Mostafa Asal (; born 9 May 2001) is an Egyptian professional squash player. A two-time World Team Champion, and current rank one

squash player Squash, sometimes called squash rackets, is a racket sport played by two (singles) or four players (doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate striking the ball with their rackets, directing it onto ...

, Mostafa is nicknamed "The Raging Bull" for his controversial play style and contemptible on-court behavior, having injured multiple opponents and serving multiple suspensions for serious offenses.

Career

Mostafa Asal won the British Junior U17 Open 2018, the PSA10 2018 Mar del Plata Open, PSA10 2018 Regatas Resistencia Open, the

2021 Men's PSA World Tour Finals The 2021 Men's PSA World Tour Finals will be the men's third edition of the PSA World Tour Finals (Prize money : $185,000). The top 8 players in the 2020–21 PSA World Tour Finals, 2020–21 PSA World Tour are qualified for the event. As previous ...

, and the 2021 U.S. Open Squash Men's Championship. In January 2021, Asal accepted a two-month suspension from the

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pro ...

following on-court disciplinary matters. Asal reached the semi-final of the

2022 PSA Men's World Squash Championship The 2022 PSA Men's World Squash Championship was the 2022 men's edition of the World Squash Championships, which served as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Cairo, Egypt from 13 to 22 May 2022. It was t ...

, where he lost to the eventual champion

Ali Farag Ali Amr Farag (; born 22 April 1992) is a former Egyptian professional squash player. He is a four-time world individual champion, having won the title in 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 and a four-times world team champion. ...

. In the 2022 U.S. Open, Asal lost a match for inflicting an injury on

Lucas Serme Lucas Serme (born 25 February 1992 in Créteil) is a professional squash player who represented France. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 32 in October 2018. He married Czech squash player Anna Klimundová, now known as Anna ...

, his opponent, by hitting him with a shot up the middle of the court, striking Serme in the head and resulting in a concussion and perforated eardrum. In the CIB Egyptian Open in September 2022, where Asal lost to

in the semi-finals, Asal's father, Mahmoud Asal, was suspended after the loss until November 2023 for a courtside confrontation of Husseum Abaza, CEO of CIB Bank and a major squash benefactor. In January 2023, at the Houston Open, Asal's elbow appeared to connect with

Marwan El Shorbagy Marwan Hossam El Shorbagy (born 30 July 1993) is an Egyptian-English professional squash player. He is a former world team champion and reached his career-high ranking reaching World No. 3 in May 2018, while playing for his native Egypt. He wo ...

's groin area, with him being taken off on a stretcher and then to the hospital, and with El Shorbagy commenting, "If this is the future of our sport then good luck." In March 2023, Asal was suspended for 6 weeks by the

for violating the code of conduct. Asal also received a fine of £2,000. However, he returned as the number 1 seed for the 2023 PSA Men's World Squash Championship and reached the semi-final where he was knocked out by

. In August 2023 Asal received a 12-week suspension from the PSA tour for abuse of racket or equipment, physical abuse, and dangerous play during his match against

Joel Makin Joel Makin (, born 27 October 1994) is a Welsh professional squash player. He reached a career high ranking of 4 in the world during June 2025. Career Makin was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. He played squash at Aberdare Junior Squas ...

in the 2023 world championships and unsportsmanlike conduct in the same event's match with

Mazen Hesham Mazen Hesham Al Sabry (; born 29 March 1994 in Cairo) is a professional squash player who represents Egypt. He is a two-times world team champion and reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 5 in May 2024. Career Hesham first became ...

. The suspension start date was post-dated to July 18, 2023, and Asal did not appeal the suspension. Mahmoud Asal's father Mostafa released a statement that the suspension was due to a conspiracy by Karim Darwish and an attempt to destroy the future of Asal and prevent him from reaching the top position again.

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

named Asal as one of The Anti-Sports Personality of the Year awards 2023. He spent 18 weeks of the year 2023 suspended from play. His fortunes improved when in December 2023, he was part of the Egyptian team that secured the gold medal at the

2023 Men's World Team Squash Championships The 2023 Men's World Team Squash Championships was the 27th edition of World Squash Team Championships, world men's team championship for Squash (sport), squash players. The event was held at the Devoy Squash & Fitness Centre in Tauranga, New Ze ...

in New Zealand. In May 2024, he reached the final of the

2024 PSA Men's World Squash Championship The 2024 PSA Men's World Squash Championship was the 2024 men's edition of the World Squash Championships, which served as the individual world championship for squash (sport), squash players. The event took place in Cairo, Egypt from 9 to 18 Ma ...

, losing in the final to Peruvian

Diego Elías Diego Elías Chehab (born November 19, 1996, in Lima) is a squash player who represents Peru. He is the 2023–24 World Champion. In April 2023, he reached a ranking of number 1 in the world, the first South American player in squash history ...

and in September 2024 Asal won the Paris Squash tournament, beating Ali Farag in the final. In December, Asal won a second world team title at the

2024 Men's World Team Squash Championships The 2024 Men's World Team Squash Championships was the 28th edition of World Squash Team Championships, world men's team championship for Squash (sport), squash players. The event was held at the Hong Kong Football Club from 9 to 15 December 202 ...

in Hong Kong. In March 2025, Asal won his 19th PSA title after securing victory in the OptAsia Championships during the

2024–25 PSA Squash Tour The 2024–25 PSA World Events is the international squash (sport), squash tour organised circuit organized by the Professional Squash Association (PSA) for the 2024–25 squash (sport), squash season. It's the 10th PSA season since the merger of ...

and the following month won a 20th after victory in the El Gouna International. Asal's biggest result of his career came when he won his first world title defeating four-time world champion

in the 2025 Men's World Squash Championship in Chicago. Video analysis uncovered considerable cheating by Asal, and refereeing that did not hold up to expected standards. Asal did not lose a game throughout the tournament and the best that his opponents could manage was scoring an 8 point game. The last player to go through a world championship unbeaten was

Jahangir Khan Jahangir Khan (Pashto, born 10 December 1963) is a former professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times, and the British Open title ten times (1982–1991). He is widely regarded as the greatest squash player ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. Shortly afterwards in June 2025, he lost in the final of the 2025 Men's British Open Squash Championship to

Titles and finals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asal, Mostafa 2001 births Living people Egyptian male squash players 21st-century Egyptian sportsmen Squash players from Cairo