At the age of just 21, Mostafa Asal has already made himself a reputation for one of the hardest players to beat on the tour as he became the world no.1 for the first time in 2023. Asal reached the semi-finals of the 2020 Egyptian Open, and with it, jumped inside the top 16 in the world for the first time. He also made it through to the last four of the final event of 2020, the Black Ball Open. He started the 2022-2023 campaign with semi-final appearances at the Qatar Classic and the Egyptian Open, before then winning the Grasshopper Cup in Zurich. Asal also claimed the Hong Kong Open and moved into the world’s top two for the first time in the final week of 2022. The Egyptian's rise continued into 2023, as he claimed the title at the Houston Open, the tour's first televised event of the year. Thanks to the victory, Asal moved to the summit of the world rankings for the first time, becoming the third-youngest man to reach the top, behind only Jansher and Jahangir Khan. Asal could only manage the last 16 at both the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions and the Black Ball Squash Open. After serving a six-week suspension, and having lost his world no.1 spot, the Egyptian returned to make the semis of the World Championship and finished runner-up at the El Gouna International.