Ramy Mohamed Ashour (born September 30, 1987, in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
), known as Ramy Ashour (), is a retired professional
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
player from Egypt, widely regarded as one of the best squash players in the history of the sport. He became the youngest player to reach number one in the world since the 1980s, as well as being the first ever two time World Junior Squash Champion. On April 22, 2019, at the age of 31, Ashour announced his retirement from professional Squash.
Ramy is known for his unique playing style, often referred to as 'The Artist'; he is regarded by many squash pundits, former and current players, to be one of the most naturally gifted players to ever play the game.
Mohamed El Shorbagy
Mohamed ElShorbagy ( ar, محمد الشوربجي, born 12 January 1991 in Alexandria) is an Egyptian-English professional squash player. He represented Egypt from a young age until June 2022, and is currently representing England. He reached ...
, the 2017 world champion, once commented after losing in two world finals to him, as Ashour being 'the best of the best';
Jonah Barrington, also one of the Squash greats, ranks him as equal to Pakistani legends
Jahangir Khan
Jahangir Khan (Pashto/ ur, جهانگير خان born 10 December 1963) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times , and the British Open title ten times (1982-1991). Jahangir Khan is w ...
and
Jansher Khan
Jansher Khan PP SI HI ( ur, جان شیر خان; born 15 June 1969, in Peshawar, Pakistan) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. During his career, he won the World Open a record eight times, and the British Open s ...
who dominated the game in the 1980s and 1990s.
An unfortunate turn of events left Ashour plagued with a chronic hamstring problem at the peak of his career. It almost certainly had an impact on his trophy cabinet, but Ashour himself took a characteristically philosophical approach to his injury, demonstrated in his various social media posts on the issue - citing his mental battle and desire for a full recovery. The injury itself came just after his 40+ match winning streak - where many players found it hard to play to his standard, which was defined by fast-paced rallies, reaction volleying and a unique insight into rally construction.
Career overview
Ashour won his first major international title in 2004 at the age of 16, becoming the youngest player ever to win the Men's
World Junior Squash Championship. The same year, he helped lead Egypt to a second-place finish in the team event, behind
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
In July 2006, he became the first player in history to win the World Junior Championships for the second time, defeating fellow Egyptian
Omar Mosaad
Omar Mosaad Abouzid (born March 17, 1988 in Cairo) is a professional squash player who represents Egypt. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 3 in 2016.
Career overview
After a promising junior career in which he won U17 and U19 ...
. He also led Egypt to a 2–1 victory over Pakistan in the final of the team event; the Egyptian team captured the top three positions in the individual players' event as well as the team event title, a feat no other team had ever accomplished.
In the same year he transitioned out of the junior division, Ashour reached his first major final at the Cathay Pacific Swiss Privilege
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
Squash Open in 2006, where he lost to fellow Egyptian,
Amr Shabana
Amr Shabana (; born 20 July 1979 in Cairo) is a former professional squash player from Egypt. He won the World Open in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, and reached the World No. 1 ranking in 2006.
He represented the winning Egyptian team in the 1999 ...
, who later would attain the number one ranking in the world. En route to the final, Ashour defeated world number ten
John White, world number three
Thierry Lincou
Thierry Lincou (born 2 April 1976, in La Réunion) is a retired professional squash player from France. He reached the World No. 1 ranking in January 2004. That year, Lincou won the World Open title, the Hong Kong Open and the Super Series Fin ...
, and world number two
David Palmer.
Ashour won his first major professional title in January 2007, by defeating Palmer in 32 minutes (11–7, 11–3, 11–4), in the final of the Canadian Squash Classic. In April 2007, Ashour won the
Kuwait Open, the richest squash event in the world, by defeating
Amr Shabana
Amr Shabana (; born 20 July 1979 in Cairo) is a former professional squash player from Egypt. He won the World Open in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, and reached the World No. 1 ranking in 2006.
He represented the winning Egyptian team in the 1999 ...
, 11–5, 11–3, 12–10, in 34 minutes, after facing a 10-6 deficit in the third set. He then won the
Qatar Classic
The Qatar Classic is an annual international squash tournament that takes place in Doha, Qatar in October or November. The event was re-established in 2001. Between 1992 and 1997, the tournament was formerly known as the Qatar International. The ...
in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
by again downing David Palmer, this time with a score of 8–11, 11–9, 11–9, 11–6, in 66 minutes. Also in 2007, Ashour was also invited to the ATCO
World Series Squash Finals event, where he competed against the other seven top points earners of the season. The only player to go undefeated in all of his first three matches, he played French sensation
Grégory Gaultier
Grégory Gaultier (born 23 December 1982, in Épinal, France) is a former professional squash player from France. He has won the 2015 World Open Squash Championship, the British Open three times, in 2007, 2014 and 2017, the Qatar Classic in 201 ...
in the final. After a 62-minute battle, Ashour took the title 3–1 (12–10, 11–8, 4–11, 11–4).
According to squash legend and writer Malcolm Willstrop, "Ramy Ashour is something else — his movement is better than anyone in the game, and allied to his unique racket skills and vision, he lights up the sport. Not only that, but his modesty and engaging smile make him a rare commodity."
Ashour played
Nick Matthew
Nicholas Matthew (born 25 July 1980 in Sheffield) is a former English professional squash player who has won the two most prestigious tournaments in the professional game, the British Open and the World Open, three times each. He reached a c ...
at the 2009 Saudi International Open, the outcome of which would determine not only the winner of the championship but also the next world number one. He won the match, his longest ever on the PSA tour, in a gruelling 110-minute, 5-game battle.
After losing his world number one ranking to his English rival, Nick Matthew, in June 2010, Ashour reached the final of the new
PSA World Series
The PSA World Series (formerly known as the PSA Super Series) was a series of men's and women's squash tournaments which were part of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour for the squash season. The tournaments were some of the mo ...
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
in August. Two weeks later, he battled to a 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 victory in a 90-minute match against Gaultier in the
Hong Kong Open final. The back-to-back victories returned Ashour to the top of the rankings in September 2010.
He slipped behind Matthew again in early 2011, but Ashour then won the
JP Morgan Tournament of Champions title for the second time since 2008, beating Matthew in the final match. This was his comeback tournament after recovering from a 2010 hamstring injury. A month later, Ashour played in a PSA World Series final at the
North American Open
The North American Open is an annual international professional squash tournament. Started in 1966, this tournament was one of the most prestigious professional events behind the British Open and the World Open.
The 2014 North American Open is l ...
in Virginia, losing to Matthew in a five-game match. At the
2011 Australian Open, Ashour beat Matthew, the tournament's defending champion, in another five-game match. The rivalry between the Egyptian and the Englishman continued when both played for their country in the WSF
2011 Men's World Team Squash Championships
The 2011 Men's World Team Squash Championships is the men's edition of the 2011 World Team Squash Championships organized by the World Squash Federation, which serves as the world team championship for squash players. The event were held in Paderb ...
in Paderborn, Germany. Ashour (and Egypt) went on to win that encounter. Ashour furthered his attempt toward reclaiming his world number one ranking by defeating Matthew once more at the 2011
Rowe British Grand Prix, winning the match 3 games to 1.
Ashour's 2012 campaign was arguably the most successful of his career, becoming the first player to make the final of every tournament in which he competed since Jansher Khan. After coming back from a long injury break in February 2012, Ashour made the final at the
North American Open 2012, where he lost to the new world number one,
James Willstrop
James Willstrop (born 15 August 1983) is an English professional squash player living in Yorkshire, England. He was born in North Walsham, Norfolk, England.
Career
Willstrop has a large build for a squash player, being and . He trains at P ...
. At the
El Gouna International
The El Gouna International is an annual men's and women's squash tournament held in El Gouna, Egypt in April. It is part of the PSA World Series
The PSA World Series (formerly known as the PSA Super Series) was a series of men's and women's sq ...
in April, Ashour won their rematch, collecting another major title in front of his home crowd after Willstrop pulled out of the final in the third game. At the
Allam British Open in May, Ashour missed the opportunity to be the first Egyptian title holder, after
Abou Taleb in 1966, by losing to his old rival and defending champion Matthew. Ashour then went undefeated in the second half of 2012, winning all four tournaments in which he took part. Specifically, he defended his Australian Open title in August, won the
US Open title in October by defeating Grégory Gaultier, and took the Hong Kong Open title in November by beating Willstrop. This string of wins led up to his final victory of the year at the
Qatar World Open in December. By beating Matthew in the semi-final, he would reclaim the world number one spot the following January, and by defeating his fellow countryman,
Mohamed El Shorbagy
Mohamed ElShorbagy ( ar, محمد الشوربجي, born 12 January 1991 in Alexandria) is an Egyptian-English professional squash player. He represented Egypt from a young age until June 2022, and is currently representing England. He reached ...
, in the final after a gruelling five-game match,
he gathered his second World Open title.
Although he did not play in the ATCO World Series final because of a hamstring injury sustained at the Qatar World Open, Ashour retained the world number one ranking at the first world series event in 2013, the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions. With his right leg heavily strapped, Ashour made it to the final, where he recovered from a 2-0 deficit against Gaultier to stage an unlikely comeback. By claiming another TOC title after his previous one in 2011, he became only the third player to win the prestigious PSA series title thrice since
Peter Nicol
Peter Nicol (born 5 April 1973) is a former professional squash player from Scotland, who represented first Scotland and then England in international squash. In 1998, while still competing for Scotland, he became the first player from the UK ...
did it in 2004. Ashour added two PSA world tour titles to his resume within two weeks. He beat his long running rivals, Willstrop and Matthew, in the semi-final and final of the North American Open in Richmond, Virginia, claiming his second North American Open title. Twelve days later, Ashour won his 30th tour title by taking the Kuwait PSA Cup (formerly the Kuwait Open). He defeated defending champion Willstrop in the final, and extended his run of consecutive major PSA titles to seven. In May, Ashour clinched his first British Open championship, becoming the first Egyptian to win the tournament since Abou Taleb in 1966. He also extended his unbeaten run to 41 matches, with his last previous loss taking place at the 2012 British Open final in London, exactly a year previously. After the summer break, Ashour won his ninth PSA World Tour title in a row and extended his unbeaten tour run to 45 matches by taking down defending champion Grégory Gaultier in the Netsuite Open final.
On November 21, 2014, Ashour won his third world title when he defeated fellow Egyptian Mohamad El-Shorbagy at the Squash World Championship in Doha, in a match that was described as "epic."
World Open final appearances
3 titles & 2 runner-up
Major
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
final appearances
British Open
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
: 3 finals (1 title, 2 runner-up)
Hong Kong Open: 4 finals (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
Qatar Classic
The Qatar Classic is an annual international squash tournament that takes place in Doha, Qatar in October or November. The event was re-established in 2001. Between 1992 and 1997, the tournament was formerly known as the Qatar International. The ...
: 1 final (1 title, 0 runner-up)
US Open: 2 finals (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Career statistics
Listed below.
PSA titles (40)
All Results for Ramy Ashour in PSA World's Tour tournament
''Note:'' (ret) = retired, min = minutes, h = hours
PSA Tour Finals (Runner-Up) (15)
Singles performance timeline
''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated after the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.''
''Note:'' NA = Not Available
RAM Scoring System
On May 19, 2019, Ashour unveiled a new RAM scoring system at his first Ramy Ashour invitation at the CityView Racquet Club in
Long Island City NY that he developed with
Osama Khalifa
Osama Khaled Khalifa () (born March 19, 1995, in Cairo, Egypt) is a professional squash player who competed for Columbia University. Khalifa was the #1-ranked US college squash player and the 2017 Collegiate National Champion, the first-ever C ...
. The rules of the game are as follows (taken from RAMscoring site
):
"Best of five games, where each game is three minutes long.
The three minutes of game time refers exclusively to actual play time and not the downtime between rallies.
Once the time is up, the clock stops, and the leading player must win one additional point in order to win the game. If the trailing player wins the point, then the game continues until either the leading player wins a final point, or the trailing player evens the score and wins an additional point to conclude the game.
For example: If the score is 8-5 at expiration time, then the leading player must win an additional point (point 9) in order to win the game. If the trailing player were to win the point, then the score becomes 8-6 and the game continues until the leading player wins the game 9-6, or the trailing player evens the score and then wins an additional point. In the event of a tie at expiration time, a final “sudden death” point is played to determine the winner of the game.
In the event that the time expires and the score remains at 0-0 (love-all), the 3-minute clock is then reset and the game resumes.
Time shall not be reverted unless only one of the below scenarios occur: For a “let calls,” the clock reverts to the start time of that point (“Time Revert Rule”)
If the 3-minute time expires and the score remains at 0-0, in which case the 3-minute clock is reset. There must be at least one referee and one “Time Keeper” to officiate the match. Players shall have 2 minutes of rest time between games. All other (Professional Squash Association) PSA and (World Squash Federation) WSF rules apply"
See also
*
Official Men's Squash World Ranking
The Official Men's Squash World Ranking is the official world ranking for men's squash. The ranking is to rate the performance level of male professional squash player. It is also a merit-based method used for determining entry and seeding in men' ...
References
External links
*
*
*
The emergence of Ramy Ashour at Squashsite.co.uk'Amr Shabana and Ramy Ashour Highlights' at mensvogue.com'Pair Of Aces' at Mensvogue.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashour, Ramy
1987 births
Living people
Egyptian male squash players
Sportspeople from Cairo
21st-century Egyptian people