All posts by Alan Thatcher

Strong Asian influence in two $50k events running side by side By ELLIE MAWSON Peru’s World No.9 Diego Elias has been seeded to face India’s World No.12 Saurav Ghosal in the final of the 2019 Macau Open after the main draws for the PSA World Tour Gold tournament were released. The pair will lock horns [...]

  Stars out to deliver top performances at postal company’s new HQ By ELLIE MAWSON and ALAN THATCHER The draws for the 2019 DPD Open Squash have been announced today, with some blockbuster clashes in store at the DPD Hub in the Netherlands city of Eindhoven between April 9-14. Some 48 of the best male [...]

Virtual sports are big business By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor When pondering why squash has been overlooked yet again for the Olympics, understanding the impact of fun activities like breakdancing and skateboarding is one thing. Accepting why eSports (computer games) are also likely to be miles ahead of squash is another. The IOC [...]

Youth Olympics likely to be next target for squash By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor The World Squash Federation (WSF) and the Professional Squash Association (PSA) have demanded answers from the IOC following the sport’s latest Olympic setback. Squash’s latest Olympic bid was stopped in its tracks within a few days of being launched [...]

Kiwi Coll dedicates title to Christchurch victims By ALAN THATCHER, MATT COLES and SEAN REUTHE Paul Coll lifted the shiny new trophy after winning the Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Squash Classic final against Egypt’s Tarek Momen and immediately dedicated his victory to the victims and survivors of the mass shootings back home in New [...]

Raneem wins thriller against friend and rival Nour El Sherbini By ELLIE MAWSON in Cairo Egypt’s World No.1 Raneem El Welily overcame compatriot and reigning World Champion Nour El Sherbini in a five-game thriller in Cairo, Egypt, to be crowned the 2019 CIB Black Ball Squash Open champion. The Black Ball Squash Open is the [...]

Double delight for Mr and Mrs Momen By ALAN THATCHER, MATT COLES and SEAN REUTHE at Canary Wharf Egypt’s World No.3 Tarek Momen and New Zealand’s World No.7 Paul Coll will contest the final of the 2019 Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic after they ended the hopes of World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy and Mathieu [...]

Castagnet meets Coll after stunning win over Dessouky By ALAN THATCHER, MATT COLES and SEAN REUTHE at Canary Wharf Mohamed ElShorbagy and Tarek Momen battled through contrasting quarter-finals in the Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic to set up a repeat of last year’s final. The other semi-final will be between New Zealander Paul Coll [...]

Makin takes it to the Max to make quarter-finals By ALAN THATCHER, SEAN REUTHE and MATT COLES   French World No.26 Mathieu Castagnet booked his place in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic after he caused a stunning upset of No.2 seed Simon Rösner – and Welshman Joel Makin joined him [...]

Sarah-Jane Perry bows out to Joshna Chinappa By ELLIE MAWSON in Cairo  Egypt’s World No.15 Hania El Hammamy and India’s World No.16 Joshna Chinappa both caused upsets on the second day of action at the CIB Black Ball Squash Open after they defeated World No.3 Nour El Tayeb and World No.6 Sarah-Jane Perry in Cairo, [...]

After win over Marwan, Declan James meets top seed Mohamed  By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor) and SEAN REUTHE (PSA) Ryan Cuskelly stepped up the pace to overpower James Willstrop in the opening match of the second round of the Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Squash Classic. But it was Declan James who raised the [...]

‘I grew up watching the great legends of the game at the Pyramids’ INTERVIEW by ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Tarek Momen, runner-up at Canary Wharf last season, is back this year aiming to go one better. In this insightful interview, he talks revealingly about his amazing Egyptian rivals, his delight at another major [...]

Willstrop leads English charge as People’s Sunday attracts full house By SEAN REUTHE at the East Wintergarden The opening day of action at the 2019 Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic saw a quartet of Englishmen claim victories on ‘People’s Sunday’ at London’s East Wintergarden as James Willstrop, Tom Richards, Declan James and Daryl Selby [...]

James Willstrop launches People’s Sunday against Mazen Hesham By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Four-times champion James Willstrop gets the 2019 Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic under way against flamboyant Egyptian Mazen Hesham as the tournament treads new ground with a weekend opening day on the glass court.   With qualifying competitions now a [...]

World champions Nour and Ali line up in PSA Gold event By SEAN REUTHE  The world’s greatest squash players – including world champions Ali Farag and Nour El Sherbini – will line up in Eindhoven between April 9-14 as they do battle for the 2019 DPD Open, PSA World Tour Gold titles. Held at the [...]