DOHA : World number one Mostafa Asal and defending champion Paul Coll advanced to the second round of the 2026 QTerminals Qatar Classic on Saturday, while third-ranked Diego Elias suffered a surprise defeat at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
The Qatar Squash Federation-hosted tournament, featuring the world’s leading men’s and women’s players, runs through Sept. 18.
Egypt’s Asal began his campaign with a 3-0 win over Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4. He will face another Swiss player, Yannick Wilhelmi, in the second round after Wilhelmi recovered from two games down to beat Scotland’s Greg Lobban 3-2.
New Zealand’s Coll, the world number two, defeated India’s Veer Chotrani 3-0, 11-2, 11-3, 11-1. He will next play Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann, who beat India’s Abhay Singh 3-0.
The biggest upset came when American Timothy Brownell knocked out Peru’s Elias 3-2, winning 5-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7. Elias, a two-time Qatar Classic champion in 2021 and 2024, was the tournament’s third seed.
Egypt’s Karim Abdel Gawad, the world number four and 2014 champion, defeated Qatar’s Abdulla Al Tamimi 3-1. Al Tamimi was making his return after a lengthy injury layoff and received a wildcard.
“It was extremely valuable preparation ahead of my participation with the national team at the 20th Asian Games,” Al Tamimi told the Qatar News Agency. He said he would target a medal for Qatar in Aichi-Nagoya and continue training with the national team before travelling to Japan.
In other men’s matches, France’s Victor Crouin beat Egypt’s Fares Dessouky 3-0, while Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria defeated Germany’s Raphael Kandra 3-1. England’s Marwan ElShorbagy beat Spain’s Bernat Jaume 3-0, while France’s Baptiste Masotti edged Colombia’s Juan Vargas 3-2.
In the women’s draw, defending champion Hania El Hammamy of Egypt beat compatriot Hana Moataz 3-1. Second seed Amina Orfi defeated Hana Ramadan 3-0, while third seed Nour El Sherbini beat Nada Abbas 3-1.
Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam defeated Egypt’s Sana Ibrahim 3-1, while Egypt’s Nouran Gohar marked her return from a five-month absence with a 3-0 win over compatriot Kenzy Ayman.
India’s Anahat Singh, the world junior champion, produced a notable upset by defeating world number 16 Farida Mohamed of Egypt 3-2. Malaysia’s Aifa Azman also beat American world number 14 Marina Stefanoni 3-1.
The second round of the Qatar Classic will be played on Sunday.
