The 2024/25 SmartCentres PSA Squash Tour Finals will be held in Canada for the first time in the event’s history when SmartCentres’ Revival Film Studios in Toronto hosts the world’s leading squash players for five days, between June 23-27, 2025.
Following on from last year’s event, which was held at Bellevue’s Boys and Girls Club Hidden Valley Field House, the PSA Squash Tour Finals is one of the most highly anticipated tournaments on the PSA Squash Tour calendar and will see the world’s best battle for a share of the $635,000 prize pot.
Only the top eight players in the men’s and women’s Squash Tour Finals Standings qualified for a coveted berth in Toronto, with points up for grabs at all PSA Squash Tour events throughout the season.
Those eight players make up two groups of four in their respective draws, with a round-robin format determining the semi-finalists. Each player will play three matches, and the two players with the most points in each group will advance to the latter stages.
The scoring system is slightly different to a normal PSA Squash Tour event. A best-of-three format is adopted up until the final, which will be played as a best-of-five format, as is the case in the majority of other PSA Squash Tour events.
After both groups are decided, the tournament then becomes a straight knock-out as the battle intensifies for the season-ending title.
The Squash Tour Finals began life in Zurich, Switzerland, back in 1993 as the legendary Pakistani players Jansher Khan toppled Chris Dittmar to win the first of his four titles – all of which came in the first five instalments of the event.
The tournament moved to England in 1996 and would stay there for 17 editions, with Hatfield, London and Manchester all playing host to the world’s greatest players.
England’s Del Harris prevailed on home soil against Brett Martin in the 1996 final, while the likes of Scotland’s Peter Nicol (3), Canada’s Jonathon Power (2), Australians David Palmer and Anthony Ricketts and Frenchman Thierry Lincou all got their hands on the trophy over the next ten years.
Other legends of the game, including Egyptian maverick Ramy Ashour, triumphed twice, while his compatriot, the iconic Amr Shabana, has also had his name etched on the trophy on two occasions.
Shabana also made it to the final of the 2010/11 instalment, but the final was subsequently cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, which meant that the court, staged in an inflatable arena, was deemed unsafe.
A women’s tournament began in 2012 and saw Malaysian superstar Nicol David take the first two titles, beating Madeline Perry and Laura Massaro in successive finals.
2016 saw Dubai become only the second city outside of Europe to hold the prestigious Squash Tour Finals, with the tournament being staged at the Vitis Club in Zurich (1993-1994), the Galleria in Hatfield (1996-1999), Broadgate Arena in London (1999-2006), the National Squash Centre in Manchester (2007-2008) and Queen’s Club in London (2009-2013).
In 2017, the tournament was held at Dubai Opera – the first ever sporting event to be held there – when Mohamed ElShorbagy and Laura Massaro claimed victory to end their seasons on a high. In 2018, the event took place at the Emirates Golf Club, where ElShorbagy successfully defended his title, with Nour El Sherbini claiming the women’s title for the first time in her career.
The 2019 event saw the tournament move to Cario’s Mall of Arabia for the first time and it was former World No.1s Raneem El Welily and Karim Abdel Gawad who took home the titles following two blockbuster five-game finals against France’s Camille Serme and Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar, respectively.
After the respective first-time victories for Marwan ElShorbagy and Hania El Hammamy in 2019, the event has been dominated by Egyptian players, with Mostafa Asal claiming a hat-trick of wins before Ali Farag’s first success in 2024. In the women’s event, Nouran Gohar claimed a trio of title wins in 2021, 2023 and 2024, with eight-time World Champion Nour El Sherbini winning the 2022 edition at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia.
Taking part in this year’s event in the men’s draw are: Mostafa Asal (EGY), Diego Elias (PER), Paul Coll (NZL), Joel Makin (WAL), Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG), Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG), Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) and Tarek Momen (EGY).
In the women’s event, the competitors are: Nouran Gohar (EGY), Olivia Weaver (USA), Amina Orfi (EGY), Tinne Gilis (BEL), Satomi Watanabe (JPN), Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS), Amanda Sobhy (USA), Georgina Kennedy (ENG).
Previous Winners: Men 2024 – Ali Farag (EGY) 2023 – Mostafa Asal (EGY) 2022 – Mostafa Asal (EGY) 2021 – Mostafa Asal (EGY) 2020 – Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 2019 – Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 2018 – Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) 2017 – Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) 2016 – Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 2013 – Ramy Ashour (EGY) 2012 – Amr Shabana (EGY) 2011 – Amr Shabana (EGY) 2010 – Nick Matthew (ENG)/Amr Shabana (EGY) – Final not played 2009 – Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 2008 – Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 2007 – Ramy Ashour (EGY) 2006 – Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 2005 – Jonathon Power (CAN) 2004 – Thierry Lincou (FRA) 2003 – Jonathon Power (CAN) 2002 – David Palmer (AUS) 2001 – Peter Nicol (SCO) 2000 – Peter Nicol (SCO) 1999 – Peter Nicol (SCO) 1998 – Jansher Khan (PAK) 1997 – Jansher Khan (PAK) 1996 – Del Harris (ENG) 1995 – No competition 1994 – Jansher Khan (PAK) 1993 – Jansher Khan (PAK)
Previous Winners: Women 2024 – Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2023 – Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2022 – Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 2021 – Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2020 – Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 2019 – Raneem El Welily (EGY) 2018 – Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 2017 – Laura Massaro (ENG) 2016 – Laura Massaro (ENG) 2012 – Nicol David (MAS) 2011 – Nicol David (MAS)
For more updates on the PSA Squash Tour, follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp or LinkedIn.
