Elshorbagy Tops January PSA Squash Rankings by Nathan Clarke January 1, 2015
- 23-year-old Egyptian Mohamed Elshorbagy has maintained his grasp on
the coveted squash World No.1 slot for a third consecutive month to
ensure he begins 2015 as the world's highest ranked player.
The Alexandria-born powerhouse who is currently based in Bristol,
England, topped the charts for the first time in his career in November
2014 and remains narrowly in front of previous incumbent, Frenchman
Gregory Gaultier, ahead of the first PSA World Series event of the
year: the iconic J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions which takes place
in New York's Grand Central Terminal from January 16.
Four-time World Champion Amr Shabana, the 35-year-old Egyptian winner
of the 2014 Tournament of Champions, rises up to World No.3 - his
highest ranking since October 2010 - leapfrogging England's three-time
World Champion Nick Matthew in the process while 2014 World Champion
Ramy Ashour retains his place at World No.5.
Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez has become the first South American
player ever to break into the elite top ten list, rising four places
from No.12 to No.8 following an impressive end-of-year run in which he
reached the semi-finals in three consecutive PSA International Events.
Rodriguez finds himself in between Egyptian pairing Tarek Momen,
celebrating his highest ever placing at World No.7, and Omar Mosaad,
who reruns to World No.9 after a 13-month spell outside of the top ten
with German Simon Rösner maintaining his grasp on the World No.10 berth.
Those movements mean that James Willstrop drops down three places to
World No.11, moving out of the top ten for the first time since
September 2009, with Spanish star Borja Golan dropping five places to
World No.12 - his first non-top ten position for over two years.
Elsewhere South African Stephen Coppinger celebrates his rerun to the
top 20, securing the World No.18 position, while Frenchman Mathieu
Castagnet moves up one place to World No.13 after reaching the final of
the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix in December.
