(Tournament seedings are based on the January 2012 PSA rankings)
1 JAMES WILLSTROP (England)
Reached number one in the world for the first time in the January 2012 PSA rankings after winning three consecutive World Series tournaments in Hong Kong, Kuwait and Delhi.
He beat Egyptian Karim Darwish in the first two finals and his triumph over Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in India sent him to the top above fellow Englishman Nick Matthew.
Being the tallest guy on the Tour at 6ft 4in makes it difficult for opponents to get the ball past him and he is capable of feathering in the softest, tightest volley-drop from both sides of the court as his physique enables him to dominate the centre of the court so effectively.
Willstrop is a shrewd commentator on the sport and writes a weekly column in his local evening newspaper in Yorkshire. He has also written a book, entitled Shot and Ghost, which reveals his innermost thoughts about life on the professional squash tour.
Several intimate passages reveal the relationship he has with his father, Malcolm, one of the leading coaches in the game, and the kind of shyness and social awkwardness you would not expect to lurk underneath such a charming and kindly exterior.
Born: August 15th, 1983. Resides: Leeds
Best ranking to date: 1
2 NICK MATTHEW (England)
Nick Matthew is a man on a mission at the start of 2012. After an injury curtailed his schedule at the end of 2011, he won the Tournament of Champions in New York, beating James Willstrop in an electrifying final to regain his place at the top of the rankings.
A torn hamstring was responsible for his absence, but, at the age of 31, he is determined to continue playing his physical style of squash at a high pace for as long as his body allows.
His win at Grand Central Terminal was his first ToC victory but here in Richmond he is bidding for a hat-trick of titles after beating Egyptian Ramy Ashour in the two previous finals.
Matthew had a mixed start to the season but peaked when it mattered to retain his World Open title on stage in Rotterdam, beating Gregory Gaultier in the final.
His win over Willstrop in New York was his 13th consecutive victory over his English rival and the two are seeded to meet again in the final this week at the Westwood Club.
Later in the year, Matthew will be chasing two more hat-tricks in London, first in the Canary Wharf Classic and then, little more than a mile away at the O2 Arena on the other side of the River Thames, he will be seeking to add a third British Open title to his CV.
Born: July 25th, 1980. Resides: Sheffield
Best ranking to date: 1
3 GREGORY GAULTIER (France)
Runner-up in Richmond to James Willstrop in 2008, Greg is seeking his first DNA title. He is seeded to meet Willstrop in this year’s semi-finals.
Gaultier is so close to being the best player on the planet but has suffered numerous setbacks in major tournament finals. He deserves to have won at least one World Open title, but last year he lost his third final, going down to Nick Matthew in Rotterdam after being runner-up in 2006 and 2007.
He also lost to James Willstrop in the year-end Punj Lloyd Master in Delhi, eventually succumbing to cramp and retiring after 99 minutes following an hour-long opening game that he won 21-19.
Earlier in the year he won the Qatar Classic, Malaysian Open and European Championship.
He began this year by losing to Amr Shabana in the final of the PSA World Series Finals in London, having beaten him in a pool match.
He then met Shabana again in the Tournament of Champions and gained revenge by winning their quarter-final clash, only for the Frenchman to lose to Matthew in the semi-finals.
Gaultier won the Tournament of Champions in 2009, beating a then-tenth seed Matthew in the final. He won the British Open in 2007 and reached the world number one ranking position for the first time in 2009.
Born: December 23rd, 1982. Resides: Aix-en-Provence
Best ranking to date: 1
4 RAMY ASHOUR (Egypt)
It’s tough at the top, and most of the big names have suffered enforced absences from the court because of injury in the past couple of years.
One of the most gifted shot-makers in the game, Egyptian Ramy Ashour, returns to competitive action in Richmond this week after a troublesome hamstring injury.
He has faced Nick Matthew in the past three finals, winning in 2009 and losing the last two showdowns. This year, seeded four, he is in Matthew’s half of the draw and the two are scheduled to meet in the semi-finals.
Ramy conceded the world number one ranking position to Nick Matthew in June 2010 but in the past few months, before injury struck, he beat him four times in a row to show he is in the mood to rise to the top once again.
In January 2010, at the age of 22, Ashour hit the #1 spot for the first time, the youngest player to do so since the Khan era. He had already won the World Open two years earlier, beating Karim Darwish in the final.
A fiercely loyal Egyptian, he joined the marches in Tahrir Square during the Arab Spring uprising and dedicated every tournament success to the people of his homeland. How they would love to see him achieve more glory to hearten a troubled nation.
Born: September 30th, 1987. Resides: Cairo.
Best ranking to date: 1
5 KARIM DARWISH (Egypt)
Karim has been a dominant feature in the world top ten for almost ten years and last year won two major PSA titles, the KL Open in Malaysia (beating fellow Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy in the final) and the Kolkata Open in India (again overcoming a fellow Egyptian, Omar Mossad, in the decider).
He suffered a shock defeat to England’s Daryl Selby in the first round of the Tournament of Champions in January and will be looking for a stronger performance here in Richmond.
Before that he reached the semi-finals of the PSA World Series Finals in London, losing his first pool match to James Willstrop before beating Azlan Isklandar and Shorbagy to reach the last four, where he lost to Gregory Gaultier.
Darwish was a very proud member of the Egyptian team who won the World Team Championships in Paderborn, Germany, beating James Willstrop in a crucial encounter in an evenly-matched final.
A former world #1, Darwish’s arrival at the top ended a 33-month period of dominance by fellow Egyptian Amr Shabana.
Karim is married to fellow squash player Engy Kheirallah.
Born: August 29th, 1981. Resides: Cairo
Best ranking to date: 1
6 PETER BARKER (England)
Londoner Peter Barker has been one of the most consistent players at the top end of the rankings, virtually cementing himself into the #7 position in the world rankings.
Barker has reached the quarter-finals or better of every major tournament he has entered during the past 12 months to back up his ranking, and is working hard on strategies to climb further.
When asked about his ambitions, Barker replied: “I am number seven in the world and there are six extremely talented players above me. I know how hard I will have to work to climb above them.”
That appetite for hard work is paying off. Runner-up in 2011 to Nick Matthew in the finals of the Canary Wharf Classic and the Swedish Open, Barker also reached the semi-finals of the PSA Masters in Delhi, losing to Willstrop after achieving a phenomenal victory over Ramy Ashour in the quarters.
A proud member of the England squad that reached the final of the World Team Championship, Barker was his nation’s only winner, overcoming Egypt’s Hisham Ashour.
Barker also turns out at number one string for the successful Surrey Health and Racquets team in the English Premier Squash League.
Born: September 26th, 1983. Resides: London.
Best ranking to date: 7
7 AMR SHABANA (Egypt)
Amr Shabana is used to travelling the world in pursuit of PSA points and prize money. Now his journey has taken him to New York, where he and his family are making a new life away from the turbulent scenes unfolding almost daily back home in Egypt.
Shabana revealed that he came close to quitting at the end of 2011, but he returned to the court to win the PSA World Series Finals in London, beating Gregory Gaultier in the final.
He then headed from London to Vancouver to win the Comfort Inn Open, beating fellow Egyptian Hisham Ashour in the final.
Shabana’s decision to move to America was a forerunner to his victory in the US Open in October, when he overcame #1 seed Nick Matthew in the final. It followed an earlier US Open triumph in Chicago in 2009.
A winner of the World Open on four occasions, and world No.1 for an astonishing 33 months, he is the most celebrated Egyptian squash player in history.
His World Open wins came in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, and he has shown in recent months that he still possesses the flamboyant skills and desire to continue to be a major force in the game. Long may that continue.
Born: July 20th, 1979. Resides: New York
Best ranking to date: 1
8 LAURENS JAN ANJEMA (Netherlands)
LJ is a popular character on tour and celebrated his climb up the rankings by gaining his first invitation to appear in the PSA World Series Finals in London in January.
The tall left-hander from The Hague made steady progress throughout 2011, winning the $35,000 NetSuite Open in Stamford, California, beating Egyptian Omar Mossad in the final.
It was a close-run thing, with LJ clinching the fifth game 14-12 after exactly 100 minutes on court.
He was runner-up in the Colombian Open, this time losing 15-13 in the fifth to Egypt’s Mohamed El Shorbagy. He also reached the final of the Rocky Mountain Open in Calgary, losing to David Palmer in a tough battle that again went the full distance.
He reached the semi-finals of the National Bank Open in Montreal, losing to Hisham Ashour, and reached the quarter-finals in the Tournament of Champions in New York, the Bluenose Classic in Halifax, the Australian Open, US Open, Kuwait Cup and PSA Masters.
We are all expecting big things in 2012 as LJ attempts to climb even higher than his current #9 position in the rankings.
Born: December 1st, 1982. Resides: The Hague
Best ranking to date: 9
