World number one Nour El Sherbini, pictured, will face world champion Raneem El Welily in an all-Egyptian final at the PSA Saudi Women's Masters ©PSA

Egypt’s Nour El Sherbini and compatriot Raneem El Welily are both through to the final of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Saudi Women's Masters and will face each other tomorrow in a repeat of last month’s World Championships decider.

The pair achieved respective wins over fellow countrywomen Nouran Gohar and Nour El Tayeb in what was the first time ever that four Egyptian women had reached the semi-finals of a World Series event.

World number one El Sherbini, who beat El Welily to win November’s Hong Kong Open before losing out to her rival in the World Championships final in Manchester, recovered from a game down to beat Gohar 14-16, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 at the Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.

It was her seventh successive victory over the world number five and ensured her place in a fourth consecutive PSA World Tour final.

"It was a very tough match - the court was hot and bouncy, which suited Nouran’s game more than mine, I thought," El Sherbini said.

"The first three games could have gone either way, but I’m glad I came back after losing the first game, where I just didn’t manage to follow my game plan.

"I am very proud that there were four Egyptians in the semis and to put my name besides those of Raneem, Nouran and Nour.

"I hope that people back home are proud of us."

El Sherbini, 22, will look to improve on her inferior 8-6 head-to-head record against world champion El Welily, who comfortably overcame El Tayeb 11-7, 15-13, 11-5.

Raneem El Welily overcame fellow Egyptian Nour El Tayeb in the semi-finals ©Getty Images
Raneem El Welily overcame fellow Egyptian Nour El Tayeb in the semi-finals ©Getty Images

El Welily took a scrappy opener before holding her nerve in a crucial second-game tie-break en route to completing an emphatic triumph, which sees her make it three finals from three World Series tournaments this season.

"I’m very happy I managed to win in three as the last two times we played it went to five," the world number two said.

"I am proud to be part of this ground-breaking event here in Saudi and also extremely proud of the achievement of the Egyptian women in this tournament.

"Tomorrow I’m playing Nour again.

"We have been playing a lot this season - every time it’s been close and exciting, so hopefully tomorrow will be the same.

"We are sharing a room as well here, so tomorrow is going to be a long day for us."

The event is the first professional women's squash tournament to take place in Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the $25,000 (£18,000/€21,000) winner’s prize, El Sherbini and El Welily will also be aiming to win maximum points for the PSA Women’s World Series standings.

El Welily is the current leader, but a win for El Sherbini will see her leapfrog her compatriot to all but guarantee herself a top-eight place, which brings with it qualification for June’s PSA World Series Finals.