The top seed suffered heartbreak in the last edition in London losing to Nicol David in straight games.
But the 32-year made up for that disappointment to clinch a 3-2 (9-11, 11-6, 5-11, 12-10, 11-5) victory over the Egpytian at Burj Park.
It was Massaro’s third straight win over El Welilyafter the Worlds and Hong Kong Open last year.
But it was far from easy for the world No2. Although she had a 2-0 advantage in the first game, El Welily led 7-6, before extending it to 10-8 to eventually draw first blood.
Massaro levelled the tie in seven minutes, but El Welily’s concencentration did not lapse. In the third, she had leads of 6-2 and 10-5, before sealing the game with a superb shot that left Massaro no chance.
With the match still in the balance, Massaro started the fourth brightly leading 7-3 at one point.
But roared on by strong support, El Welily continued to frustrate Massaro and came within two pointsof clinching her first Finals title at 10-10. But the 2012 runner-up held on to force a decider that she won eventually after 10 minutes of play.
Her heroics on the court saw her claim a winning cheque of $42,000 but she knew she had to be on top of her game to prevail.
“Against Raneem, you just have to stay positive because you know that she can reel off points in quick succession. But you just trying to stay as positive,” she said.
“Equally, she can hit five or six winners but at the same time, she can also hit five or six errors so you just have to try to make it as difficult as you can.”
She added: “I’d say that physically
I’m in the best shape as I’ve ever been and I’m really enjoying my squash.
“If I’m making the finals then I must be playing close to my best, if not my best. I wanted to finish the season with a title and wanted to get my name on a trophy.”
