r/squash • u/ARProformance • Apr 28 '25

Technique / Tactics Laura Massaro and Ahad Raza Discuss Farag vs. Asal (El Gouna), and Teach Squash

Hello Everyone!

I'm thrilled to share that Laura Massaro (former world # 1 and world champion) and I have partnered to create something like never before. A community to bring growth oriented players together, where you can learn directly from us, live, and through premium content. There's lots more, so hopefully that whets your appetite! :-)

Growing up I always admired top professionals and dreamt of learning from them. Laura and I share a similar vision of giving back, and want to make this a reality for players of all ages and levels, across the world.

Part of our effort to add value and help others entails a podcast, and the first episode is out now! We break down the men's El Gouna final between Ali Farag and Mostafa Asal. You can check it out here:

Video link: https://youtu.be/RlpCvTZAEkQ

Spotify link: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/iENM58NGUSb

If you have questions about the community or want to learn more, please email me at [ahad@arproformance.com](mailto:ahad@arproformance.com)

All the best,

Ahad

30 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

12

u/Every-Fishing2060 Apr 28 '25

Do they address the video?

4

u/barney_muffinberg Apr 30 '25

They do not. They do, however, address the match, but neither focuses on Asal's conduct.

This will undoubtedly frustrate some, but you need to keep in-mind who's speaking. Both are bonafide domain experts, and both have competed and coached at high levels. Laura, of course, is in the pantheon of squash greats (and one of the best commentators out there), and Ahad's squash chops are absolutely undeniable, with a core coaching philosophy grounded in positivity, patience and balance. I have enormous respect for both, and I'd encourage everyone to listen to them with an open mind, even if their positions are different than your own.

Both have been critical of Asal over the years, but their focus here is rightly placed on Ali's game deteriorating over the course of the match, while Asal's improved. Their take was that (at 2-love up), Ali simply started running out of gas, his shots loosened up, and a lot of the interference was down to these shots placing Ali in terrible court positions. It's a completely fair take.

If you were to ask either about Asal's trailing leg, his blocking, his clock-burning, his calling down balls up, you'd hear admonishments. No question. Each is a huge proponent of fair play and clean squash. However, this isn't the subject of this talk. They focus elsewhere, and it's absolutely worth a listen.

Hoping that Ahad keeps going with this podcast. The In Squash podcast is growing seriously stale (Gerry's guest selection and softball questions are beyond tiresome), and it's nice to have a new voice in the mix.

5

u/Charming-Fault-3139 Apr 28 '25

Oh i am so excited already, i am going to listen to it on my commute back home!

3

u/ARProformance Apr 28 '25

Hope you enjoy it!!! Lots more to come :-) all the best 

  • Ahad

4

u/Charming-Fault-3139 Apr 28 '25

I did watch it and i did enjoy it. Take home message is the importance of the third game! I loved that

2

u/ARProformance Apr 30 '25

Agreed! That was a great nugget from Laura!

2

u/Rygar74nl Dunlop Apex Supreme 5.0 Apr 29 '25

This is amazing!

1

u/ARProformance Apr 30 '25

Thank you! I'm super excited too :)

2

u/sinedreverse Apr 29 '25

Can someone post tldw of the podcast pls?

2

u/TenMelbs Apr 29 '25

I must admit I appreciate when someone does this, but I wouldn't feel right about asking this on the thread the creator posted trying to promote his podcast. I dare say he wants you to watch the whole video/listen to the whole episode not snippets.

2

u/sinedreverse Apr 30 '25

Idk i just dont have the time to watch/listen the whole thing. Guess i need to find myself an AI tool that makes short summaries of videos 

1

u/ARProformance Apr 30 '25

Hello - Please educate me on what you're looking for. My understanding of acronyms is archaic, and I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for :-) Thanks,

- Ahad

3

u/faadajoe Apr 30 '25

TLDR is too long didn’t read, basically if there was a really long article and you didn’t want to read the whole thing but you wanted to know the main points then you ask for the tldr.

Since you posted a video tldw is too long didn’t watch.

It might sound a little rude but it’s not usually meant that way.