Orfi, 18, beats compatriot Nour El-Sherbini in a five-set thriller to win the PSA World Championship title in Giza.
Egypt’s Amina Orfi has rewritten squash history in her sensational title-winning run at the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Championships 2026, beating world number two Nour El-Sherbini in a thrilling five-game final to become the youngest women’s world champion.
Eighteen-year-old Orfi defeated compatriot El-Sherbini 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 14-12 in Saturday’s final in Giza, Egypt.
At 18 years and 10 months, Orfi is not only the youngest women’s champion but also the first player to hold both world junior and senior PSA championship titles at the same time. The PSA is the global governing body for men’s and women’s professional squash circuits.
“I’m speechless,” Orfi said after bagging her 12th PSA title. “I worked so hard to get here and had so many tough losses this season.”
Orfi denied the 31-year-old El-Sherbini her ninth world title, the first of which she won at the age of 20.
The final produced the eighth-longest women’s match of all time and the second-longest women’s PSA World Championships final, behind only Rhonda Thorne and Vicki Hoffman’s 118-minute marathon in 1981.
El-Sherbini took the first game with ease as Orfi struggled to gather her rhythm on court. However, the opening loss didn’t seem to affect the teenager, who took control of the next two games to inch closer to her debut world championship title.
The eight-time champion found a second win in the fourth game after dominating Orfi to set up a historic fifth game.
Repeated tie-breaks signalled that the match could go either way, but a powerful backhand from Orfi that El-Sherbini failed to pick up saw the teenager claim victory.
Orfi, number three in the PSA’s world rankings, overcame another tough challenge in the semifinals when she defeated top-ranked Hania El-Hammamy in a four-game match.
The teenage squash sensation lost the opening game 10-12 but went on to win the next three games (11-7, 11-8, 11-9) against the 26-year-old El-Hammamy.
“I knew there was going to be pressure on both of them – Hania being world number one and Nour being a title away from breaking the record [for most world titles],” Orfi said.
“I knew I had the least pressure, and I went for it. I’m just so happy.”
Mostafa Asal retains men’s title
Meanwhile, reigning champion Mostafa Asal lifted the men’s trophy and claimed the second world championship title of his career after thrashing seventh-seeded Youssef Ibrahim 11-4, 11-1, 12-10.
Ibrahim made his maiden world championship final after defeating second-seeded Paul Coll and fourth-seeded former world champion Karim Abdel Gawad in the quarterfinals and semifinals. However, Asal remained in control of the 57-minute final.
“It feels amazing to win the world championships in front of your family and friends,” the 25-year-old Egyptian said.
“Credit to Youssef Ibrahim. To even be playing here with his shoulder injury, he’s superhuman. He’s a good friend of mine, and we grew up together.
“It’s so hard. I got edgy in the third game. The pressure was on for sure. It’s never easy playing in Egypt to defend a world title. There’s so much pressure playing in front of everyone here.”
