Dessouky Downs Ibrahim In Doha to Reach First Major Semi Since 2021

Egypt's world No.15 Fares Dessouky has reached his first major PSA semi-final in over four years after upsetting world No.10 Youssef Ibrahim to book his spot in the last four of the QTerminals Qatar Classic today.

The pair's only previous meeting on the PSA Squash Tour also took place in Qatar back in 2020, with Dessouky winning 3/2 on that occasion when he was at his highest ranking of world No.7.

Injury problems have seen Dessouky slip down the rankings and fall out of contention for the sport's biggest honours in recent years, but the Egyptian put in a masterclass of accuracy at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha to announce his return to the last four of a Platinum-level event.

"I'm so happy to be back at this stage again," said Dessouky.

"I played very well today and hopefully I can in the next match. He's in the top 10, so I was the underdog today. I used to play with these guys a lot, so I'm used to dealing with them.

"I'm going to play my best squash, but I have to focus and make it as clean as possible. I hope it will be a good match for both of us."

Dessouky will play in his first Qatar Classic semi-final since 2020 and will take on world No.1 Mostafa Asal for a place in the title decider. Asal stormed into the last four after completing his eighth successive PSA Squash Tour win over fellow Egyptian Youssef Soliman.

The pair met at the same stage of the CIB Egyptian Open in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza earlier this month, with Asal emerging the victor after three straightforward games and he repeated the 3/0 win today.

"He's a very solid player, a fighter," said Asal.

"He works with Ali Farag and he's changed a few things. It was a fair and good battle today, I like it when things are calm and there is respect between us, he's a good friend. I'm really looking forward to the next one. Squash is a brutal sport and you need a good mentality. These are the things that make champions."

World No.2 Hania El Hammamy and world No.5 Amina Orfi will meet in a mouthwatering semi-final clash in the women's event following convincing wins over Malaysian duo Sivasangari Subramaniam and Aira Azman.

El Hammamy and Orfi have been the form players in the early stages of the 2025-26 season, with Orfi winning the London Classic earlier this month before losing to El Hammamy in the final of the Egyptian Open.

El Hammamy, who moved up to world No.2 following that win in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza, won this event in 2023 and continued her title challenge with an 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 win over Sivasangari.

"She kept coming back and every time I gave her an opening she went for those opportunities, I just kept reminding myself to stay solid every time I made errors," said El Hammamy.

"I have my visuals of what I want to do this season and I hope this is not the end. It's a prestigious event and I love it here in Qatar, we're always getting pampered by the organisers. I'm very excited and hopefully I can produce a good level of squash."

Meanwhile, Orfi downed Azman by an 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 scoreline to reach her first semi in Qatar.

"I'm excited to make the semis of these Platinum events, it feels great," said Orfi.

"I made it to the quarters last year, so to go one better, and hopefully more, it feels amazing. My first [major final] was in El Gouna [in April] and it was very special, in front of my home crowd. I feel like I've got the experience and feel I've trained very well to be here, I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."