Simon Roesner: ''Mauritius is ready for the next stage''

The field was strong in this year's edition of the Necker Pro Squash Open, but Simon Roesner managed to both keep his title and enjoy his time in Mauritius. The world number 5 tells us about the growth of the tournament – which will be a PSA event in 2020 – as well as his summer preparation, while reflecting on his 2018-2019 season.

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Mauritius ready for the next stage

After his win in the Necker Pro Squash Open last year, Simon Roesner had told us how impressed he was with the event. "This year was just as good," he says. "The organization has been superb from start to finish. We were all happy to be there and thoroughly enjoyed our time in Mauritius. The whole week was about having fun, nevertheless I think we played some serious and hard squash. We wanted to perform at our best and matches were very competitive. In this respect, I'd say it was different to last year which was more exhibition mode. It's definitely a good sign for what's coming." After three exhibition events, the Necker Pro Squash Open will become a PSA tournament (3-7 June 2020) with a prize money of $100,000. "I think they've done a great job building up the tournament, and getting ready for the next stage," adds the most successful German player in history. Obviously, he only has nice things to say about the event promoter Rémy Mabillon. "If we had more people like him on the tour, no doubt that squash would be better and bigger! What he does for our sport is impressive and we can only be super thankful to him and his team." In the French league Simon plays for Annecy, whose first team is also sponsored by Rémy Mabillon and one of his other companies, Tailor Capital. "Going to Annecy was a great choice, and I am happy that Greg (author's note: Gaultier, captain of the team) asked me to join them. It's great to see a new French club coming up, and I am looking forward to be playing in Nationale 1 next season."

Simon Roesner (here with fellow German Raphael Kandra) enjoyed his time in Mauritius (Photo credit: Bild: DSQV e.V)

How did the Necker Pro Squash Open fit into Simon's summer schedule?

"It wasn't easy because I had only started training 2 weeks before the tournament. So obviously I didn't expect to be at my best but actually I was  pretty surprised. It's very satisfying to see that my squash level is already quite good, as well as my fitness. I've got another 6 weeks of preparation before my first tournament in Nantes, so the matches in Mauritius were a very good sign looking forward to next season."

Simon Roesner - in the middle - kept his title in Mauritius and is happy with his current form 6 weeks before the season starts (Photo credit: Necker Pro Squash Open)

A look back into Simon's 2018-2019 season

2017-2018 had been very been special for Simon Roesner, who became the first German player ever to win a major event at the Tournament of Champions. 2018-2019 was yet another rich one: he reached the final at the US Open and the Qatar Classic, cemented his position in the world top 5 and his wife gave birth to their first child at the end of 2018! "Overall, last season was amazing," he says. "As I said before there were some ups and downs, but that's also because the better you get, the more you want to achieve. The start of the season was so good that I was hoping I could carry on that form. But things didn't go as well as I would have wished for, especially towards the end. Nevertheless, ending it in the top 5 and having played two major finals made it an unbelievable season for me." Simon Roesner is looking forward to 2019-2020, whose first part will be packed with major PSA events before ending with the World Team Championship (15-21 December in Washington). With himself and Raphael Kandra at the peak of their career, Germany are hoping to do even better than their 5th place finish in Mulhouse in 2013. "Yes, the World Teams are looking very promising. I think we have a good chance to get our best ever result."

Reaching the final in the Qatar Classic catapulted Simon Roesner to a highest world ranking of 3 at the end of 2018 (Photo credit: Simon Roesner)

Best of 3 game format, the future of squash?

The matches in Mauritius were played in the best of 3 game format, which is implemented in more and more tournaments on the PSA World Tour. "I am not sure it will take over BO5 but it definitely has its place on the tour," says Simon Roesner, who has played a handful of tournaments using this format in the last few years – World Series finals as well as a couple of Canary Wharf Classics. "I think it's a good thing to have more events going in this direction, such as Nantes and San Francisco. We see that in tennis, all the tournaments except Grand Slams are played in best of 3 so there should be a place for that in PSA. Not for the major events but for certain "smaller" tournaments, who are only running for 4-5 days. This way spectators can get to watch more matches. These are usually more intense as well, so it's definitely a good thing." 

The Necker Pro Squash Open was played in the best of 3 game format, but the semifinal between Simon Roesner and Paul Coll still lasted almost an hour (Photo credit: Pascal Lincou)

Interview by Jérôme Elhaïk

Don't miss the last part of our post tournament pieces, with an interview of the World #1 Raneem El Welily, winner of the women's tournament.

Pictures and videos available on the Necker Pro Squash Open official Facebook page - click on the picture below.