Coll, El Hammamy lift Qatar Classic titles

Doha, Qatar: New Zealand s Paul Coll and Egypt s Hania El Hammamy captured the titles at the 2025 QTerminals Qatar Classic, marking an end to a week o...

Doha, Qatar: New Zealand’s Paul Coll and Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy captured the titles at the 2025 QTerminals Qatar Classic, marking an end to a week of world-class squash action at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex yesterday.

Coll made history by becoming the first New Zealand player to win the prestigious men’s title in Doha, when he ended a six-match losing streak against World No.1 Mostafa Asal with a thrilling 3-1 victory in the final (11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5).

The victory, achieved in 68 minutes, also marked Coll’s maiden title win in Qatar after three previous runner-up finishes. Coll had previously lost to Ali Farag of Egypt in 2020 and Diego Elias of Peru next year at the Qatar Classic, and PSA World Championships in 2019 where he went down to Egypt’s Tarek Momen in the title showdowns at the same venue.

“I was on top of the world in London and then probably one of the darkest I’ve ever been after [the loss to Hawal],” said Coll, who was stunned by World No. 252 Adam Hawal at the CIB Egyptian Open last month.

“I went back home and punished myself. I went back to my roots and did court sprints, a lot of work went into this and I’m absolutely stoked,” Coll, who sealed his first major PSA title since the Hong Kong Open in December 2023, said.