Welsh Star Joel Makin Stays At No.8 In Latest World Rankings

By Hannah Blackwell

Joel Makin has retained his position as the eighth-best male squash player in the world after the latest global squash rankings.

The Welsh star stays comfortably inside the world’s top 10 following his recent runners-up spot at the Squash On Fire Open in Washington.

Makin was beaten 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-5) by Paul Coll at the quarter-finals of the Windy City Open in Chicago on Monday, enabling Coll to move to the No.1 position at the top of the world rankings.

Victories over Patrick Rooney and Karim Abdel Gawad had seen Makin inn to the last eight of the tournament.

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Coll has made history as the first man from New Zealand to reach World No.1 in the PSA Men’s World Rankings.

The 29-year-old was in magnificent form throughout 2021 and won three PSA World Tour titles, including the prestigious Allam British Open, where he beat the man he has replaced as World No.1 – Egypt’s Ali Farag – to become the first male Kiwi to win the sport’s longest-running event.

Farag’s six-month reign as World No.1 comes to an end as he drops to No.2 ahead of World No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy – who returned to action with a title win at the Squash on Fire Open last month. Mostafa Asal (No.4) and Tarek Momen (No.5) complete the top five.

Diego Elias (No.6), Marwan ElShorbagy (No.7) and Squash on Fire Open runner-up Makin (No.8) retain their places, while Mazen Hesham rises a place to a career-high ranking of No.9 at the expense of Fares Dessouky, who drops to No.10.

Coll said: “It’s something that I didn’t think would come through this soon in the season, so it’s a real special moment and it’s huge for me.

“I’ve always had this goal and it’s always been in the back of my mind that it was what I wanted, so I’ve just kept training and trying to improve to reach that spot.”