Egyptian duo Raneem El Welily, left, and Nour El Sherbini, right, have met in the final of the last three tournaments ©Squash in Saudi

Egypt’s Nour El Sherbini has beaten compatriot Raneem El Welily in straight sets in the final of the inaugural Saudi Masters Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournament.

World number one El Sherbini beat third seed El Welily 11-7, 11-8, 13-11 in just 37 minutes in the final of the first-ever professional women’s squash tournament to take place in Saudi Arabia at the Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University, in capital city Riyadh.

This was the third final between the pair in as many tournaments after meetings in the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open and the AJ Bell  World Championships in Manchester, in November 2017 and December 2017, respectively.

First seed El Sherbini was in control from the start and an excellent opening game gave her the platform to secure victory in the first PSA World Series event of 2018.

After her victory, a jubilant 22-year-old El Sherbini said: “I felt that I was in control but at no time it was easy, even though I was ahead in the score, she was always coming back.

“After losing in the World Championship final [in Manchester], this match and this victory mean a lot to me.

“But I know we will have many more battles.

“I am extremely proud to have been part of this historical tournament.

“I want to thank everybody that made this event possible for us, we are blessed to have been part of it.

“I am proud to be the first PSA Saudi Women’s Masters champion and I hope to come back next year to defend my title.

“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Princess Reema (Saudi Arabian Princess), Ziad Al-Turki (PSA Chairman) and the crowd that came and supported us all week, we are all very grateful.”

The appearance of Raneem El Welily, left, and Nour El Sherbini, right, in another PSA World Series final underlined Egypt's dominance of the sport ©PSA World Tour
The appearance of Raneem El Welily, left, and Nour El Sherbini, right, in another PSA World Series final underlined Egypt's dominance of the sport ©PSA World Tour

Runner-up El Welily added: “This was an incredibly important tournament.

“We all want to thank those who have achieved great things by putting on this event.

“We are grateful to Saudi Arabia for the opportunity to play here and to Princess Reema and Ziad Al-Turki for their efforts in making the event happen and the opportunity to play in such an incredible tournament.”

Thanks to her tournament victory, El Sherbini, who won the World Open title in 2015 and 2016, has leapfrogged El Welily in the PSA World Series Standings, which all but guarantees her place at the PSA World Series Finals in Dubai in June.

England's Laura Massaro has won the last two PSA World Series finals.