The newly calculated women’s rankings for April reflect the fact that the 27-year-old Philadelphia-based player reached her third major PSA World Tour final when she finished as runner-up at the CIB PSA Black Ball Squash Open last month.

That achievement has seen her move up two places in the rankings to reach number five and write her name into the history books.

Sobhy becomes the first United States player to feature inside the top five since January 2010, when that distinction was earned by Natalie Grainger, the Manchester-born player who represented South Africa before switching nationality.

The latest ranking marks Sobhy’s continuing rise from her position as the world’s number 30 after she had spent almost a year out of the game because of a ruptured Achilles tendon sustained in March 2017.

Sobhy switches places with Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy, while Egypt’s four-times world champion Nour El Sherbini stays at number one for a sixth successive month.

She is followed by compatriot Nouran Gohar, France’s Camille Serme, Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb, with Sarah-Jane Perry of England one place behind Sobhy.

New Zealand’s Joelle King stays at number eight ahead of Egypt’s Salma Hany, who moves up a place to a career-high number nine ranking, while Tesni Evans of Wales completes the top 10.

In terms of the biggest mover, Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk has risen 159 places to number 215 after reaching the semi-finals of the Chairman Cup in March.

New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts has also enjoyed a rapid rise up the rankings, moving up 145 spots to 229 after claiming her first PSA title at the Royal Oak Open, which marked her first appearance on the PSA Tour since 2019.