EL GOUNA, Egypt, April 5, 2018 - World No.1 Nour El Sherbini and World Champion Raneem El Welily are seeded to meet in the final of the first ever women's El Gouna International between April 20-27 after the draw for the PSA World Series tournament – which takes place at the El Gouna Marina and will be live on Eurosport Player. El Sherbini and El Welily contested the final of the women's PSA World Championships at this venue 12 months ago, with the former prevailing on the banks of Egypt's Red Sea to claim a second World Championship triumph. The action will be live on Eurosport Player from April 20-27. This year's tournament features a women's World Series tournament alongside the men's event for the first time in history, with a total prize fund of $330,000 split equally between both draws. El Sherbini and El Welily are joined in a top-class draw that also features the likes of Windy City Open champion Nour El Tayeb, the in-form New Zealander Joelle King, former World No.1 Laura Massaro and eight-time World Champion Nicol David. El Sherbini gets her tournament under way against England's Emily Whitlock in round one, while El Welily, El Tayeb, King, Massaro and David all face qualifiers. Should the tournament go to seeding, El Sherbini will line up against Massaro in the semi-finals, while the other last four fixture will be contested between El Welily and El Tayeb. Meanwhile, there is a return to action for former World No.4 Omneya Abdel Kawy, who makes her first PSA World Tour appearance since January 2017 after taking time off the tour due the birth of her son, Selim, in September. The 32-year-old will play Hong Kong's World No.22 Joey Chan in round one and could come up against Massaro in the second round. World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy heads up the men's draw opposite number two seed and defending champion Gregory Gaultier, who faces Egyptian maverick Mazen Hesham in the opening round, while ElShorbagy will line up against a qualifier. ElShorbagy is set to meet younger brother Marwan in the semi-finals as he looks to improve on last year's quarter-final finish, where he lost out to Marwan in what was only the younger ElShorbagy's second win over his older sibling. World No.2 Ali Farag is seeded to meet Gaultier in the other semi-final, with the 25-year-old Harvard-graduate playing Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller in round one. Last year's runner-up Karim Abdel Gawad also features and he plays Hong Kong's Leo Au in the opening round of action. The qualifying rounds take place between April 18-19 at the El Gouna Squash Complex, while the main draw will be staged between April 20-27, with matches split between the glass court situated at El Gouna Marina and the qualification venue. Points for the PSA World Series Standings are also up for grabs as players aim to join the ElShorbagy brothers, Farag, Tarek Momen, Simon Rösner, El Sherbini, El Tayeb, El Welily and King in guaranteeing a top eight berth on the standings, which brings with it qualification for June's PSA World Series Finals.
