Squash is a racquet sport that originated in England in 1830 and was established by the Harrow School. Since then, the sport has been dominated by a number of great squash players. It was originally played on an outdoor court, but when the school administration ran into problems playing it outside, they built the exterior walls and turned it into an inside game. It eventually began to spread to other schools, and then to the rest of the world. According to the World Squash Federation, there are 49,908 squash courts around the world, with over 8,500 in England.
All-Time Greatest Squash Players
At least one court exists in 188 countries and territories, with more than 1,000 in significant countries. Squash is an Olympic sport that has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee and will be included in future Olympic programs. In 2003, Forbes named squash the No. 1 healthy sport to participate in. A list of the top ten best squash players has been compiled by the Sports Show Team.
Ramy Ashour
Ramy Ashour, a professional Egyptian squash player, is the youngest player to reach the No. 1 position in the squash world since the 1980s, at the age of 22. He is largely regarded as the best squash player of the recent era.
At the age of 16, he won the Men’s World Junior Squash Championship. In 2006, Ashour became the first player in squash history to win the World Junior Championships twice. In 2007, he took home his first professional title at the Canadian Squash Classic.
In 2008 and 2012, Ramy won two World Open titles, as well as a silver medal in 2009. In 2013, he won the British Open, and in 2010 and 2012, he won the Hong Kong Open twice.
Hashim Khan
Hashim Khan, a legendary squash player from Pakistan, is widely recognized as the best squash player of the pre-modern era and one of the greatest athletes in sporting history.
He began his squash career as an unpaid ball boy at a Peshawar, Pakistan, club for British army officers. In 1944, Hashim won his first championship in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, in the All-India squash competition.
He went on to win the championship for the next two years.
After joining the Pakistan Air Force as a squash professional in 1949, he won the first Pakistani squash championship.
Hashim won the British Open Squash Championships seven times, including three victories in a row from 1951 to 1956 and once more in 1958. On August 18, 2014, he passed away at the age of 100.
F. D. Amr Bey
F. D. Amr Bey, a former Egyptian squash player, is largely regarded as the country’s first and best squash creator. He began his squash career as a ball boy at Egypt’s Gezira Sporting Club.
In 1933, he defeated Don Butcher to win the British Open men’s title for the first time. Butcher had previously won the title in each of the previous two years. From 1933 to 1938, he won the British Open men’s title six times in a row.
Amr is also a Guinness World Record holder for winning the British Amateur Championship six times between 1931 and 1937.
He was dubbed “Human Streak of Lightning” and was recognized as a pioneer leader during Egypt’s “golden age of sports.” In 2009, he was honored with the World Squash Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1972, he passed away.
Chris Dittmar
Chris Dittmar, a retired Australian squash player, is largely regarded as the best player never to have won one of squash’s two major championships. In 1981, he won the British Open Junior Championship, but as a pro, he never won a singles title.
Many sports commentators believe he was unlucky to play squash at the same time as two famed Pakistani players, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan.
Chris defeated one of the two Khans in numerous semi-final rounds, but lost in the finals to the other. From 1983 through 1992, he competed in five World Open finals and won two silver medals in the British Open in 1985 and 1993.
He captained the Australian national squash team, which won the World Team Squash Championships in 1989, in addition to his solo success.
Jonathan Power
Jonathan Power, a retired Canadian squash player, is widely regarded as one of the top shotmakers in the sport’s history. He’s well-known for his vast range of deception and drop shots.
He is the first squash player from North America to earn the World No. 1 position. During his career, he won 36 PSA events and competed in 58 finals.
He won the World Open in 1998, the British Open in 1999, the PSA Masters three times between 2001 and 2005, the Super Series Finals twice between 2003 and 2005, the Tournament of Champions four times between 1996 and 2002, and the 2002 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal in men’s singles.
He presently runs the Power Squash Academy in Toronto, Canada, after retiring in 2006.
Geoff Hunt
Geoff Hunt, a retired Australian squash player, is widely considered as one of the greatest squash players of the golden period. He won the Australian Junior Championship in 1963 and the Australian Amateur Men’s Championship in 1965 before turning professional.
In 1976, he won the World Open for the first time, and he repeated the feat on the first four seasons it was held, from 1976 to 1980.
From 1969 until 1981, Geoff won the British Open eight times, as well as the International Amateur Individual Championship three times between 1967 and 1971.
He has been inducted into both the World Squash Federation and Sport Australia Halls of Fame. He was the Head Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport from 1985 to 2003, in addition to squash.
Peter Nicol
Peter Nicol, a former Scottish squash player who represented both Scotland and England in international squash, is widely regarded as one of the greatest international squash players of all time.
In 1998, he became the first Englishman to hold the World No. 1 position. During his career, Peter earned a World Open championship, two British Open titles, and four Commonwealth Games gold medals.
He also won three consecutive Super Series Finals championships, two PSA Masters titles, two British National Championship titles, and three Tournament of Champions titles in a row.
Before retiring, he won 52 titles and competed in 69 Tour finals. During his career, Peter was the World No. 1 squash player for a total of 60 months, including a 24-month run from 2002 to 2003.
Jansher Khan
Jansher Khan, a retired Pakistani squash player, was widely recognized as a tough competitor of squash icon Jahangir Khan, even when he was at his peak, and was also regarded as one of the best players in squash history.
In 1986, at the age of 17, Jansher won the World Junior Squash Championship. In the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open in September 1987, Jansher defeated Jahangir in straight games for the first time.
He subsequently went on to win the next eight fights against Jahangir in a row. During his incredible career, he won the World Open an unprecedented eight times and the British Open six times.
Before retiring in 2002, Jansher was the World No. 1 in squash for nearly ten years and had won a total of 99 professional titles
Jahangir Khan
Jahangir Khan, a retired Pakistani squash player, is largely recognized as the greatest squash player in history. When he was at his best, he went undefeated in competitive play, winning 555 matches in a row from 1981 to 1986.
He holds the Guinness World Record for the longest winning streak by any athlete in any top-level professional sport, with 555 victories.
Jahangir became the youngest player in squash history when he won the World Amateur Championships at the age of 15 and the World Open Championships at the age of 17.
During his career, he won the British Open a record ten times and the World Open six times. In addition to squash, he served as President of the World Squash Federation from 2002 to 2008, and was re-elected as Emeritus President in 2012.
