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2026 World Champs Squash Equipment Report

What’s up you guys, it’s been a while, but at the request of B, and thanks to a couple of days off work, I’m gonna do a 2026 World Champs Squash Equipment Report below. I’m a little rusty, but let’s go!

Thanks as always, to Steve Cubbins for the photos here: worldsquashchamps.com/gallery.

Champions

Mostafa Asal

Asal still has his Slash racket.

I like the look of those Teuton shoes in the khaki color. I’ve played with this shoe, and it’s a little bulky for my personal preference, but it’s got good cushioning. I have been using it for padel, but obviously you can use it for squash as well! I still need to do a review of that one.

Tecnifibre Slash 120 Control

Product Info

Release year: 2025
Price: $250

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Racket Specs chart

Advertised weight (unstrung): 120 grams
Head size: 460 cm sq
String pattern: 14×18

Teuton ST2

Product Info

Color: Khaki

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Amina Orfi

Dang a teenager won it. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, except … Sherbini lurking back there did it herself way back when.

Nice to see that Dunlop model coming back into play. The CX is based off the one Nick Matthew used to use. The way that frame throat works, it has a little bit of extra stiffness while still having a slightly bigger string bed.

It looks like she’s got the Asics Netburners for shoes. That’s one I’ve seen around the courts occasionally, but I haven’t really seen any pros using it. Interesting.

Dunlop CX 120

Product Info

Release year: 2025
Price: $250

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Racket Specs chart

Advertised weight (unstrung): 120 grams
Head size: 490 cm sq
String pattern: 14×18

Asics Netburner Ballistic FF 4

Product Info

Gender: Women
Color: White / Champagne

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Finalists

Youssef Ibrahim

The lefty has his signature Harrow Vapor 115. The shoes are Asics Blade FF. I had a pair of those and loved them, but they’re hard to find now. He has a cool colorway I hadn’t seen before.

Harrow Vapor 115 [Youssef Ibrahim Signature]

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Asics Blade FF

Product Info

Color: White / Nova Orange

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Nour El Sherbini

Speak of the devil. No longer a teenager, though — 30 years old! She rolls with her long-time Tecnifibre racket, the current version being the Tecnifibre Carboflex X-TOP V2 125 NS. That’s a mouthful, but a great racket.

It’s crazy to me that she’s still got the Asics Gel Fastball 3. That is possibly my favorite shoe of all time, but it is super old. She must have stacks of them in her closet or something.

Tecnifibre Carboflex X-TOP V2 125 NS

Product Info

Release year: 2024

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Asics Gel Fastball 3

Product Info

Release year: 2019
Price: $160
Gender: Men
Color: Lake Drive / Sour Yuzu

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Semi-Finalists

Karim Abdel Gawad

It’s good to see Karim Abdel Gawad back in action. It’s been a while since I watched much pro squash but I know he went through a few years where he just wasn’t around. His equipment seems to be pretty much the same: his signature Harrow Vibe, and the Adidas Ligra. He’s using the Ligra 8 model, which I haven’t posted yet. He used to use the Ligra 7 and was the only pro using that that I can recall.

Harrow Vibe Gawad Signature

Image via harrowsports.com

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Adidas Ligra 8

Product Info

Gender: Men
Color: White / Black

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Diego Elias

Diegoooo. He’s been using the same racket mold for years. The current model is called the Dunlop CX 132. I like that red colorway for these models. Amina Orfi has the same color on hers.

Dang, are those Asics Upcourt 6s? Just goes to show, even the cheapest Asics shoe is still a pretty damn good shoe. Semi-finals of the world championship!

Dunlop CX 132

Product Info

Release year: 2025
Price: $180

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Racket Specs chart

Advertised weight (unstrung): 132 grams
Head size: 500 cm sq
String pattern: 16×19

Asics Upcourt 6

Product Info

Gender: Men
Color: Khaki / White

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Olivia Weaver

This is a pretty dope photo of Olivia, my buddy from Philadelphia.

She is using the Head Speed 135 from 2025. I don’t even have it posted on Squash Source yet, wow. Anyway, that racket can either be a traditional string pattern or a fan pattern like she’s got here.

Her shoes seem to be the Asics Sky Elite FF 3. That’s interesting — I can’t recall any pros wearing the Sky Elites previously.

Head Speed 135 (2025 “Auxetic 2.0”)

Product Info

Release year: 2025

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Asics Sky Elite FF 3

Product Info

Release year: 2025
Price: $130
Gender: Women
Color: White / Vivid Coral

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Hania El Hammamy

Dang, Hania’s looking buff. She seems to have the same racket as Olivia, the Head Speed 135 2025 model.

Her shoes are the Asics Netburner Ballistic FF 3, so same line as Orfi’s just the prior model (thanks B).

Head Speed 135 (2025 “Auxetic 2.0”)

Product Info

Release year: 2025

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Asics Netburner Ballistic FF 3

Product Info

Release year: 2025
Price: $130
Gender: Men
Color: White / Pure Gold

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Well guys, that’s all I have in me for tonight. Maybe I’ll do a part two if anyone’s interested!

10 responses to “2026 World Champs Squash Equipment Report”

  1. Looks like Orfi is now using K-Swiss shoes

    1. WHere are you seeing that?

      1. on her instagram stories. looks like the K-Swiss express light indoor (has ‘pickleball’ written on the shoe).

        these ones: https://dunlopsports.com/en-gb/footwear/express-light-indoor/4-white-rose-gold

        1. Interesting. I was too late to catch it on her stories but I know that shoe. I actually have a pair that I’ve been meaning to review

  2. Welcome back Pierre ! We missed you

    1. Thanks Francesco 🙂

  3. Great! thanks for doing this.

    I think Hania is actually wearing the previous iteration of the Netburners, the FF3?

    do we know which version of the 120 Slash that Asal uses, the Control or the Power?

    El Sherbini also seems to include quite a bit of lead tape around the frame of her racket, trying to make it more head-heavy I think.

    Interesting to see that Orfi didn’t stay too long in Kanso shoes after signing with them.

    1. Good points all!

      Updated Hania thanks. I had the right picture, I think, but the wrong label!

      It was hard to tell from the photo which version of the Slash Asal is using but I’m just guessing the Control since he likes the smaller-sized frame shape.

  4. Hi Pierre,

    Great to see you back. 🙂

    About Diego’s Dunlop CX132: I’ve found a picture that clearly shows he’s – just like Gregory Gaultier back in the days – playing with another model (with 14 main strings instead of 16) that has been repainted as a CX132: probably a repainted Sonic Core Elite 135, because Dunlop did not include a new Elite 135 model in their CX line.

    It almost looks like Diego is playing with a shaved off top bumper as well.

    https://peru21.pe/sites/default/efsfiles/2026-04/diego-elias-squash.png

    1. Nice catch. I forgot to look for that. WHHYYYY doesn’t he just have the other model be his signature racket? I would love to learn that one day.

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