Dubai: The top eight male and female squash players will arrive in Dubai next week ahead of the season-ending Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Series Finals, which will be held at Burj Park in Dubai Downtown from May 24 to 28.
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 No 1s, spectators are guaranteed a spectacle as the players vie for a place in the semi-finals and a cut of the $160,000 (Dh587,648) prize purse.
The action will commence on May 24 at 2 pm, with eight best-of-three matches on each of the first three days, with every player playing once on each day.
One of the expected highlights of Day One will be the clash between new world champion and World No 1 Nour Al Sherbini and her compatriot and former World No 1 Raneem Al Welily. Al 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 Al 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 One will also see three-time world champion Nick Matthew of England take on the unpredictable Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez. The match promises to be one of the most entertaining contests 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 lightning reactions and incredible speed.
Day Two 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 No 1 and 2013 world champion Laura Massaro of England.
Both aged 32 and steely competitors, David and Massaro have had some epic battles over the 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.
Day Three will see current World No 1 and the top seed Mohammad Al Shorbagy 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 Al Shorbagy asserted his dominance in the competition winning the next six titles.
Tickets starting from Dh 25 per session are on sale at https://www.ticketmasteruae.ae/etkinlik-grup/699890/ALL/en. Visit http://worldseriesfinals.com/about for further information.
