Doha, the world capital of sports, once again opens its doors to the strongest competitions on glass courts with the return of the QTerminals Qatar Classic Squash Championship 2026, which is organized by the Qatar Sports Federation on the courts of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, from the twelfth to the eighteenth of this September.
Intensive preparations are currently underway within the corridors of the Qatar Tennis, Squash, Padel and Badminton Federation, which hosts this world championship classified as “Super Platinum” annually, and enjoys the participation of the top and top seeds in the world. It is considered one of the largest tournaments in the sport of squash, as male and female players compete annually to attend and participate in the Qatari championship, due to its great international reputation on the organizational and technical levels, as well as on the level of… Accurate procedures to achieve the highest levels of success, and provide the appropriate climate for the champions and heroines to perform at the best level in the sport of squash.
The Qatari Championship also provides participating players with the highest level of facilities from the moment they arrive at Hamad International Airport, through accommodation in five-star hotels, as well as training and playing in stadiums equipped to the highest level for this purpose.
In this context, Mr. Tariq Zainal, Secretary General of the Qatari Federation, confirmed in a special statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) the attendance of all ranked players, both male and female, to participate and compete for the championship title, which is one of the most important tournaments on the International Squash Federation’s calendar.
Zainal said: “The Qatari Federation, as usual every year, will present a tournament at the highest organizational and public level,” expressing the tournament’s organizing committee’s welcome to all male and female participants.
The Secretary General of the Qatar Federation expressed his happiness with the keenness of all the world squash champions and champions to come and compete on the grounds of Doha and inside the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex, the sporting masterpiece that also annually hosts the Total Energies Women’s Tennis Championships in the 1000 points category and the ExxonMobil Men’s Tennis Championships in the 500 points category. The complex will also host, in about two months, the World Padel Championships for the third time.
At the conclusion of his statement, Zainal expressed his and the tournament’s organizing committee’s wishes, headed by His Excellency Mr. Nasser bin Ghanem Al-Khulaifi, for all male and female players to provide the best level of squash, calling on the fans to come to the Khalifa Complex to enjoy the prestigious tournament competitions.
The QTerminals Qatar Classic Squash Championship, which was launched in 2001, is one of the largest world championships in the sport of squash. Since its inception, it has annually attracted the most prominent male and female stars in the world to participate and compete for its title in Doha.
An elite group of the world’s top-ranked players will participate in this year’s edition, alongside the brilliant Qatari star Abdullah Al-Tamimi, led by Egyptian Osama Assal, first-ranked and last year’s runner-up, Peruvian player Diego Elias, second-ranked and winner of the title in 2021 and 2024, and New Zealander Paul Cole, third-ranked and last year’s title holder.
Qatari squash star Abdullah Al Tamimi has previously participated in the tournament on 9 occasions, and Al Tamimi’s best achievement was in 2022 when he reached the quarter-finals of the tournament. Al Tamimi is the most prominent Qatari national team player, and he achieved 16th place in the world on October 30, 2023, thus achieving the best global ranking in his professional career since its beginning in 2011.
Al Tamimi performed well. Most notably, he won the bronze medal in the China Asian Cup recently, and won the fourth Qatari Squash Federation Championship title in the bronze category…and also won the Qatar Challenger Championship 2023 title.
In this year’s edition, Al Tamimi faces a difficult challenge in the first round, when he meets Egyptian Karim Abdel Jawad – ranked fourth in the world – in a match that will be very strong for both sides, while his colleague in the Qatari national team, Salem Al Malki, will play with Melville Chianyamko.
Egyptian Mustafa Assal, ranked first in the world, will begin his tournament campaign with a match against Swiss Nicholas Muller, and Assal will seek to win the Qatari championship title, especially since he played in the final last year and lost to New Zealander Paul Cole. For his part, Paul Cole – ranked second in the world – begins the campaign to defend his title in Qatar against the Englishman Mohamed El Shorbagy. Peruvian Diego Elias – ranked third in the world and winner of the title in 2024 – will play with American player Tommy Brownell.
For women, Egyptian Hania El Hamami – ranked first in the world and winner of the title in 2023 and 2025 – will return to Doha to defend her title. Al-Hamami will compete with Nour El-Sherbiny, ranked third in the world and winner of the title in 2024, and the two players will face strong competition from Nouran Gohar, ranked fifth in the world, who is in turn seeking to win the Qatari championship title for the first time, and the American player Olivia Weaver, ranked fourth in the world.
In the first round, Hania Al-Hamami will meet her compatriot Hana Moataz, while Nour El-Sherbiny will play with her compatriot Nada Abbas, the American player Olivia Weaver will face the Egyptian Sanaa Ibrahim, and Nouran Gohar will play with her compatriot Kenzi Ayman.
The champions and heroines compete inside the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, the premier destination for the giants of the game in the world, in a high sportsmanship and with huge financial prizes amounting to four hundred and eighty-four thousand dollars.
Hania Al-Hamami was crowned champion last year after giving a strong performance in the final match held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, after she succeeded in defeating her compatriot Nour El-Sherbiny in three clean games (11-6, 15-13, 11-8), making this her second title in the history of this tournament after her first title in 2023.
For his part, New Zealander Paul Cole won the title last year for the first time in his history after a marathon match in the final against the world number one, Al-Masry.