France's Gregory Gaultier retained his position at number one in the men's rankings but sparkling run of form, which has seen him claim three PSA World Tour titles in a row, has elevated Egypt’s Mohamed ElShorbagy up to number two.

The rankings are another boost for El Sherbini, a 22-year-old from Alexandria, who will be seeking to win a third consecutive World Championship title later this month. 

The tournament is due to take place between December 11 and 17 in Manchester.

El Sherbini previously won the world title at Kuala Lumpur in 2015 and El Gouna in 2016.

She defeated her team-mate, world number two Raneem El Welily, in the final of the Hong Kong Open last month to extend her lead over her compatriot at the summit of the rankings.

France’s Camille Serme stays at number three marginally ahead of England's Laura Massaro, while 2016 Hong Kong Open champion Nouran Gohar means there are three Egyptians in an unchanged top five. 

The rest of the top 10 is also unchanged, with eight-time world champion Nicol David of Malaysia staying at number six, England’s Sarah-Jane Perry at seven, Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb at eight, New Zealand’s Joelle King at nine and England's Alison Waters all retain their spots. 

ElShorbagy, Bristol-based 26-year-old spent 28 months atop the world rankings between 2015 and 2017 before a run of poor form last season saw him lose the coveted number one ranking, slipping to three last April.

ElShorbagy has now reached six successive PSA World Tour finals - winning five of them - to move back inside the world’s top two behind Gaultier.

Another Egyptian, U.S. Open champion Ali Farag, is also on the raise to number three, while team-mate Karim Abdel Gawad drops to four ahead of him defending his World Championship title defence in Manchester.

A semi-final finish at last month’s Hong Kong Open has seen Marwan, ElShorbagy's younger brother, move into the top five for the second time in his career.

England’s three-time world champion Nick Matthew has dropped to number - his lowest ranking since 2009.

The rest of the top 10 is made up of Egypt’s Tarek Momen at seven, New Zealand’s Paul Coll at a career-high eight, Germany’s Simon Rösner and nine and England’s former world number James Willstrop at tenth.

Another former world number one - Egypt's Ramy Ashour - has fallen down the rankings after a shock first round defeat to tournament wildcard Leo Au in Hong Kong, falling eight places to 17, his lowest ranking since 2006.