Tarek Momen

Tarek Momen - Bio

Tarek Momen first ensured he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from the American University of Cairo before fully committing himself to the sport of squash, where he has gone on to become one of the best players of the generation, including winning the World Championships in Qatar in 2019.

He reached his first Tour final at the 2006 Thessaloniki Open but lost to Borja Golan in the final. Momen had to wait five years before being able to claim a winner’s prize when he emerged victorious at the 2011 Irish Open in Dublin after defeating Stewart Boswell. In 2012, an impressive showing at the Columbian Open saw him win the tournament ahead of local favourite Miguel Angel Rodriguez in the final.

The Egyptian then shocked everyone at the Malaysian Open where, despite being unseeded for the tournament, Momen forced his way to the final and dispatched compatriot Mohamed ElShorbagy to win. He made his debut for his country at the 2013 World Team Championships and won all but one of his games as Egypt finished as runners-up. 2014 saw Momen reach the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open in August before losing out to Gregory Gaultier, which saw him break into the top ten for the first time the month after.

October brought with it Momen’s only PSA World Tour title of 2014 with success at the Macau Open. He finished off the year with a runner-up finish at the Edmonton Open where he fell to Simon Rösner in the final. The first half of 2015 saw Momen reach the quarter-final stage of three of the four PSA World Series events that he appeared at.

His finest moment of 2015 was undoubtedly making it to the last four of November’s World Championship and he followed that up three months later by reaching his first PSA M70 final, where he lost out to compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad in the Swedish Open final. Momen’s second final appearance of 2016 came at the Channel VAS Championship in Weybridge but, in his first PSA M100 final, he was halted by Kiwi qualifier Paul Coll.

In 2017, Momen made it all the way to the final of the Houston Open in April in his first Tour final appearance since December’s Channel VAS Championship but lost out to fellow Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad. Momen also made the final of the Qatar Classic in 2017, before also finishing runner-up in the Tournament of Champions at the start of 2018.

He also lost out in the final of the Canary Wharf Classic, but has won twice in the 2018-19 season. The Egyptian tasted glory the Channel VAS Championships and the CCI International. Momen reached the final of the World Championships for the first time in the 2018-19 season, along with also finishing runner-up at the Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic and the Grasshopper Cup.

‘The Viper’ started the 2019-2020 campaign with an appearance in the final of the Oracle NetSuite Open, where he lost out to Mohamed ElShorbagy. After reaching the semi-finals at the FS Investments U.S. Open. Squash Championships, Momen secured the biggest crown of his career, as he was named PSA Men’s World Champion following victory over Paul Coll in the final in Qatar.

A month later, and Momen secured success on the team stage, as he was a key component of the Egyptian s side that retained their WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championships crown in Washington, D.C., two years on from their victory in Marseille.

The start of 2020 was consistent for Momen, as he finished runner-up to Mohamed ElShorbagy at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, before winning the Troilus Canada Cup. He then made appearances in the last four of both the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family and the St. James’s Place Canary Wharf Classic before the suspension of the Tour due to COVID-19.

The reigning World Champion could only make the quarter-finals in Manchester as the sport returned, losing out to Paul Coll in an epic five-game clash. ‘The Viper’ then reached the final of the CIB Egyptian Open, making a first final on home soil. However, he came unstuck against Ali Farag, losing out in straight games.

‘The Viper’ then reached the semi-finals of both the Qatar Classic and the CIB Black Ball Squash Open to round out 2020, losing out to the eventual winners in both events, Ali Farag and Fares Dessouky respectively.

Momen’s incredible consistency continued throughout 2021, as he made at least the last eight of every event he featured in, including reaching the final of the U.S. Open presented by Truist in October of that year. Up to the end of 2021, Momen had failed to reach the quarter finals of a tournament he participated in just once in 37 events.

That run continued through to the end of the 2021-2022 season, with Momen starting the calendar year with semi-final appearances at the Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open and the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family. A third semi-final result of 2022 came at the Necker Mauritius Open Presented by Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels at the end of the season.

Momen started the 2022-2023 season with a semi-final appearance at the QTerminals Qatar Classic, and ended 2022 with a runner-up result at the Malaysian Open Squash Championship. He also made the last eight at four other tournaments in that time, including at the CIB Egyptian Open and the U.S. Open.

Momen’s incredible run of making at least the quarter finals of every tournament he featured in, which dated back to September 2019, came to an end after more than 40 months, when he lost out in the last 16 at the Pittsburgh Open in February 2023.

‘The Viper’s’ consistency did not let up, though, as he reached at least the semis of three tournaments in the latter half of the season. He made the last four of the Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open and the Manchester Open, along with finishing runner-up at the Black Ball Squash Open.