Nour El Sherbini, Egypt
Squash
If you need to gauge the popularity and impact of Nour El Sherbini then you need only see that she was one of the top trending topics in Egypt earlier this month. The 23-year-old had just edged out a thriller with Nour El Tayeb to be crowned the 2018-2019 PSA World Champion and the squash-mad country reacted with typical euphoria. Indeed, world No2 El Sherbini and her compatriot and world No1 Raneem El Weleily are two of the Egypt’s biggest stars. And El Sherbini is just getting started despite having achieved so much in her career already. That victory in Chicago was the Alexandrian’s third world title, ensuring she joins an exclusive group of just five female squash players to have reached the mark. It’s a remarkable feat considering she is still just 23 years old and her ascent is mirroring that of the sport with that title triumph seeing El Sherbini take home $70,000 in prize money, the richest ever reward in squash. There is plenty more to come as her fascinating summit battle with El Weleily is set to dominate the sport’s narrative. But these are two wonderful ambassadors for squash and their proud country.
Tickets on sale for Abu Dhabi World Judo Championships to be held at Mubadala Arena
– It’s not a massive surprise to see El Sherbini so successful considering she was the youngest ever World Junior Champion back in 2009 when she claimed the title at just 13 years old.
– Her success in Chicago was preceded by a stunning march to the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in February.
– Forbes’ Middle East released its 2019 “Arabs 30 under 30 List” and cover star El Sherbini is one of seven Egyptians to feature alongside the likes of football icon Mohamed Salah.
Did you know…
Like most Egyptians, the 23-year-old is a huge football fan and when not on court competing or training, she is watching her treasured team Al Ahly in action.
“She (El Sherbini) is part of the reason why I’ve been training so hard because of how she is changing the game and what she’s bringing to it. But I also didn’t like the way she showboated and played so amazingly against me in the US Open. It was borderline cocky and I wanted to get my own back for that.” – Laura Massaro, 2018 (Source: The Telegraph)
Twitter: @noursherbini
Instagram: noursherbini
