They Said: Mohamed El Shorbagy the US Open, his career and his Summer Training

[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Egy) 3-0 Borja Golan (Esp) 15-13, 11-8, 11-4 (56m)

I’m enjoying it more this year, I want to play this year. Last year I went through a lot and I struggled a little bit mentally, but all the greatest athletes have bad phases in their careers. If I have that phase when I’m 25 or 26, when I’m still building my career, then I am lucky. I did a lot of things differently the summer in the way I approach my game and the way I approach life in general.

I’m blessed because I held the World No.1 spot for 28 months, I won all those World Series titles. I’ve been given a life that not many people can have and I have been able to be successful and make a living out of it. There is absolutely no stress for me, why should I stress when I have all those World Series titles in my CV. All the people in my generation are all crazy talents, they’re all playing very well and we saw Ali Farag last week.

I’m a professional athlete, so I never look back. If someone talks badly about me on social media, I never reply. It’s just who I am. If I have been given a bad decision on court then I just get on with it, I don’t go and cry about it on social media.

I don’t blame the referee for giving me a bad decision after the match, I raise my hands up, say the other guy was too good and keep it inside me until I go on court again. That’s the way professional athletes should be. The fans can talk on social media but we are professional athletes and our job is to play on court, not to talk on social media.



A lot of people had a go at John Massarella after what happened at the U.S. Open, some people agreed with him. Whether I agree with him or not, he was just trying to do his best job. He took a decision which he thought was the right one and we can all make mistakes when the decision is made under pressure.

For me, it’s finished, the U.S. Open final is done and now I have the first round here. I never tweeted about it, for me, the final was done.

Maybe I have some confidence back in my game, maybe I have some confidence back in my game now. I’m trying to make my way back [to World No.1] but it’s not going to be easy.

One of the hardest things you can do is get that World No.1 spot back after you’ve lost it. You need to work even harder and you need to forget about those 28 months you spent at World No.1 because that level won’t be good enough anymore.

My job was to go back this summer, take all the losses I had, train hard and come back fit so I can try and win again. It might not work but at least I can have no regrets.

You need to raise that bar and to accept that it isn’t easy. I had to go to someone who understood it, who has lived it and who can talk me through it. It’s not about teaching me how to play squash anymore, it’s about teaching me how to look at things differently mentally.

I had to go to someone who knows it all and that’s why I’ve been training with David Palmer this summer. I’m also much more relaxed in life and my career.

Winning the World Series Finals was one of the best moments I’ve ever had in a season. I have no regrets and I feel happy and confident. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season, I think it’s going to be an interesting one for me.

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