Australia won eight world titles as 21 champions were crowned on the final day of the World Squash Masters Championships in Perth, bringing an end to eight days of competition featuring more than 900 players from 55 nations.
The hosts dominated the closing day, with Melissa Martin, Michael Corren, Samantha Foyle, Steven Finitsis, Sue Hillier, Susan Davis, Joshua Larkin and Ray Villarroya among the Australian winners.
Martin won the Women’s 50+ title after a dramatic five-game victory over fellow Australian and top seed Jane Kennedy.
A runner-up in 2014 and 2018, Martin raced into a two-game lead before Kennedy fought back to level the match. Martin recovered to win the decider 11-1 and claim her first World Masters title.
“I feel so relieved to be honest, this is my third time in the final, so I guess it is third time lucky,” Martin said.
“To do it in Perth, in Australia, in front of my friends and family, it is really special.”
Former world No.38 Corren added the Men’s 50+ title, beating American Alexander Clark in straight games, while Foyle produced one of the comebacks of the day to win the Women’s 35+ crown.
Foyle trailed compatriot Zoe Petrovansky 2-1 and faced match ball at 10-8 in the fourth game before recovering to take it 14-12. She then won the deciding game 11-5.
“I’m absolutely stoked,” Foyle said. “I’m so relieved and totally speechless but I’m so happy to have won today.”
Finitsis also upset a top seed, beating fellow Australian and former world No.49 Matthew Karwalski in straight games to win the Men’s 40+ title.
England’s James Bowden won the Men’s 45+ title, recovering from the loss of the opening game to beat Australia’s Jeff Osborne 4-11, 11-7, 11-6, 13-11.
“To become a world champion is amazing, you can’t quite put it into words just how much this means,” Bowden said.
“I travelled a long way to get the title I really wanted, so to get it, with my son watching, is amazing.”
England also celebrated victory in the Men’s 65+ category, where Mark Woodliffe defeated Ireland’s four-time World Masters champion Willie Hosey in five games.
Woodliffe, who had beaten seven-time champion Geoff Davenport in the quarter-finals, recovered after surrendering a two-game lead to win 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8.
Scotland’s Pauline Douglas retained the Women’s 70+ title in another five-game contest, beating Australia’s Gaye Mitchell. Douglas won a marathon fourth game 18-16 before eventually closing out the match 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 16-18, 11-9 for her fourth World Masters crown.
Canada’s Gerald Poulter won the Men’s 80+ title, while Hong Kong China’s Kai Ki Chan took the Men’s 75+ crown and South Africa’s Stan Voges won the Men’s 70+ title.
Across Belmont Squash Centre, Squashworld Mirrabooka and a feature all-glass court at Karrinyup Shopping Centre, the championships produced 1,639 matches across 21 age categories for players aged 35 and over.