# Mostafa Asal

Mostafa Asal (Arabic: مُصْطَفَى عَسَل; born 9 May 2001) is an Egyptian professional squash player, he is a two-times world team champion and formerly ranked World No. 1. Nicknamed "The Raging Bull" for his play style and controversial on-court behavior, which includes three suspensions from the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour. He became number one in the world in January 2023 and is currently ranked third.

## 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, and the 2021 U.S. Open Squash Men's Championship.
In January 2021, Asal accepted a two-month suspension from the PSA following on-court disciplinary matters.
Asal reached the semi-final of the 2022 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, where he lost to the eventual champion Ali Farag.
In the 2022 U.S. Open, Asal lost a match for inflicting an injury on Lucas Serme, 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 Ali Farag 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'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 PSA 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 Ali Farag. 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 in the 2023 world championships and unsportsmanlike conduct in the same event's match with Mazen Hesham. 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 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 in New Zealand.
In May 2024, he reached the final of the 2024 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, losing in the final to Peruvian Diego Elías 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 in Hong Kong.

## Titles and finals

| Year/Season | Tournament | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 2020-21 | PSA World Tour Finals | Mohamed El Shorbagy | Win (1) | 12-14 11-4 11-7 11–3 |
| 2021 | U.S. Open | Tarek Momen | Win (2) | 5-11 5-11 11-9 12-10 11–3 |
| 2022 | El Gouna International | Paul Coll | Win (3) | 11-8 11-9 11–5 |
| 2021-22 | PSA World Tour Finals (2) | Paul Coll | Win (4) | 13-11 11-8 11–7 |
| 2022 | Hong Kong Open | Diego Elías | Win (5) | 6-11 6-11 12-10 11-9 11–4 |
| 2023 | El Gouna International | Ali Farag | Loss (1) | 10-12 12-10 6-11 2–11 |
| 2022-23 | PSA World Tour Finals (3) | Diego Elías | Win (6) | 9-11 11-6 11-3 11–5 |