Gohar Becomes First U.S. Open Four-Time Champion; Farag Earns Third Title

October 27, 2024

Nouran Gohar made history at the 2024 Comcast Business U.S. Open Squash Championships, becoming the first four-time champion in the tournament’s fifty-two-year history while world No. 1 Ali Farag joined an elite club of three-time U.S. Open champions Saturday, October 26, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.

Both U.S. Open finals saw the current world No. 1’s take on the reigning world champions–and all four finalists were aiming to augment their U.S. Open title records.

The women’s final opened proceedings and pitted world No. 1 and defending champion Nour El Sherbini against world champion Nouran Gohar for the tenth consecutive major final on the PSA Squash Tour.

Gohar lost her last three appearances against El Sherbini, including the Qatar Classic final two weeks ago. Gohar has been in devastating form all week and showed no signs of slowing down in the final as she overpowered and outpaced El Sherbini to take the first two games 11-8, 11-9. Gohar continued to frustrate El Sherbini in the third and earned three championship balls up 10-7, but El Sherbini showed her class to win the next five points and send the final into a fourth game. Gohar earned three more championship balls in the fourth game and this time converted to clinch the title 11-7 after fifty-one minutes.

“Ten days ago, when I was in the hospital for my broken nose I didn’t even think that I would be able to do this,” Gohar said of her broken nose sustained two weeks ago at the Qatar Classic. “I was very annoyed with myself after the end of the third game because I thought I was playing very well. I didn’t want that small moment to cost me a big title. I just gave it a big fight in the fourth and made sure not to lose quick points. I told myself it was like a pressure session and to just give it my all.”

Gohar’s record at the U.S. Open is nothing short of astonishing. With the exception of missing the 2023 tournament due to injury, Gohar has won twenty consecutive matches in Philadelphia spanning back to the first round of the 2019 U.S. Open. With her fourth U.S. Open title, Gohar surpasses the venerable club of three-time champions including Nicol David, Mohamed ElShorbagy, Gregory Gaultier, Hashim Khan and Jansher Khan.

On the men’s side, Farag joined the illustrious club of three-time champions and keeps hopes of matching Gohar’s record in years to come. In contrast to his 2022 final against Peru’s world champion Diego Elias that saw him concede the match after two points due to injury, the 2024 final was all Farag in spite of Elias claiming their Qatar Classic final two weeks ago.

The thirty-two-year-old Harvard graduate set and maintained the pace of the match from the start and never looked back as he dispatched Elias 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 in thirty-nine minutes.

“One thing that I pride myself on is putting up a fight whenever I lose, and in Qatar I didn’t think I did that, so that was very disappointing,” Farag said. “It questions your hunger, it makes you doubt yourself. And this week, even against Youssef Ibrahim [in the quarter-finals] I was still doubting myself when I lost a game. That win against Youssef though gave me a lot of confidence going into the match yesterday with Mazen [Hesham] and today with Diego.”

Farag adds his 2024 title to his 2017 and 2019 triumphs.

The 2024 U.S. Open welcomed Comcast Business as title sponsors for the first year and marked the fourth edition of the tournament held at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.