World No.1s Asal & El Hammamy Overcome Stern Tests On El Gouna Day One

World No.1s Mostafa Asal and Hania El Hammamy had to be on their mettle to navigate tricky first round tests at the 2026 El Gouna International Open, overcoming Curtis Malik and Anahat Singh to kickstart their title quests at the PSA Squash Tour Platinum event in Egypt.

Asal began his quest for a third El Gouna title, a feat which would bring him level with legends Ramy Ashour and Ali Farag as the most decorated players in the event's history, thanks to a hard-fought 11-7, 11-4, 13-11 win over England's Malik on the stunning all-glass court at the El Gouna Conference and Culture Center.

The Egyptian controlled the opening two games, but world No.23 Malik responded impressively in the third, pushing up the court and matching Asal blow for blow in a tense 33-minute game. After saving two match balls to force a tie-break, Malik threatened a comeback with some high-quality squash, but Asal held firm to seal the victory in 59 minutes.

"Curtis played with some great tactics in the third," Asal said after securing his 25th straight win on the PSA Squash Tour. "He came back strong - mentally, he is really strong. From 2/0 down, he came back, and I expected that, but not as much as he did in the third.

"I was just enjoying the squash today. It's good to have a good first round against a tough opponent.

"It's nice to be back in El Gouna and playing in front of my supporters. El Gouna has been really nice to me in the past."

Meanwhile, fellow top seed El Hammamy survived a third game scare before defeating Indian teenage sensation Anahat Singh by an 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 scoreline.

Fresh from her dominant title run at the Optasia Championships - where she did not drop a game - El Hammamy faced a tricky opponent in the form of the 18-year-old Indian, whose unpredictable attacking patterns caused her problems throughout.

After seeing a 4-0 lead slip to a third game defeat, the 2022 winner maintained her composure to move through to book a second round match-up with Kenzy Ayman after 49 minutes of play.

Earlier on in the day at the El Gouna Squash Complex, a number of seeds came close to first round scares before eventually prevailing, none more so than world No.6 Victor Crouin.

The French No.1 was forced to stave off two match balls in the fourth game of his dramatic encounter with Bernat Jaume, before once again fighting back from 6-1 down in the decider to record a 7-11, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7 victory.

Men's No.6 and No.8 seeds Youssef Ibrahim and Marwan ElShorbagy also edged through their respective round one encounters with Dimitri Steinmann and Timothy Brownell, both clinching thrillers 11-9 in the fifth.