El Sherbini after winning her 44th PSA title.
“Everyone was saying about Nicol’s record, and I never thought I was going to make it. It’s unbelievable, I can’t describe it, but I’ve been having a really tough season. I’m glad I won this title, it means a lot for my corner, my team and my parents.
“She [El Hammamy] is still young and she definitely felt a lot of nerves playing in her first ever World Championship final. We deal with a lot of things and being in this position is hard. I had a little edge today that I’ve been here before.
“She hasn’t experienced this, she had an amazing win yesterday, but at the beginning you could see she was feeling it too much. Once she relaxed a little bit she came back and almost won the fourth as well. She’s amazing and I’m sure one day she is going to win this title more than once.”
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Result
[2] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) bt [3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7 (61m)
