The J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, one of the world's most prestigious squash competitions, saw the favourites emerge victorious: reigning World champion El Sherbini, who came from 2-1 down to beat Gohar 3-2 in the final to retain her title, and Ali Farag, who defeated Elías in a thrilling five-set match. 

The women's final was a repeat of 2023. The world number one, struggling to overcome the pain of the back injury she suffered in her semi-final win over Hania El Hammamy, made a poor start and was overpowered by Gohar, who took a 2-0 lead. 

Gohar faltered in the third set. El Sherbini took control of the match from the centre of the court and forced a fifth set. The 'Warrior Princess' overcame Gohar to claim her fifth title in the Big Apple. No one else has ever achieved such a feat before.

"I thought I was going to lose, I didn't want to lose 3-0. My dad told me to play one more game and focus on my goals, one point at a time. I just had to concentrate on the third game," El Sherbini commented after winning the tournament. 

"I wasn't sure if I was going to play or not. I said I had to play for the crowd and I didn't want to retire. I tried to enjoy the match. It didn't work out at the beginning but I'm was able to turn it around," the world number one concluded.

The men's final was both a battle and a spectacle. It was a five-set war as Farag had to dig deep against a very bold and brave Elías. It was Farag's fourth trophy of the year.

The two best players at the time had met four times. Each time Farag had won. Farag had won each time. He repeated his success in New York. 

Elias was 2-1 up and seemed unaffected by his semi-final against Mostafa Asal the day before. He could have taken the fourth set. But the Egyptian believed he could come back and level the match.

I was very passive and Diego hit very crisp shots to the back of the court," he said. In the first part of the first game, he dominated the 'T' area,"Farag said. "The second and third sets went well and in the fourth set he had a very good start and within seconds he was 6-0 up. I tried to fight back but I couldn't. It gave me a lot of confidence to go into the fifth set and I'm very happy that I started the fifth set the way I did". The next PSA World Tour Platinum event will be the Windy City Open 2024 in Chicago. The tournament runs from 21 to 28 February.

Results:
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions 2024 - Men's Final:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [2] Diego Elías (PER) 3-2: 7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 (74 minutes).

J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions 2024 - Women's Final:
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (64m).