ElShorbagy Completes Calendar Year at Summit of Men’s World Rankings by Sean Reuthe
photo PSA
December 1, 2016
- Egypt’s Mohamed ElShorbagy has become only the third Egyptian in
history to spend a whole year at the summit of the PSA Men’s World
Rankings after he maintained the World No.1 position in the December
Rankings which were released today (December 1st).
The hard-hitting 25-year-old enjoyed one of the most dominant spells in
his career in the early stages of the year, winning four World Series
tournaments in as many months - including a second title win at the
prestigious Allam British Open - to consolidate his place atop the
World Rankings, where he has broken the record for the highest ever
points average on three occasions inside the past 12 months.
"I’m really proud to end the year with my name up there alongside [Amr]
Shabana and Ramy [Ashour] after such an achievement," said ElShorbagy.
"2016 has been a great year for me and I would like to thank my team
for being able to keep me strong to stay fit enough to do that for a
whole year.
"But now it’s time to focus on 2017 and I am looking forward to more exciting matches."
ElShorbagy is followed by compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad, who sits at a
career-high No.2 ranking after a stunning November in which he captured
the sport’s biggest prize - the PSA Men’s World Championship title -
and lifted a maiden World Series crown at the Qatar Classic, beating
ElShorbagy en route to both wins.
Elsewhere, Frenchman Gregory Gaultier drops down to No.3, while Nick
Matthew, Ramy Ashour and Marwan ElShorbagy move up to No.4, No.5 and
No.6, respectively, with the latter switching places with Ali Farag,
who drops to No.7.
2015 World Championship runner-up Omar Mosaad falls to No.8 after
suffering with his early-season form and Mathieu Castagnet and Simon
Rösner round out the top 10.
After claiming a second ever PSA World Tour title at last month’s CCI
International, Fares Dessouky has been elevated to a career-high No.14
position, while Daryl Selby’s World Series semi-final finish in Qatar -
the first time he has reached that stage since 2012 - has seen him move
up four places to No.15.
Tarek Momen and Miguel Angel Rodriguez fall out of the top 10 to No.11
and No.13, respectively, with former World No.1 James Willstrop
dropping to No.15. Max Lee (No.18), Ryan Cuskelly (No.19) and Chris
Simpson (No.20) hold the final three spots inside the top 20.
