Egypt’s world No. 3 Nouran Gohar defeated world No. 4 and defending champion Nour El Tayeb in a decisive three-game final to lift the Carol Weymuller Open title in her maiden appearance at the Heights Casino Monday, January 27, in Brooklyn, New York.

The twenty-two-year-old from Cairo entered the $51,250 draw as the tournament’s top seed, and just a week after reaching the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions semifinals in Grand Central Terminal. Gohar enjoyed a breakthrough 2019 that saw her win both the British Open and U.S. Open, and doing so while continuing her studies in Egypt. Gohar traditionally missed the Carol Weymuller due to her scholastic schedule when the event was held in late October before the 2019-2020 season.

Gohar’s first game of the tournament against Penn graduate Melissa Alves proved to be her only conceded game of the tournament, which she dropped 5-11. From there on out, Gohar, known as ‘the Terminator’ on SquashTV, powered through the draw dispatching Alves in four games and thirty-two minutes. In the quarterfinals, Gohar only needed twenty-six minutes to progress in three games against Australia’s Donna Lobban.

A rematch of the ToC semifinals against ToC champion Camille Serme awaited Gohar in the semis, and the Egyptian swiftly avenged her loss in Grand Central 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 in thirty-four minutes. In the final, Gohar dethroned El Tayeb 11-9, 11-5, 11-2 in twenty-seven minutes.

“I’m extremely happy, I can’t describe it, I’m over the moon right now,” Gohar said. “I was just taking it match by match and didn’t quite imagine having this trophy in my hands at the end of this week. The mental part is really important first. I like playing on this court. The family I stayed with make it feel like home and the club and members and everyone are very welcoming. So I definitely think this helps to play well. Thank you to the sponsors and everyone that made this tournament possible for so many years. Hopefully I’ll see you next year.”

The Carol Weymuller Open, namesake of the long-time U.S. and Heights Casino coach, is one of the PSA World Tour’s long-established events, now concluding its forty-sixth consecutive year.