The round robin draw for the first three days of competition has been released and with the line-up featuring a slew of world champions and current and former world number ones, spectators are guaranteed thrilling action every day as the players vie for a place in the semi-finals and a tilt at the prize purse of $160,000 on offer in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments.
The action will commence on Tuesday 24 May at 2.00pm, with eight best-of-three matches on each of the first three days, with every player playing once each day.
2015/16 World Series Finals to be played in front of Burj Khalifa -AMAZING!! @MoElshorbagy & @NicolDavid on location pic.twitter.com/KsSg2PTV0e
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) April 10, 2016
One of the expected highlights of Day 1 will be the clash between new world champion and world number one Nour El Sherbini and her compatriot and former world number one Raneem El Welily. El Sherbini has taken the PSA World Tour by storm in 2016, becoming the first Egyptian woman ever to win the prestigious Allam British Open and Women’s World Championship, during an impeccable run that has seen her become the dominant force in women’s squash, while El Welily made her mark on world squash when she ended the nine year reign at the top of the rankings for eight time world champion Nicol David in September 2015.
Day 1 will also see three time world champion Nick Matthew of England take on the unpredictable Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez which promises to be one of the most entertaining matches of the day. Matthew is amongst the oldest players competing on the PSA World Tour, but the man known as ‘The Wolf’ continues to be a genuine World Series title challenger, and will draw on his legendary tenacity and mental strength when he meets one of the most popular players on the world tour.
Rodriguez, known as the Colombian Cannonball, is the most successful South American player of all time whose acrobatic and unique approach make him a firm crowd favourite all over the world with his lightening reactions and incredible speed.
Day 2 will see the legendary Nicol David of Malaysia, the most successful and dominant female player ever in the history of squash with eight World Championship crowns amongst 80 career PSA World Tour titles, take on former world number one and 2013 world champion Laura Massaro of England. Both aged 32 and steely competitors, David and Massaro have had some epic battles over many years. In the World Series qualifying events this season Massaro came back from two games down to defeat David in the quarter finals of the US Open in October 2015, before going on to win the event. Massaro also claimed the Qatar Classic in November 2015, but was thwarted in her attempt at a third title, going down to David in the final of the Hong Kong Open in December 2015.
Massaro, who held the World No.1 ranking from January – April 2016 said: “I’m really excited about playing at the World Series Finals. It’s exciting to have the top eight all playing fast, attacking squash and for it the tournament to have such a good purse to go with it makes it more exciting because there’s a lot on the line.
“It is really something to look forward to at the end of the season for us all to come together and play a champion of the Tour title and it is even more exciting because the eight of us competing have all been on form from throughout the year.”
Day 3 will see current world number one and the top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy take on Nick Matthew, while world champion Gregory Gaultier of France will face Egypt’s Omar Mossad, the man he beat to clinch the World Championship in November, 2015. Gaultier defeated Mossad again in the final of the US Open in October 2015, before Elshorbagy asserted his dominance in the competition winning the next six titles.
News: England’s @ljmassaro relishing return of PSA Dubai World Series Finals https://t.co/9gGllFdDdC #squash pic.twitter.com/rEIcMWtcz1
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) May 13, 2016
Gaultier last won the PSA World Series Finals in 2008 and 2009 and is looking forward to competing against the very best players in what he says is a tournament like no other.
“I’ve played and won the finals a few times before,” he said. “It’s a fantastic tournament and it’s intense from the first match. You play the best players from the first day so it’s very explosive and with it being best of three you have to be ready from the very first point. Anybody can go through the pool I think because the competition is so open.”
Tickets are still available for the first three days of competition and are on sale now through Ticketmaster: https://www.ticketmasteruae.ae/etkinlik-grup/699890/ALL/en. Tickets start at 25dhs per session for general entry.
