Karim Abdel Gawad (born July 30, 1991, in Alexandria) is a professional squash player who has represented Egypt. He is a former world champion and world number 1.
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 Ramy Ashour. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 1 in May 2017.
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.
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. In the final he lost to Ali Farag but Gawad became the first unseeded player since Rodney Martin in 1991 to reach the world final. It completed a remarkable comeback from the injury he suffered the previous year.
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)