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Coll Becomes First Male New Zealander
to Reach World No.1 in PSA World Rankings
Greymouth-born Paul Coll has made history as the first man ever from New
Zealand to reach World No.1 in the PSA Men's World Rankings, which were
released today (March 1).
The 29-year-old was in magnificent form throughout 2021 and won three
PSA World Tour titles, including the prestigious Allam British Open,
where he beat the man he has replaced as World No.1 - Egypt’s Ali Farag
- to become the first male Kiwi to win the sport’s longest-running
event.
Those wins, coupled with Farag’s ranking points from the 2020 Qatar
Classic and CIB Black Ball Squash Open expiring, have sent Coll to World
No.1 and he becomes the 21st man to climb to the summit of the World
Rankings. It is also the first time since Frenchman Gregory Gaultier
topped the rankings in May 2017 that there hasn’t been an Egyptian men’s
World No.1.
“It’s pretty special and it’s capping off a great season,” said Coll,
who takes on Tarek Momen in the semi-finals of the Windy City Open
Presented by the Walter Family tonight.
“It’s something that I didn’t think would come through this soon in the
season, so it’s a real special moment and it’s huge for me. I’ve always
had this goal and it’s always been in the back of my mind that it was
what I wanted, so I’ve just kept training and trying to improve to reach
that spot.”
Farag’s six-month reign as World No.1 comes to an end as he drops to
No.2 ahead of World No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy - who returned to action
with a title win at the Squash on Fire Open last month. Mostafa Asal
(No.4) and Tarek Momen (No.5) complete the top five.
Diego Elias (No.6), Marwan ElShorbagy (No.7) and Squash on Fire Open
runner-up Joel Makin (No.8) retain their places, while Mazen Hesham
rises a place to a career-high ranking of No.9 at the expense of Fares
Dessouky, who drops to No.10.
Frenchman Gregoire Marche moves up to a career-high ranking of No.11,
with Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez falling to No.12. Karim Abdel Gawad and
Mohamed Abouelghar stay at No.13 and No.14, respectively. Youssef
Soliman takes the last spot in the top 15, switching places with India’s
Saurav Ghosal to record a career-high ranking.
Next comes Youssef Ibrahim at No.17, while Eain Yow Ng and Raphael
Kandra share the No.18 spot. Baptiste Masotti rounds off the top 20.
Australia’s Josh Larkin is the biggest mover on the men’s tour after a
runner-up finish at the Roberts & Morrow North Coast Open saw him move
up 398 places to No.321. India’s Karan Malik also enjoyed a big rise in
his ranking, moving up 234 spots to No.577 after appearing in the last
24 of the Squash on Fire Open.
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