What's been happening in the world of squash (12th to 18th of December 2016)

British Open goes for prize money parity

Prize money equality between male and female athletes is often the subject of heated debates in sport. For example in tennis, where some high-profile players have expressed some bold opinions in the past. As far as squash is concerned, another step towards closing the gap has been made: it was announced yesterday that female players will earn the same prize money as their male counterparts for the first time in the history of the prestigious Allam British Open, at the end of March in Hull. The iconic event, often referred to as the ‘Wimbledon of Squash’, will be co-promoted between England Squash and the Professional Squash Association. With a gradual move from $90,000 in 2012 to $150,000 next year in the women’s draw, the tournament joints U.S. Open, Windy City Open and Tournament of Champions to reach parity. “Squash is one of only a few sports in which women and men compete in the same event at the same time, under the same rules, scoring system and size of playing surface,” said England Squash CEO Keir Worth. Professional Squash Association Chief Executive Alex Gough added; “Across the PSA Word Tour we have made great strides towards increasing gender equality since integrating the Women’s Tour in 2015 and today’s announcement further underlines our commitment to achieving parity. To see the British Open join these three tournaments and the PSA World Series Finals in offering equal prize money is a great moment for the sport. We hope these steps will also demonstrate to young girls and aspiring players who want a career in sport that squash offers a genuine opportunity to compete and earn on a level playing field with men.” Laura Massaro, currently world ranked No.4, became the first British woman in 22 years to win the tournament when she became Allam British Open champion in 2013 and obviously welcomed the move to prize money parity. “This is such a special tournament for squash so having equal prize money is fantastic for the tournament and for our sport,” said Massaro. “I can’t wait to get to Hull and compete for the trophy in front of my home crowd.”

Sources: www.psaworldtour and www.englandsquash.com

2016 British Open champions Nour El Sherbini and Mohamed El Shorbagy surrounding main sponsor Dr Allam (Photo credit: squashpics.com)

Around the world

After a few very busy weeks there were “only” three $5,000 tournaments on the PSA World Tour last week. Predicting a final between Mohamed Al Sarraj and Balasz Farkas in the Imet Open in Bratislava would have appeared very daring purely based on their world rankings - #237 and #438, respectively. But not for those who've been following the tour closely, especially junior tournaments. Jordan's Al Sarraj was Asian Junior Championship runner-up last September, beating World Junior Champion Eain Yow Ng along the way. He kept the momentum going in the fall, winning his first PSA title on home soil and reaching the final in Berlin, Germany. 19 year-old Farkas had only played one senior tournament in the last twelve months, but he was European Junior Championship runner-up in the spring. Both young men caused a few upsets in Slovakia, especially in marathon semi-finals: Al-Sarraj ousted number 1 seed Piedro Schweertman in 5 games and 73 minutes, while Farkas overcame Bernat Jaume, also in 5 games and 92 minutes. One of them recovered better though, and the final on Sunday was a one-sided affair in favour of the man from Jordan, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 in 21 minutes. --- In Ukraine, semi-retired Stéphane Galifi showed once again that he can still play at the professional level. 38 year-old - who represented both France and Italy during his career – has been living and coaching in Ukraine for a few years. After winning the Black Sea Open in August 2015, he did it again last week at the SportLife Open in Kiev. He had a relatively easy route to the final, where his opponent Ondrej Uherka had to conceed at 1-game all. It is Galifi's eleventh title on the tour. --- Maiden title for Kuwait's Ammar Altamimi in Avhaz, Iran. 28-year old ended a streak of 5 finals lost, including two in 2016. He beat Frenchman Auguste Dussourd in five games. Dussourd had won the week before in Tehran, but although he upset the much higher-ranked Tayyab Aslam again in the semi-finals, he wasn't able to win back-to-back titles.

Balasz Farkas and Mohammad Al Sarraj (left), Auguste Dussourd and Ammar Altamimi (top right), Stéphane Galifi and Ondrej Uherka (bottom right) (Photo credits: dailynewshungary.com, Pareti Squash Open, squashsite)