Mohamed Zakaria breaks into world squash top five at 19

Mohamed Zakaria has risen to fifth in the latest Professional Squash Association world rankings, becoming one of the youngest players to reach the top five.

The 19-year-old Egyptian moved ahead of Frenchman Victor Crouin in the updated standings, which now feature three Egyptian players among the world’s leading five.

Mostafa Asal remains at the top of the men’s rankings, followed by New Zealand’s Paul Coll and Peru’s Diego Elias. Karim Abdel Gawad is fourth, with Zakaria completing the top five.

The international professional players’ organisation highlighted Zakaria’s achievement, saying: “One of the youngest players to achieve this feat, Mohamed Zakaria breaks into the world’s top five at just 19 years old.”

The rise continues an impressive progression for Zakaria, who now joins Asal and Abdel Gawad in an Egyptian presence that accounts for three of the five highest-ranked men in the world.

There was no change at the top of the women’s rankings, with Egypt’s leading trio retaining their positions.

Amina Orfi remains world number one, followed by Hania El Hammamy in second and Nour El Sherbini in third.

Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam climbed to fourth, while Egypt’s Fayrouz Aboelkheir dropped to seventh.