Jonah Barrington, one of the sport’s greats, rates Ashour as an equal of Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan, the two legendary Pakistanis who dominated the men’s tour in the 1980s and 1990s. During one stretch a few years ago, Ashour went undefeated for fifteen months. In the 110 tour events he has played in his 13-year pro career, he has a winning percentage, according to SquashInfo.com, of 82.2 — by far the best of any player in the last quarter-century.

Ashour has a feline aura. He moves smoothly, always nimble and balanced, on his toes, bouncing like a small child wanting to go outside. Unlike most squash players, he doesn’t grip his racket with the traditional cocked V in his wrist. Instead, the racket dangles from his hand, straight down, like a maestro pointing a baton. Then he flicks at the ball with an abnormally short swing. Using his incredible wrist strength, Ashour propels the ball at a pace other players generate only from a full, looping swing.

This is important in a fast-twitch, small-court sport like squash. Ashour’s strokes speed up the game, giving him an infinitesimal edge.

Even his deception is deceiving. Other famously unreadable players — like Jonathon Power of Canada — would produce different shots with the same swing. But Ashour is somehow able to hit the same shot with different swings.