The glorious metamorphosis of Mohamed Ragab

Edited By: Karim H.

Photo Taken By: Mohamed Ragab

At the age of 21, Egyptian professional padel player and Petroleum Engineering junior Mohamed Ragab had already won tournaments on a national and international level. With titles like the O-West EPF Open, Wadi Degla EPF Open, and Mostakbal City EPT Gold under his belt, he is now ranked number 25 in Egypt.

Ragab started his sports career as a squash player for almost 14 years before switching to padel a year ago after briefly playing both sports at the same time. 

He said that it was a hard decision to make, as he felt loyal to the sport he had been playing for 14 years. 

“Squash was not enough when it comes to money, as I profit more from padel. Plus, I have been playing squash for 14 years and did not receive the success I got from playing padel for just one year,” explained Ragab.

The decision was also initially hard for others around him to accept. 

“My family was not supportive of this decision at first; they were shocked. However, after they saw my success in playing padel, they encouraged me and became a strong support system,” said Ragab.

He mentioned that one of his proudest moments was when his father attended his first H-padel team game.

“I was very happy to see my father watching me play the game I love and watch me win as well. The pride I saw in his eyes at the moment meant the world to me,” said Ragab.

Ragab added that playing padel also gave him a lot of enthusiasm and hope, which he did not feel when he was playing squash.

He saw this switch as a new opportunity in which he could build a career and grow. 

Ragab started his padel career through online courses, and then played in the H-Padel (a Cairo padel stadium) team, as the team coach saw him as a potential for the national team.

In a matter of one month, he went up the professional ranks from the beginner C level to a B and began playing with teams and partners at the A level. The top level for the game is A, where the player is a professional and gets ranked. 

He won three competitions on a national level at level B, and then played with partners and teams in level A. 

One of Ragab’s closest friends, Ahmed Magdy, mentioned that he enjoys it when he attends Ragab’s padel matches.

“I see great admiration from him towards this game, which I did not see before when he was playing squash. I am always keen not to miss any of his matches, and I can see the hard work he is putting into making himself grow in this game. I am sure that he still has a lot to prove and give to this game,” said Magdy.

Magdy added that he can see that Ragab is enjoying padel more than squash and that he sees a great future for him in this game. 

Ragab claimed that one of his greatest achievements was when a famous Qatari player, Mohamed Saadon Alkuwary, saw him in a match and asked him to play with the Qatari padel team.

Alkuwary then followed Ragab on Instagram and asked him to join some training sessions with the Qatari team in 2023. 

Ragab took this opportunity and traveled to Qatar to play with the team in August 2023 and won.

Ragab aspires to be as famous and prominent in the game of padel as Alkuwary and play on an international level to continue growing in the sport.

He indicated that his current goal is to play with the Egyptian national team, which requires him to rank 16th nationally, nine places above his current ranking of 25th.