PSA: Mueller’s arrival in top 20 illustrates global spread

May 1, 2013 - 7:37am
0 comments
Tweet this Share on Facebook Print this Email this

muellerqatarNew PSA Rankings Show Increased Global Spread

1 May 2013

By HOWARD HARDING

With Egypt’s Ramy Ashour continuing to lead the May Dunlop PSA Men’s World Squash Rankings by a considerable margin, it is the presence of 11 countries in the top 20 – representing four continents – which provides the most noteworthy aspect of the new list published today by the Professional Squash Association.

Swiss star Nicolas Mueller, his country’s highest-ranked player of all-time, moves up into the top 20 to add Switzerlandto Egypt, England, France, Spain, Germany, Botswana, Australia, Netherlands, South Africa and India with players whose success on the PSA World Tour have earned them places in the elite top 20 group.

Further representation from Malaysia, Colombia, Finland, Hong Kong, Kuwait, New Zealand and Canada see players from 18 countries – and all five continents – in the top 40.

“To have a top twenty in any sport with this breadth of countries being represented is fantastic,” said PSA CEO Alex Gough.

“It shows another sign that squash is being played on a truly global front and we are very proud of this fact. We will continue to keep growing the sport to all corners of the globe.”

Ashour, the reigning world champion from Cairo, holds his lead over England’s world number two Nick Matthew, while Frenchman Gregory Gaultier leapfrogs England’s James Willstrop to reclaim third place.

Mohamed El Shorbagy also rises above fellow Egyptian Karim Darwish to take over fifth place, while England’s Peter Barker does the same to Egyptian Amr Shabana to regain the No7 position.

Outside the top 20, several players mark career-high rankings – including France’s Gregoire Marche at 29 after his surprise quarter-final appearance in last month’s Grasshopper Cup in Switzerland; Kuwaiti Abdullah Al Muzayen at 33 following his 14th Tour title success at the Burgan Bank Challenger 10 on home soil; and New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson at 37 after winning the Houston Open in the USA.

May 2013 top 20 (inc. points average):

1 [1] Ramy Ashour EGY 1,671
2 [2] Nick Matthew ENG 1,099
3 [4] Gregory Gaultier FRA 1,001
4 [3] James Willstrop ENG 982
5 [6] Mohamed El Shorbagy EGY 701
6 [5] Karim Darwish EGY 671
7 [8] Peter Barker ENG 584
8 [7] Amr Shabana EGY 578
9 [9] Borja Golan ESP 445
10 [11] Omar Mosaad EGY 433
11 [10] Tarek Momen EGY 416
12 [12] Simon Rosner GER 328
13 [14] Daryl Selby ENG 317
14 [13] Alister Walker BOT 299
15 [17] Cameron Pilley AUS 298
16 [15] Tom Richards ENG 292
17 [16] Laurens Jan Anjema NED 286
18 [18] Stephen Coppinger RSA 270
19 [19] Saurav Ghosal IND 259
20 [21] Nicolas Mueller SUI 249

For full list – see www.psaworldtour.com

n/a