HEAD Global Ambassador Laura Massaro Delivers Fascinating World Championship Preview

THE 2021 World Squash Championships are due to start in a matter of days and HEAD Squash global ambassador Laura Massaro has delivered a fascinating insight into the hopes and expectations of our players who will be going for glory in Chicago next week.

Of course, Laura famously won the women’s World Championship in 2013 when she defeated reigning World Champion, current World No.1 and 2021 top seed Nour El Sherbini, after an epic five game battle in Penang, Malaysia.

Now, looking forward to the tournament, Laura admitted there is plenty of excitement at Team HEAD that 2021 could be a year to remember for our brand.

With a total of eight Team HEAD players ranked inside the top-20 in the women’s and men’s rankings it is clear why Laura is optimistic that the whiff of glory may be about to waft our way in the Windy City next week.

Laura said: “Its exciting times for Team HEAD and I think as a brand HEAD is very happy with the players we have at the moment, there is a really nice spread of female and male players throughout the rankings. We have people who can contend for the big titles and also players who can come in, progress and shock in the draw.

“Personally, I am really excited to see how they will all do and I’m looking forward to hopefully some great results coming our way in this world championship.

“It is a different set up this year with the World Championships being held in July. Usually, the Worlds are held back in February when temperatures are under freezing and I’m assuming Chicago in the summer will be very different!

“The University Club in Chicago is a great club, and an all-glass court is in place in the Cathedral Hall in a really unique setting, so I’m sure it will be a great event and it is definitely being held in a fabulous city.”

Turning her attention to the player who will spearhead Team HEAD’s hopes of glory in a women’s world championship being held on her home soil, Laura believes that No.5 seed Amanda Sobhy can really benefit from the backing of her compatriots: “Amanda will be really excited to be back playing in the States and it will be great for her to be playing a home world championships in front of her own fans in Chicago,” said Laura.

The former world champion continued: “It is on an all-glass court and Amanda is very severe on that type of court, so if she can settle down early that could set her up for a fine run.

“If she can make it through to her seeded position in the quarters and meets Hania (El Hammamy) there, then with the home crowd behind her that may well give her the freedom to play well and go after the win.”

New Zealand’s World No.4 Paul Coll, the beaten finalist in the last World Championships, is our highest ranked player in the men’s event.

With a string of impressive performances behind him recently including a final appearance at the El Gouna International Open and a semi-final slot at the recent PSA World Tour Finals, Laura is looking for the Kiwi to soar next week.

The HEAD global squash ambassador said: “Paul playing in his first world championships as a HEAD player is really exciting for the brand and he is playing a really high intensity type of squash and seems to have settled into who he is and what he is bringing to the court.

“It has been really exciting to watch him play and take some big scalps at El Gouna and the World Series Finals and it will be fascinating to see him try to replicate these results and his run at the last world championships and see if Paul can go one step further.

“Paul has drawn another one of our players in Tayyab Aslam and it’s a tough draw from a HEAD perspective when you have two of our players facing off in the first round. I know that Tayyab has been in good form, and he has picked up a couple of titles in Pakistan and I’m sure he will relish the challenge of coming up against someone like Paul.”

Team HEAD have three other players inside the men’s top-20 PSA world rankings in World No.14 Saurav Ghosal, No.17 Omar Mosaad and No.19 Adrian Waller and Laura is optimistic about their chances: “Saurav is perhaps coming into the worlds pressure free and that is good for a player like him who is creative and expansive,” she said.

The former World No.1 continued: “It has been tough for Saurav in India with lockdown, and he has had a couple of injuries, but I know he got out of India before El Gouna and has been training very well and been over in America early to prepare for the Worlds.

“Hopefully he is back in form, and I am sure he will be really hungry to put in a good showing at the worlds and very motivated.

“Omar has a tough first round against Saudi Arabia’s Mazen Gamal, a fellow HEAD player who seems to be coming in on some very positive results making the final of an event in Poland recently and a quarter-final in India.

“So, Omar won’t take Mazen lightly and if he does come through, he can play more freely. But I am excited to see how he fairs after some of the training I have seen him put in on his social media.

“As for Adrian he has a really interesting first round match with Eain Yow Ng and with both so closely ranked, with Adrian at No.19 and Yow No.26 and it will be who plays best on the day that will come out on top.”

Turning her attention to the women’s championship Laura is expecting big things from Team HEAD’s world ranked No.8 Joelle King who recently made the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour Finals: “I thought Joelle looked in really good form in the World Series Finals and if she makes it through to her seeded position it would be Nouran Gohar (No.2 seed) in the quarters.

“That would be a repeat of their World Series Finals semi. With Gohar going on to win that event it will be tough but having met her so recently I’m sure that will stand Joelle in good stead if that match happens.”

Philadelphia’s world ranked No.20 Olivia Fiechter is another of our players for whom Laura has high hopes: “Olivia has come off some really good results and is at a career high ranking of 20. If she can get through the first round, Olivia has a round two match against Tinne Gilis and it will be 15th seed versus 18th seed and that will be really tight and a match to look out for.”

Egypt’s world ranked No.16 Yathreb Adel, and Malaysia’s world ranked No.24 Low Wee Wern will complete a strong challenge in the women’s championship for Team HEAD: “Yathreb has Cristina Gomez who won one of the World Championship qualifier events, but I think Yathreb’s quality will stand her in good stead, and I think she has a real chance to go far,” said Laura.

The double British Open champion continued: “Low Wee Wern has been training in the States for the last few weeks and has had some good competitive matches at Squash on Fire. So, I’m sure she will be looking to build on these and will be relishing this opportunity.”