Dec 2015:
Defending champions El Welily
and Elshorbagy top the ToC draws
Defending champions and
current/soon to be World #1s Raneem El Welily and Mohamed
Elshorbagy will headline a stellar cast when the J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions, the first PSA World Series event of
2016 - and with equal prize money in both the Men’s and Women’s
events for the first time in its distinguished history - gets
underway in Grand Central Terminal in January.
 El
Welily’s victory 12 months ago laid the foundation for her surge
towards dethroning Nicol David at the top of the World
Rankings. But after reaching three consecutive World Series
finals and taking the title in two of those, the in-form
Laura Massaro is set to overtake El Welily and occupy the
World #1 position for the first time come January 1st.
The re-shuffling at the top of the women’s rankings this past
year, after David’s stranglehold on the top spot for more than
nine years, has the ToC fans anticipating some great drama on
the glass court in Vanderbilt Hall during tournament week.
David, who at #3 is at her lowest ranking in ten years, returned
to form earlier this month with a decisive victory at the Hong
Kong Open. With the likes of British Open winner Camille
Serme, the Egyptian top six duo of Nour El Sherbini
and Omneya Abdel Kawy, and the home crowd favorite
Amanda Sobhy, the 10th seed, also included in the line-up,
2016 promises to be one of the most competitive women’s
championships in ToC history
“The J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions is proud to have
increased the women’s draw size and prize money to be equal to
that of the men, and we are thrilled that all of the games’ top
ranking players will be here in Grand Central,” said
Tournament Promoter John Nimick.
“The talent, passion and competitive intensity that we are
seeing now on the PSA Women’s World Tour is incredibly exciting
and compelling. We are looking forward to spectacular squash
from these remarkable athletes who always seem inspired to play
their very best in our awe-inspiring Grand Central venue.”
 Defending
men's champion Mohamed Elshorbagy, the 24-year-old
Egyptian who will regain the World #1 ranking on January 1st, is
also top of the draw.
Elshorbagy‘s stuttering start to the 2015-16 season caused him
to relinquish his hold on the top of the PSA rankings but
he returned to dominant form at the Hong Kong Open, retaining
the title to reclaim the #1 spot.
Although the fiercely competitive Egyptian will be favoured to
retain his ToC title he will have to be at his best to triumph
in New York, given the talent-laden draw which includes World
Champion and current World No.1 Gregory Gaultier of
France, England’s three-time World Champion Nick Matthew
and the in-form duo of World Championship runner-up Omar
Mosaad and Hong Kong Open runner-up Cameron Pilley.
Gaultier, who ended nine years of heartbreak when he etched his
name onto the World Championship trophy in November, last won
the event in 2009 and will be aiming to begin his year in the
best fashion possible, with a potentially dramatic semi-final
encounter with long-time rival Matthew on the cards. Elshorbagy
is seeded to meet countryman Mosaad, who also finished as
runner-up at the U.S. Open, in the top half of the draw.
Australia’s Pilley, who shocked the squash world by downing
first Simon Rosner and then Gaultier and Matthew en-route to the
final in Hong Kong, will be eyeing up yet more giant killings
stateside when he begins his event against Tarek Momen of
Egypt.
Home-Favourite Todd Harrity is the wildcard for this
event and currently sits at a career-high World #52 ranking. He
is hoping to ride the wave of confidence engendered by a career
best performance at the recent World Championship in Seattle
where he reached the second round, but the reigning U.S.
champion has a tough first round clash with Egypt’s Fares
Dessouki.
The opening round match of number four seed Miguel Rodriguez
against Spain’s Borja Golan promises to be fierce and
dramatic encounter. Both players have struggled for form
recently and will be eager to start the new year in New York
with a decisive victory. For Rodriguez, a long-time ToC fan
favorite, it’s a return to the scene where he stunned Gaultier
last year to reach the semi-finals - a victory that announced
his emergence as one of the leading players in the world.
“The entire metropolitan New York community eagerly awaits
the appearance of the world’s greatest squash players on our
spectacular all glass NetSuite Challenge court in Grand
Central,” said Tournament Promoter John Nimick.
“With record prize money offered in both the Men’s and Women’s
events and parity in the prize money for the first time in the
tournament’s history, the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions is
proud to continue its legacy as a pioneering event that
showcases the best of what the sport has to offer.”
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John's pick of
the Men's First Round pack:
Thu 12:45pm
World Open finalist Omar "The Hammer of Thor" Mosaad v.
Qualifier
Thu 3:45pm
Hong Kong Open finalist Cameron Pilley v. top tenner Tarek
Momen
Thu 6:45pm
Fiesta! 4th seed Miguel Rodriquez of Colombia v. Borja Golan
of Spain
Fri 3:45pm
Former World No. 1 James Willstrop v. Alister Walker
Fri 7:30pm
8th seed Marwan Elshorbagy v. the electrifying Mazen Hesham
Fri night also features former ToC Champions Nick Matthew
and Gregory Gaultier in action!
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