The draws for the 2024 Optasia Championships have been released, and defending champion Karim Abdel Gawad has been handed potential matches against former champions Mohamed ElShorbagy and Ali Farag as he attempts to retain the men’s title.
Held at The Wimbledon Club between March 12-17, the Optasia Championships is one of the most prestigious squash tournaments to be held in Europe and features both a men’s Gold-level event and a women’s Bronze-level event, with Belgium’s Nele Gilis heading up the women’s field.
In the men’s draw, Gawad will receive a bye in the opening round and will play either England’s Nick Wall or American Andrew Douglas in round two on Wednesday March 13. A win there could see him come up against 2017 winner Mohamed ElShorbagy in the last eight – scheduled for Friday March 15 – while World No.1 and 2022 winner Ali Farag will be his semi-final opponent the following day if things go according to seeding.
On the opposite side of the draw, 2016 winner Paul Coll is seeded to play Frenchman Baptiste Masotti in the quarter-finals, and is predicted to play World No.4 Mostafa Asal in the last four.
Gilis tops the inaugural women’s Optasia Championships draw and will go up against either England’s Katie Malliff or Spain’s Marta Dominguez in round two, before potential fixtures against Egyptian duo Hana Moataz and Nada Abbas in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively. Like the men’s event, the quarters are scheduled for Friday March 15, while the semis will be held on Saturday March 16.
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry is seeded at No.2 and is amongst the title contenders, but the 33-year-old must fight through a draw containing British Nationals champion Jasmine Hutton and Japan’s No.4 seed Satomi Watanabe to reach the title decider on Sunday March 17.
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The tournament will also be streamed live on SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and finals will be shown by PSA’s broadcast partners.
Men’s Draw
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bye[9/16] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) v Juan Camilo Vargas (COL)
[9/16] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) v [WC] Charlie Lee (ENG)
[7] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) bye [5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bye
[9/16] Nick Wall (ENG) v Andrew Douglas (USA)
[9/16] Rory Stewart (SCO) v Curtis Malik (ENG)
[4] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bye [3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bye
[9/16] Raphael Kandra (GER) v Simon Herbert (ENG)
[9/16] Iker Pajares (ESP) v George Parker (ENG)
[6] Joel Makin (WAL) bye [8] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bye
[9/16] Leandro Romiglio (ARG) v Shahjahan Khan (USA)
[9/16] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v Todd Harrity (USA)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) [bye]
Women’s Draw
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bye[9/16] Katie Malliff (ENG) v Marta Dominguez (ESP)
[9/16] Alicia Mead (ENG) v Asia Harris (ENG)
[8] Hana Moataz (EGY) bye [5] Tesni Murphy (WAL) bye
[9/16] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) v Nadia Pfister (SUI)
[9/16] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) v Nardine Garas (EGY)
[3] Nada Abbas (EGY) bye [4] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bye
[9/16] Enora Villard (FRA) v Torrie Malik (ENG)
[9/16] Ainaa Amani (MAS) v Akanksha Salunkhe (IND)
[7] Melissa Alves (EGY) bye [6] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bye
[9/16] Emilia Soini (FIN) v [WC] Alison Thomson (SCO)
[9/16] Cindy Merlo (SUI) v Saskia Beinhard (GER)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bye
