Hania El Hammamy (Photo PSA)
The Optasia Championships gets underway later tonight with some of the world’s top players descending on Wimbledon for the Gold event. Women’s top seed Hania El Hammamy is back to defend her title this year, but has strong competition for the trophy in the form of eight times World Champion Nour ElSherbini.
The pair are not only playing for the tournament win but also for the World No.1 ranking.
El Hammamy reached the World No.1 ranking in November 2025 after claiming all three of the opening major titles of the season. Since those three, the major titles have been shared between El Hammamy and ElSherbini with the latter winning the Hong Kong Open and Windy City Open. Those wins have taken ElSherbini to World No.2 and given her a chance to steal the World No.1 ranking away from El Hammamy in the new rankings.
As the defending champion, El Hammamy needs to win the event once again in order not to lose any points from her ranking. ElSherbini, however, has no points to defend as she didn’t feature in the event last year. Therefore, the points gained in Wimbledon will be added to the existing ones that make up her ranking.
A win for El Hammamy guarantees her position at the top of the world rankings; a win for ElSherbini will send her back to World No.1 for the first time since December 2024.
El Hammamy will also need to avoid defeat before the final as if she does not reach the final and ElSherbini does, the Warrior Princess will go to World No.1 even if she doesn’t win the event.
If ElSherbini betters El Hammamy’s result, then she will become the World No.1. Assuming that ElSherbini advances through to the semi-finals, El Hammamy’s only way of staying at the top of the rankings is then to win the event. If ElSherbini is to lose in the quarter finals, then El Hammamy only needs to reach the final to stay at the top.
Meanwhile, World No.7 Satomi Watanabe and last year’s runner-up Georgina Kennedy are the No.3 and 4 seeds for the event, both looking to make their marks in events close to home. Despite being the Japanese No.1, Watanabe lives and trains in Roehampton, just over three miles away from the venue in Wimbledon whilst Bexley-based Kennedy resides 20 miles away.
Watanabe has a win over top seed El Hammamy this season (at the China Open) and is set to face her again in the semi-finals this week. Kennedy, however, is set to face No.2 seed ElSherbini, looking to bring an end to an 11-match losing streak against the Warrior Princess.
The men’s draw is equally compelling; seven of the world’s top 10 players feature in what promises to be one of the strongest fields of the season.
Defending champion and World No.1 Mostafa Asal returns to London looking to retain his crown, his explosive power and commanding presence once again making him the man to beat. Standing in his way are three former world champions, including Peru’s Diego Elias, whose smooth, controlled style makes him a constant threat, and Egypt’s Karim Gawad, one of the most skilful shot-makers in the game.
Adding further intrigue is Mohamed Elshorbagy, the 2017 World Champion and legend of the modern game, whose experience and competitive edge make him dangerous in any draw, while Youssef Ibrahim makes a highly anticipated return following a shoulder injury, bringing flair and unpredictability back into the mix.
Making up the rest of the seeding places in the men’s draw are Joel Makin, Marwan Elshorbagy and Leonel Cardenas, all determined to showcase thier best squash and cause upsets in the draw.
The Elshorbagy brothers and Kennedy lead a strong field of home players in the event. 12 English players in total will compete in the opening rounds, with Jasmine Hutton, Jonah Bryant, Patrick Rooney and Curtis Malik all looking to utilise the home support to advance in the event.
