Karim Gawad

Karim Abdel Gawad (Arabic: كَرِيم عَبْد الْجَوَاد; born 30 July 1991) is an Egyptian professional squash player. He is a former world individual champion and world number 1 and a three-times world team champion.

Karim Abdel Gawad

Karim Abdel Gawad at the 2017 Men's World Team Squash Championships
Full name	Karim Abdel Gawad
Nickname(s)	The Baby Faced Assassin
Country	Egypt
Born	(1991-07-30) 30 July 1991 (age 34) Alexandria, Egypt
Residence	Cairo, Egypt
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	72 kg (159 lb)
Turned pro	2008
Retired	Active
Plays	Right Handed
Coached by	Hisham El Attar
Racquet used	Harrow
Men's singles
Highest ranking	No. 1 (May 2017)
Current ranking	No. 6 (4 August 2025)
Title(s)	30
World Open	W (2016)
Medal record Men's squash Representing  Egypt World Championships 2016 Cairo Singles 2023 Chicago Singles World Team Championships 2017 Marseille Team 2019 Washington D.C. Team 2024 Hong Kong Team

Career

In November 2016, he won the 2016 World Open Squash Championship in Cairo in Egypt against Ramy Ashour. He became the third Egyptian to win the World Championship after Amr Shabana and Ashour. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 1 in May 2017.^[1][2] Later in 2017, he was part of the Egyptian team that won the 2017 Men's World Team Squash Championships in France and repeated the success with Egypt at the 2019 Men's World Team Squash Championships in the United States.

In 2020, he suffered a major injury during the final of the 2020 Manchester Open. He damaged his heel, which eventually led to ten months out of squash and his world ranking plummeted as a result.^[3]

In May 2023, he reached the final of the 2023 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, after defeating second seed Diego Elías in the quarter final and third seed Mohamed El Shorbagy in the semi final.^[4] In the final he lost to compatriot Ali Farag but Gawad became the first unseeded player since Rodney Martin in 1991 to reach the world championship final.^[5] It completed a remarkable comeback from the injury he suffered the previous year.

Gawad was recalled to the Egyptian team for the 2024 Men's World Team Squash Championships in Hong Kong and secured a third career gold medal in the Championships.^[6][7]

In March 2025, Gawad won his 30th PSA title after securing victory in the Australian Open during the 2024–25 PSA Squash Tour.^[8]

Titles and Finals

Major Finals (11)

Major tournaments include:

• PSA World Championships
• PSA World Tour Finals
• Top-tier PSA World Tour tournaments (Platinum/World Series/Super Series)

Year/Season	Tournament	Opponent	Result	Score
2016	Hong Kong Open	Ramy Ashour	Loss (1)	9-11 11-8 6-11 11-5 6-11
2016	PSA World Championships	Ramy Ashour	Win (1)	5-11 11-6 11-7 2-1 (retired)
2016	Qatar Classic	Mohamed El Shorbagy	Win (2)	12-10 15-13 11-7
2017	Tournament of Champions	Grégory Gaultier	Win (3)	6-11 11-6 12-10 11-6
2017	El Gouna International	Grégory Gaultier	Loss (2)	6-11 8-11 7-11
2018	Black Ball Open	Ali Farag	Win (4)	11-6 13-11 7-11 11-8
2019	El Gouna International	Ali Farag	Loss (3)	9-11 10-12 3-11
2018-19	PSA World Tour Finals	Mohamed Abouelghar	Win (5)	12-10 11-6 5-11 8-11 12-10
2019	Egyptian Open	Ali Farag	Win (6)	11-6 11-8 11-8
2019-20	PSA World Tour Finals	Marwan El Shorbagy	Loss (4)	6-11 5-11 3-11
2022-23	PSA World Championships	Ali Farag	Loss (5)	10-12 6-11 6-11

World Open final appearances

Outcome	Year	Location	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2016	Cairo, Egypt	Ramy Ashour	5–11, 11–6, 11–7, 2-1 (retired)
Runner-up	2023	Chicago, USA	Ali Farag	10–12, 6–11, 6–11

Major World Series final appearances

Qatar Classic

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2016	Mohamed El Shorbagy	12–10, 13–15, 11-7

Hong Kong Open

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	2016	Ramy Ashour	11–9, 8–11, 11–6, 5–11, 11-6

Al-Ahram International

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2016	Ali Farag	11–4, 11–7, 11-5[9]