The 2025/26 CIB Palm Hills PSA World Championships get underway this week, with 126 of the world’s best squash players descending upon Cairo in search of the most prestigious title on tour.
The event will take place between 8-16 May across the Palm Hills Club and Golf Central Mall, with all the action available to watch live on SQUASHTV.
We’ve taken a look at the main title contenders from both the men’s and women’s draw, delving into their recent form, reasons for contention and potential routes to the title.
Hania El Hammamy
The current World No.1, a five-time major winner this season, and with a 92% win rate this campaign, there are plenty of reasons why Hania El Hammamy is better placed than ever to lift her first PSA World Championships trophy over the coming fortnight.
Twelve months on from heartbreak in the final of the 24/25 event, where she eventually lost out to eight-time champion Nour ElSherbini, El Hammamy returns as a different player, having summited the world rankings for the first time since then and lived up to that billing with a string of standout title successes in recent months.
Wins at the Egyptian Open, Qatar Classic, U.S. Open, Tournament of Champions and El Gouna International have made El Hammamy the player to beat on tour this year, with her only losses coming at the hands of ElSherbini and Satomi Watanabe.
After feisty recent matchups, El Hammamy could face World No.3 Amina Orfi in a potentially blockbuster semi-final – a player who recently slammed El Hammamy as “disrespectful” on social media following a controversial clash between the pair in the Egyptian League.
Potential Route To Title:
RD1: Ruqayya Salem
RD2: [24] Georgia Adderley
RD3: [14] Marina Stefanoni
Quarter-Finals: [5] Sivasangari Subramaniam
Semi-Finals: [3] Amina Orfi
Final: Nour ElSherbini
Nour ElSherbini
World No.2 Nour ElSherbini has made the PSA World Championships her own over the past decade, with ‘The Warrior Princess’ targeting an incredible ninth world title this year – an achievement which would take her clear of the great Nicol David as the most successful female player in the history of the event.
With 60 wins from 64 wins at the PSA World Championships throughout her career to date, ElSherbini is never one to write off at the flagship event, almost always bringing her very best squash, no matter the form she arrives in.
After a slow start to the 2025/26 season, ElSherbini has fully hit her stride over the past few months, picking up title wins at the Hong Kong Open, Windy City Open and Texas Open. Thrilling five-game defeats to World No.1 El Hammamy could easily have seen the Egyptian pick up two more major honours in New York and El Gouna, with ElSherbini seemingly peaking at just the right time for her attempt to rewrite the history books.
Potential Route To Title:
RD1: Grace Gear
RD2: [23] Rachel Arnold
RD3: [10] Amanda Sobhy
Quarter-Finals: [7] Fayrouz Aboelkheir
Semi-Finals: [4] Olivia Weaver
Final: [1] Hania El Hammamy
Amina Orfi
Teenage sensation Amina Orfi has proven a force to be reckoned with over the last 18 months on the PSA Squash Tour, with the 4x World Junior Champion already ascending to World No.3 in the rankings and picking up four Gold-level titles to her name.
The 18-year-old came within touching distance of her first Platinum title at the Windy City Open in February, where she saw a 2-0 lead slip through her grasp in the final against Nour ElSherbini, and will be keen to continue her one-way path to the top of the women’s game with victory at the tour’s flagship event this fortnight.
Orfi will once again be looking to etch her name in the history book by becoming the youngest ever female winner of the event – a record currently held by Nour ElSherbini, who became World Champion at the age of 20.
After losing out to bitter rival World No.1 Hania El Hammamy in the semi-finals of the recent El Gouna International, Orfi will be set on revenge if she and El Hammamy were to progress through to the semi-finals, where they are seeded to meet.
Potential Route To Title:
RD1: Saran Nghiem
RD2: [21] Malak Khafagy
RD3: [15] Jasmine Hutton
Quarter-Finals: [6] Satomi Watanabe
Semi-Finals: [1] Hania El Hammamy
Final: [2] Nour ElSherbini
Olivia Weaver
A maiden major title has looked on the horizon for World No.4 Olivia Weaver on numerous occasions now over the last 18 months, but the U.S No.1 hasn’t quite been able to convert when the opportunity has arisen.
Twelve months ago, Weaver looked set for the biggest win of her career when leading Nour ElSherbini 2-1, 8-3 up in the semi-finals of the PSA World Championships, only to let the lead slip from her grasp. A similar situation followed in this year’s Tournament of Champions when a 9-3 lead in the fifth game of the final against Hania El Hammamy ended in defeat.
Weaver recently admitted that she was using these defeats as “fuel” in her search for a career-defining breakthrough, and there would be no better place for the American to get the monkey off her back than the PSA World Championships.
Despite a recent injury withdrawal at the El Gouna International, Weaver looks as well placed as ever to go in search of her first world title.
Potential Route To Title:
RD1: Joelle King
RD2: [27] Hana Moataz
RD3: [11] Nele Gilis
Quarter-Finals: [8] Georgina Kennedy
Semi-Finals: [2] Nour ElSherbini
Final: [1] Hania El Hammamy
Mostafa Asal
World No.1 and current World Champion Mostafa Asal has been a winning machine on the PSA Squash Tour this season, recently accumulating a 27-match unbeaten run which spanned over six months.
Despite that run coming to an end at the recent El Gouna International, Asal’s dominance this season can’t be understated, with ‘The Raging Bull’ picking up major titles at the Egyptian Open, U.S. Open, Hong Kong Open, Tournament of Champions and Windy City Open.
Last year, Asal stormed through to his maiden world crown after dismantling four-time champion Ali Farag in the title decider. Asal’s faultless title coronation in Chicago was the first time a player had won the event without dropping a game since Jahangi Khan won the event in 1988.
A potential semi-final showdown with fierce rival Diego Elias awaits fans in Cairo, one of the very few opponents who has consistently challenged Asal over recent times, with a quarter-final against No.5 seed Joel Makin also a potential tie to keep an eye on.
Potential Route To Title:
RD1: Raphael Kandra
RD2: [25] Abhay Singh
RD3: [13] Leonel Cardenas
Quarter-Finals: [5] Joel Makin
Semi-Finals: [3] Diego Elias
Final: [2] Paul Coll
Diego Elias
World No.3 Diego Elias has shown he has the guts and composure to win a World Championships in the lion’s den after he lifted the 2024 title in Cairo after stunning back-to-back semi-final and final wins over Ali Farag and Mostafa Asal.
On his day, ‘The Peruvian Puma’ has proven himself to be the world’s best, with victories over Asal in the likes of recent major finals such as the British Open and El Gouna International Open, as well as other title victories at the U.S. Open, Tournament of Champions and Qatar Classic in recent years.
Despite a shock defeat to Victor Crouin in the semi-finals of the Grasshopper Cup, Elias looks to have returned to some of his finest form in the last couple of months, after being sidelined with a knee injury during the first half of the season. His title win at the El Gouna International was a sign that Elias is back to full fitness and ready to challenge Asal once more at the top of the world rankings.
With a blockbuster semi-final showdown against World No.1 Asal on the cards, Elias will be hoping to draw upon his favourable record against the ‘Raging Bull’, which has seen him win seven of their last ten meetings on tour.
Potential Route To Title:
RD1: Nick Wall
RD2: [32] Bernat Jaume
RD3: [16] Gregoire Marche
Quarter-Finals: [8] Mohamad Zakaria
Semi-Finals: [1] Mostafa Asal
Final: [2] Paul Coll
Paul Coll
World No.2 Paul Coll will continue his quest for a first World Championships title this year, with the Kiwi No.1 a former runner-up and four-time semi-finalist from his ten appearances at the flagship event.
Coll has enjoyed a prolific season in terms of titles won this year, with wins at the London Classic, Qatar Classic, Squash in the Land, New Zealand Open and Australian Open, and has proven a tough player to break down at major events, with losses only coming at the hands of Mostafa Asal, Youssef Ibrahim and Adam Hawal.
A former runner-up at the event in 2019, where he lost to Tarek Momen in the final, Coll has made no secret about his burning desire to go one better and become World Champion himself. The 33-year-old can be found in the same draw as Karim Gawad, but a quarter-final test against bogey-player Youssef Ibrahim – who he has lost three consecutive matches to this season – could well play a major part in Coll’s chances of lifting the coveted trophy over the coming fortnight.
Potential Route To Title
RD1: Alex Lau
RD2: [19] Baptiste Masotti
RD3: [9] Marwan ElShorbagy
Quarter-Finals: [7] Youssef Ibrahim
Semi-Finals: [4] Karim Gawad
Final: [1] Mostafa Asal
Karim Gawad
A decade on from lifting the World Championships title, World No.4 Karim Gawad looks as well placed as ever to have a crack at doubling this success at the age of 34.
The former World No.1 is playing some of his finest squash in years, highlighted by the fact that he returned to World No.3 for the first time since 2020 back in February and has also reached four major semi-finals on the PSA Squash Tour.
A dominant title win at the Gold-level Grasshopper Cup earlier this month will only boost ‘The Baby-Faced Assassin’s’ confidence ahead of this year’s World Championships, and coming in as the No.4 seed, he could be set to prove once more why he’s one of the most talented and dangerous players on tour right now.
Potential Route To Title:
RD1: Patrick Rooney
RD2: [26] Timothy Brownell
RD3: [10] Mohamed ElShorbagy
Quarter-Finals: [6] Victor Crouin
Semi-Finals: [2] Paul Coll
Final: [1] Mostafa Asal
