division, Ashour reached his first major final at the Cathay Pacific Swiss Privilege Hong Kong Squash Open in 2006, where he lost to fellow Egyptian, Amr Shabana, who later would attain the number one ranking in the world. En route to the final, Ashour defeated world number ten John White, world number three Thierry Lincou, and world number two David Palmer. Ashour won his first major professional title in January 2007, by defeating Palmer in 32 minutes (11–7, 11–3, 11–4), in the final of the Canadian Squash Classic. In April 2007, Ashour won the Kuwait Open, the richest squash event in the world, by defeating Amr Shabana, 11–5, 11–3, 12–10, in 34 minutes, after facing a 10-6 deficit in the third set. He then won the Qatar Classic in Doha by again downing David Palmer, this time with a score of 8–11, 11–9, 11–9, 11–6, in 66 minutes. Also in 2007, Ashour was also invited to the ATCO World Series Squash Finals event, where he competed against the other seven top points earners of the season. The only player to go undefeated in all of his first three matches, he played French sensation Grégory Gaultier in the final. After a 62-minute battle, Ashour took the title 3–1 (12–10, 11–8, 4–11, 11–4). According to squash legend and writer Malcolm Willstrop, "Ramy Ashour is something else — his movement is better than anyone in the game, and allied to his unique racket skills and vision, he lights up the sport. Not only that, but his modesty and engaging smile make him a rare commodity." Ashour played Nick Matthew at the 2009 Saudi International Open, the outcome of which would determine not only the winner of the championship but also the next world number one. He won the match, his longest ever on the PSA tour, in a gruelling 110-minute, 5-game battle. After losing his world number one ranking to his English rival, Nick Matthew, in June 2010, Ashour reached the final of the new PSA World Series Australian Open in August. Two weeks later, he battled to a 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 victory in a 90-minute match against Gaultier in the Hong Kong Open final. The back-to-back victories returned Ashour to the top of the rankings in September 2010. He slipped behind Matthew again in early 2011, but Ashour then won the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions title for the second