PSA Rankings

May 2008:
Gaultier moves up to two

While Egypt's world champion Amr Shabana maintains his lead at the top of the May Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings, Frenchman Gregory Gaultier moves up to second place in the new list.

Shabana, the 28-year-old from Cairo now in his 26th successive month as world number one, strengthened his position at the top by winning the $200,000 Kuwait Open title last month - beating his second-seeded compatriot Ramy Ashour in the final.

But Ashour, who had defeated Shabana earlier in the month in the final of the Hurghada International in Egypt, has slipped two positions to No4 - behind Gaultier and England's James Willstrop.

Gaultier, who defends his British Open title in Liverpool next week, lost out to Shabana in the Kuwait semi-finals.

Willstrop has enjoyed an impressive run of form this year - winning three PSA Tour events in a row in Sweden, the USA and the UK before ending his 15-match unbeaten run in the Kuwait quarter-finals.

Victory in the Dayton Open in January and a surprise semi-final berth in Kuwait takes Thierry Lincou back into the world top five after a seven-month absence.

Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee has much to celebrate after jumping two places to No10 - marking his first appearance in the top ten since December 2003.

Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema is celebrating his best-ever ranking. The 25-year-old from The Hague picked up his seventh PSA Tour title in February when he won the Bluenose Classic in Canada.

TOP 20 PSA MAY 2008
Rank	Prev	Player	Pts	Ctry
1	[1]	Amr Shabana	1350	Egy
2é	[3]	Gregory Gaultier	993	Fra
3é	[4]	James Willstrop	881	Eng
4ê	[2]	Ramy Ashour	774	Egy
5é	[7]	Thierry Lincou	686	Fra
6ê	[5]	David Palmer	615	Aus
7ê	[6]	Nick Matthew	594	Eng
8	[8]	Karim Darwish	560	Egy
9	[9]	Wael El Hindi	391	Egy
10é	[12]	Ong Beng Hee	375	Mas
11	[11]	Lee Beachill	367	Eng
12ê	[10]	Peter Barker	361	Eng
13	[13]	Azlan Iskandar	361	Mas
14é	[16]	Stewart Boswell	311	Aus
15ê	[14]	Adrian Grant	306	Eng
16é	[17]	Olli Tuominen	290	Fin
17é	[19]	Laurens Jan Anjema	287	Ned
18	[18]	Cameron Pilley	287	Aus
19ê	[15]	John White	371	Sco
20	[20]	Mohammed Abbas	251	Egy
FULL PSA RANKINGS

April 2008:
It's still Shabana as Malaysians rise

Little change in the men's world rankings this month with the top 11 places remaining unchanged, but the Malaysian duo of Ong Beng Hee and Azlan Iskandar has profited from their meeting in the final of the KL Open, both moving up 5 places to 12 and 13 respectively.

The biggest sufferer was Egypt's Mohammed Abbas, who lost the points he gained in winning the 2007 KL event and slumps seven places to number 20.

Amr Shabana extends his two-year reign at the top, and has a big points lead over his challengers, but Ramy Ashour, Gregory Gaultier, James Willstrop and David Palmer are all tightly bunched, so whoever does best in Hurghada and Kuwait later this month will be well rewarded both in prize money and rankings terms.

It's Shabana's 25th month at the top, thereby claiming the longest unbroken run as world number one since legendary Pakistani Jansher Khan more than ten years ago.

The 28-year-old from Cairo - who became a father last month - first topped the rankings in April 2006, since when he has won nine PSA titles. In December in Bermuda, Shabana won his third World Open crown - and his fourth successive PSA Super Series title in just two months!

After record eight times world champion Jansher Khan completed a 53-month world number one run in January 1998, his English successor Peter Nicol established a 24-month unbroken run which ended in December 2003.

TOP 20 PSA APRIL 2008
Rank	Prev	Player	Pts	Ctry
1	[1]	Amr Shabana	1256	Egy
2	[2]	Ramy Ashour	950	Egy
3	[3]	Gregory Gaultier	936	Fra
4	[4]	James Willstrop	881	Eng
5	[5]	David Palmer	796	Aus
6	[6]	Nick Matthew	734	Eng
7	[7]	Thierry Lincou	631	Fra
8	[8]	Karim Darwish	576	Egy
9	[9]	Wael El Hindi	466	Egy
10	[10]	Peter Barker	383	Eng
11	[11]	Lee Beachill	382	Eng
12é	[17]	Ong Beng Hee	369	Mas
13é	[18]	Azlan Iskandar	335	Mas
14é	[15]	Adrian Grant	317	Eng
15ê	[12]	John White	315	Sco
16ê	[14]	Stewart Boswell	311	Aus
17ê	[16]	Olli Tuominen	293	Fin
18é	[20]	Cameron Pilley	272	Aus
19	[19]	Laurens Jan Anjema	271	Ned
20ê	[13]	Mohammed Abbas	260	Egy
FULL PSA RANKINGS

Feb 2008:

Shabana holds on to
World Number One ranking

Despite being out of action throughout the first month of the New Year, Egypt's Amr Shabana maintains his grip on the world number one ranking, according to the February Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings.

While the 28-year-old from Cairo has been recovering from acute tendonitis in his wrist, his compatriot Ramy Ashour picked up the first Super Series title of the year - winning the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions in New York to cement his place in second place in the list. The pair are expected to meet head-to-head in the final of the Pace Canadian Classic later in the month in Toronto.

England's James Willstrop, runner-up in New York, also fails to move from sixth place - but is now less than a point behind compatriot Nick Matthew, the No5 behind third-placed Frenchman Gregory Gaultier and No4 David Palmer, from Australia.

Egypt's Wael El Hindi is the highest mover, returning to his career-high ninth place after reaching the Tournament of Champions' quarter-finals.

Englishman Lee Beachill, who makes his first PSA Tour appearance this year at the Case Swedish Open next week after undergoing hernia surgery early in the New Year, returns to the top ten - at 10 - for the first time for almost a year.

A three-place jump to 15 is achieved this month by Adrian Grant, the English left-hander who won the Comfort Inn Open in Vancouver last month.

TOP 20 PSA FEB 2008
Rank	Prev	Player	Pts	Ctry
1	[1]	Amr Shabana	1330	Egy
2	[2]	Ramy Ashour	883	Egy
3	[3]	Gregory Gaultier	850	Fra
4	[4]	David Palmer	796	Aus
5	[5]	Nick Matthew	748	Eng
6	[6]	James Willstrop	747	Eng
7	[7]	Thierry Lincou	608	Fra
8	[8]	Karim Darwish	518	Egy
9é	[10]	Wael El Hindi	448	Egy
10é	[11]	Lee Beachill	402	Eng
11ê	[9]	John White	373	Sco
12	[12]	Peter Barker	360	Eng
13é	[14]	Mohammed Abbas	336	Egy
14ê	[13]	Stewart Boswell	328	Aus
15é	[18]	Adrian Grant	318	Eng
16ê	[15]	Azlan Iskandar	303	Mas
17	[17]	Olli Tuominen	294	Fin
18ê	[16]	Ong Beng Hee	292	Mas
19	[19]	Laurens Jan Anjema	266	Ned
20	[20]	Alex Gough	253	Wal
FULL PSA RANKINGS

Nov 2007:
One point is enough
for Shabana ...

By the smallest margin on record, Amr Shabana maintains his position at the top of the Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings, just one point in a thousand ahead of fellow Egyptian Ramy Ashour.

After reaching his first PSA Tour final for more than seven months at the Saudi International last month, Shabana beat Ashour in four games to avenge April's defeat in the Kuwait Open climax.

The PSA rankings calculations concluded that Shabana's average points total for the new month was 1,098.75, whilst Ashour achieved 1097.50!

The two Egyptians boast a 300-point lead over France's third-placed Gregory Gaultier; who is followed by Australia's David Palmer in fourth place; and Englishman James Willstrop at No5.

England's Nick Matthew jumps four places to No6 in the new list following his victory in the US Open in New York at the beginning of last month.

Fellow Englishman Peter Barker also has cause for celebration after rising to a career-high 13th place in the rankings. The 24-year-old from Essex followed his title victory in the Colombian Open in September by securing a surprise quarter-final berth in the Dunlop British Open later in the month.

TOP TWENTY PSA NOV 2007
Rank	Prev	Player	Pts	Ctry
1	[1]	Amr Shabana	1099	Egy
2	[2]	Ramy Ashour	1098	Egy
3	[3]	Gregory Gaultier	763	Fra
4	[4]	David Palmer	696	Aus
5	[5]	James Willstrop	640	Eng
6é	[10]	Nick Matthew	613	Eng
7	[7]	Thierry Lincou	565	Fra
8é	[8]	Karim Darwish	465	Egy
9ê	[6]	Anthony Ricketts	463	Aus
10ê	[8]	John White	451	Sco
11é	[12]	Wael El Hindi	385	Egy
12ê	[11]	Lee Beachill	383	Eng
13é	[14]	Peter Barker	328	Eng
14é	[15]	Mohammed Abbas	326	Egy
15ê	[13]	Stewart Boswell	318	Aus
16é	[17]	Olli Tuominen	292	Fin
17ê	[16]	Azlan Iskandar	286	Mas
18	[18]	Ong Beng Hee	267	Mas
19é	[20]	Adrian Grant	247	Eng
20ê	[19]	Borja Golan	243	Esp
FULL PSA RANKINGS

June 2007:
Shabana become Fourth Longest-Standing World No1

Egypt's Amr Shabana celebrates his 15th month at the top of the Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings, according to the new June list - and thus becomes the fourth longest-standing world number one of all-time.

After sharing 14 months at the top of the prestigious list last month with Canadian Jonathon Power and Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the two-times world champion from Cairo has pushed the pair into fifth place - now taking fourth position exclusively behind former greats Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan from Pakistan, and England's Peter Nicol.

Amr Shabana won his first PSA Tour title in Mexico in 1999 and went on to amass 16 titles, including two World Open crowns (in 2003 and 2005). He first topped the world rankings in April last year.

There is further cause for Egyptian celebration in the new list as teen sensation Ramy Ashour moves up to a career-high No2 in the June rankings - just 42 points behind his illustrious compatriot.

The 19-year-old from Cairo shocked the squash world in April when he won the two biggest titles of the year - clinching the $200,000 Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open trophy and then the $120,000 Qatar Classic in Doha within six days, to bring his title haul for the year to four!

Australia's World Open champion David Palmer slips to three, ahead of Frenchmen Gregory Gaultier, at 4, and Thierry Lincou, at 5, in an otherwise unchanged top ten.

TOP TWENTY PSA JUNE 2007
Rank	Prev	Player	Pts	Ctry
1	[1]	Amr Shabana	1116	Egy
2é	[3]	Ramy Ashour	1073	Egy
3ê	[2]	David Palmer	961	Aus
4	[4]	Gregory Gaultier	826	Fra
5	[5]	Thierry Lincou	596	Fra
6	[6]	Anthony Ricketts	525	Aus
7	[7]	James Willstrop	485	Eng
8	[8]	Nick Matthew	479	Eng
9	[9]	John White	457	Sco
10	[10]	Wael El Hindi	419	Egy
11é	[12]	Karim Darwish	394	Egy
12é	[13]	Stewart Boswell	386	Aus
13ê	[11]	Lee Beachill	380	Eng
14	[14]	Mohammed Abbas	345	Egy
15	[15]	Adrian Grant	332	Eng
16	[16]	Peter Barker	299	Eng
17	[17]	Olli Tuominen	284	Fin
18	[18]	Ong Beng Hee	267	Mas
19	[19]	Azlan Iskandar	245	Mas
20	[20]	Borja Golan	226	Esp
FULL PSA RANKINGS

Shabana on SquashInfo

May 2007:
Ramy Rises to
World top three

Egyptian teen sensation Ramy Ashour has leapt to a career-high world No3 in the new April Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings.

The 19-year-old from Cairo shocked the squash world last month when he won the two biggest titles of the year so far - clinching the $200,000 Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open trophy and then the $120,000 Qatar Classic in Doha within six days!

It was less than 12 months ago that Ashour made history by winning the World Junior Championship title for a second time - and his rapid transition to the senior stage has already seen the remarkable youngster win four major PSA Tour titles this year.

Ashour's compatriot Amr Shabana retains his status as the world's No1 player in the new list, celebrating his 14th successive month at the top of the rankings. But Australia's World Open champion David Palmer returns to second place after achieving his seeding in both of the PSA Super Series Platinum events in Kuwait City and Qatar.

In a notable month for Egyptians, Wael El Hindi also records a career-high position in the new list. The 26-year-old from Cairo leaps four places to No10 to mark his top ten debut after reaching the quarter-finals in Kuwait and the last four in Doha.

England's Peter Barker continues his top 20 rise by moving to a best-ever 16th place - boosted by an unexpected quarter-final berth in the Qatar Classic.

TOP TWENTY PSA MAY 2007
Rank	Prev	Player	Pts**	Ctry
1	[1]	Amr Shabana	1116	Egy
2é	[3]	David Palmer	1016	Aus
3é	[5]	Ramy Ashour	1007	Egy
4ê	[2]	Gregory Gaultier	780	Fra
5ê	[4]	Thierry Lincou	696	Fra
6	[6]	Anthony Ricketts	525	Aus
7	[7]	James Willstrop	469	Eng
8	[8]	Nick Matthew	465	Eng
9	[9]	John White	449	Sco
10é	[14]	Wael El Hindi	419	Egy
11é	[12]	Lee Beachill	410	Eng
12ê	[11]	Karim Darwish	406	Egy
13ê	[10]	Stewart Boswell	386	Aus
14ê	[13]	Mohammed Abbas	345	Egy
15	[15]	Adrian Grant	332	Eng
16é	[18]	Peter Barker	305	Eng
17ê	[16]	Olli Tuominen	287	Fin
18ê	[17]	Ong Beng Hee	267	Mas
19	[19]	Azlan Iskandar	228	Mas
20	[20]	Borja Golan	226	Esp
FULL PSA RANKINGS

April 2007:
Shabana extends world number one reign

Roundup from Howard Harding

Victory in last month's Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions in New York ensures that Egypt's Amr Shabana extends his reign at the top of the new April World Rankings.

The 27-year-old from Cairo became only the third player in the event's history to successfully defend the prestigious US title - in a triumph at Grand Central Terminal which brought his trophy haul to 16.

Frenchman Gregory Gaultier maintains his career-high No2 position, ahead of an unchanged top six which features Australians David Palmer and Anthony Ricketts at three and six, respectively; France's Thierry Lincou at four; and Egyptian teenager Ramy Ashour in fifth place.

Englishman James Willstrop, who beat higher-seeded compatriot Nick Matthew en-route to winning the ISS Canary Wharf Classic in London last month, overtakes Matthew to rise to seven in the new list.

John White, the 33-year-old Scot who created a personal record by enduring four successive five-game matches at East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf before finally yielding to Willstrop in a courageous 71-minute climax, jumps three places to No9 to make a welcome return to the world top ten.

Egypt's Mohammed Abbas celebrates a career-high No13 ranking in the new list. The 26-year-old from Giza achieved two notable upsets - beating top seed Nick Matthew and No3 seed Stewart Boswell - to win the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open in Malaysia, his biggest PSA Tour title to date.

But, perhaps the most notable achievement in the April rankings is the long-awaited return to the top ten of Stewart Boswell. In May 2003, twelve months after reaching a career-high world No4, the Australian was struck down with a mystery back ailment which kept him away from the tour for almost two years.