The remarkable duo claimed their respective wins over countryman Ali Abou Al-Einen and Malaysian Sivasangari Subramaniam at the DA Creek Club.
The world No 11 Zakaria captured the biggest title of his career after outlasting Egyptian compatriot Al-Einen in an epic 100-minute men’s final, eventually prevailing by a 9-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7 scoreline.
As described by the website of the Professional Squash Association, it was a brutal, high-quality contest in which Zakaria showed incredible guts to twice come from behind, notably 6-2 in the fourth to send the match to a deciding game.
As the clock ticked over the 90-minute mark, the momentum swung heavily in Zakaria’s direction as Al-Einen began to cramp severely. The 18-year-old took full advantage to build up a 6-1 lead on the scoreboard and hold on to win the seventh PSA Tour title of his burgeoning career.
After the match, Zakaria said “I’m speechless. To win a gold event at 18 years old, it’s surreal. The match was crazy. Ali played so well against me in the first three-and-a-half games, but then I noticed a physical drop-off or something hurting him. I hope it’s nothing big.
“It was a big confidence boost today to win in five. I started the fifth game and didn’t feel too tired — I felt fresh.”
“I just feel happy that all the hard work I’ve been putting in behind the curtains is paying off.”
Meanwhile, world No 3 Orfi, powered through to her fourth title of the 2025/26 PSA Squash Tour season after defeating the No 2 seed Malaysian Subramaniam in straight games.
The four-time world junior champion delivered a near-faultless performance on the all-glass court at DA Creek Club to claim the gold-level title by an 11-8, 11-2, 11-7 scoreline.
The relentless intensity of Orfi’s hitting down both wings proved decisive in the outcome of the match, with the 18-year-old Egyptian’s dominance displayed in a second game in which she won 11 straight points from 2-0 down.
From there, Orfi didn’t allow Subramaniam a glimpse of a comeback, leading from start to finish in the third game and wrapping up the win after 38 minutes of play.
After the match, Orfi said she was happy to get through the match in three games. “The past few days, I wasn’t really playing my best, but today I think I played my best. I played the squash I’ve been training for during the short off-season break.
“I know that I have won gold titles this year, and winning another one to start the New Year. It will give me a push going into busy months in January and February with two Platinum events in America. Hopefully, I can win those as well.”
This week’s performances will see Zakaria move into the top 10 in the PSA world rankings next Monday, becoming the third youngest male player to achieve the feat in history, behind only legendary duo Jahangir and Jansher Khan of Pakistan.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 January, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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