By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor
The Canary Wharf Classic, London’s most popular professional squash tournament, returns to the PSA World Tour calendar in November.
The 18th edition of this PSA Gold event will be held at the spectacular East Wintergarden venue from November 14-19.
The event begins with the popular People’s Sunday programme, featuring eight first round matches, and culminates in the traditional Friday finale.
The Canary Wharf Classic is a firm favourite with British fans, with sellout crowds every day putting it on a par with the Tournament of Champions in New York as the best-supported events on the PSA World Tour.
Last year’s Classic tournament was the final men’s PSA World Tour event to take place before the tour was suspended for six months due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and fans were treated to a phenomenal final in which World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy beat World No.1 Ali Farag in a memorable battle between the world’s top two players.
This year’s Canary Wharf Classic was postponed from its regular dates around now in March and Tournament Director Tim Garner is delighted to be able to announce that the tournament will go ahead later in the year.
“It’s always a tough decision to postpone an event, but the crowd is such an integral part of it that it felt like the right thing to do,” said Garner.
“In the squash world a postponement often equates to a cancellation. However, thanks to the support of Canary Wharf Group we will be hosting the 2021 edition in November, before reverting back to our traditional spot in March 2022, thus maintaining our unbroken run since the inaugural 2004 event.
“It’s impossible to explain how excited we will be to get back to the East Wintergarden and I know that all our regular fans share our enthusiasm.
“It’s great to give them something to look forward to and we will be in touch nearer the time when we are able to announce ticketing details.
“These will obviously take into account any Government restrictions that may still be in place, as the health and safety of everyone involved is our priority.”
Action from the Canary Wharf Squash Classic will be shown live worldwide on SQUASHTV as well as the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan).
The semi-finals and finals will also be shown live on the channels of contracted broadcast partners.
Tournament website: click here
About Canary Wharf Group.
Canary Wharf Group (CWG) is the developer of the largest urban regeneration project in Europe. CWG develops, manages and currently owns interests in approximately 7.5 million square feet of office space, 0.9 million square feet of retail and over 500 Build to Rent apartments.
CWG is the largest sustainable developer in the UK with over 10 million square feet of sustainable certified buildings. CWG also excels operationally as it purchases 100% electricity from renewable sources since 2012 and zero waste to landfill since 2009.
CWG has created a 24/7 city where people can live/work/play on the Canary Wharf estate and enjoy all the benefits: great transport links, access to green spaces and waterside living; and a wide range of amenities including an award-winning arts and events programme.
Canary Wharf’s retail offering comprises over 300 shops, including grocery stores, pharmacies, health clubs, bars and restaurants, all within 15 minutes’ walk.
The Company’s current £2.4bn construction activity is composed of 500k square feet of commercial properties and over 1,750 new homes for sale and rent.
Website: www.canarywharf.com
Pictures courtesy of PSA