Egypt’s New Generation of Squash Stars to Watch

Nadien Elhammamy may have a surname that immediately makes squash fans think of Hania El Hammamy, but despite the similarity, the two are not related.

At 19, ElHammamy is already World No. 38 and has begun making a name for herself independently. She won the 2026 Irish Open, beating fellow Egyptian Nada Abbas in a five-game final after also defeating Hana Ramadan and Zeina Mickawy on her way to the title.

Her breakthrough was already visible at the 2025 World Junior Championship, where she produced one of the tournament's biggest upsets by beating India’s Anahat Singh in the semi-finals to reach the final.

Ruqayya Salem has made the jump from junior standout to senior contender remarkably quickly. At 18, she is already World No. 55 and has a PSA title to her name after winning the Brasília International in June 2026.

She also reached the 2026 World Junior Championship final, becoming the last Egyptian standing after beating compatriot Malika Elkaraksy in the semi-finals before finishing runner-up to India’s Anahat Singh.

Her British Open campaign added another senior milestone: Salem came through qualifying before beating Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold in the main draw.

Adam Hawal is another 18-year-old already knocking on the door of the world's top 50. He reached the 2026 World Junior Championship final, pushing eventual champion Zakaria to 12-10 in the second game before taking silver.

His biggest senior breakthrough came at the 2026 British Open, where Hawal came through qualifying and then beat former World No. 15 Grégoire Marche in the main draw to reach the last 16.

He has also dealt with setbacks early in his career, including an ankle surgery just days before the 2025 British Junior Open, making his subsequent rise into the senior ranks even more notable.

Seif Refaay is one of the names that could climb quickly over the next few seasons. The 18-year-old is currently World No. 97, but he has already started collecting senior titles.

In 2026, Refaay won three PSA titles, including the Navruz Open, the SRFI Indian Tour and the HK Challenge Cup in September. He won the latter without dropping a game, beating Japan’s Naoki Hayashi 11-1, 11-9, 11-8 in the final.

He also reached the semi-finals of the 2026 World Junior Championship and received a wildcard into the El Gouna International Open, giving him an early opportunity to test himself against the sport's biggest names.

Marwan Assal has a famous squash surname to live up to: he is Mostafa Asal’s younger brother. But the 18-year-old is beginning to build a résumé of his own.

He was a U17 U.S. Junior Open champion and reached the 2025 World Junior Championship final. In 2026, he made another major junior podium and reached the final of the Brasília International after beating Dutchman Rowan Damming in the quarter-finals.

Assal also received a wildcard for the 2026 World Championship, giving him the chance to make his debut at one of squash's biggest events while still a teenager.

Barb Sameh is already combining elite squash with an unusual next step. The 19-year-old is studying at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School while competing for Penn Squash.

Her junior résumé is stacked: she won the 2024 U.S. Junior Open U19 title, reached the 2026 World Junior Championship semi-finals and helped Egypt win the World Junior Team Championship.

Now sitting around the world's top 100, Sameh represents a slightly different route through the Egyptian squash system as she balances the PSA circuit with university squash in the United States.

Eiad Daoud is one of the more interesting names for anyone following Egypt’s junior-to-senior pipeline.

The 18-year-old left-hander won the 2025 British Junior Open Boys’ U19 title, fighting through a five-game final against American Alexander Dartnell despite playing with a hamstring injury and heavy strapping.

That result came against players older than him at one of the most prestigious junior tournaments in squash. Daoud has since started transitioning into the senior circuit, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2026 CAS International in Dhaka.

His current PSA ranking is still outside the top 100, making him one of the more genuinely early-stage prospects on this list.

At just 16, Habiba Rizk is one of the youngest players here and has already started making her mark above her age group.

She won the Girls’ U17 British Junior Open title in 2026, then followed it with a U19 German Junior Open title. At the World Junior Championship, she reached the quarter-finals and took a game from eventual champion Anahat Singh.

Rizk was also unbeaten for Egypt during the World Junior Team Championship, helping the country retain its world title.

At only 15, Malika Elkaraksy is already making the crossover from junior squash into the senior game.

She won bronze at the 2026 World Junior Championship after reaching the semi-finals, where she lost to fellow Egyptian Ruqayya Salem. But perhaps the more telling sign of her potential came earlier in the year, when she reached a senior PSA final at the Austrian Open.

Elkaraksy also beat former World No. 46 Nadine Shahin on her way to that final, an impressive result for a player still only 15.