{"id":10559,"date":"2018-12-30T10:39:48","date_gmt":"2018-12-30T10:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/?p=10559"},"modified":"2018-12-30T11:37:09","modified_gmt":"2018-12-30T11:37:09","slug":"squash-2018-season-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The year in sport 2018: Squash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>For a sport that has thus far been marginalised from Olympic\ninclusion, squash has enjoyed good exposure this past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Featuring at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, the\nYouth Olympics in Buenos Aires and with the Professional Squash Association\u2019s\n(PSA) YouTube channel most recently hitting 100,000 subscribers, the global\nreach of squash is at an all-time high heading into 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, for over a decade now, drawing a \u2018thumbs-up\u2019 from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been torturous and unsuccessful &#8211; a coveted place at Paris 2024 still remains the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a id='CMPA7QgZSFVGwvs3Og4Fbw' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/943693932' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'CMPA7QgZSFVGwvs3Og4Fbw',sig:'CgTfdE58ii3Mbr91Jn8r5xyC18ULwE7n9jUcGLN3nj8=',w:'594px',h:'411px',items:'943693932',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As challenging a task as it is, there is little doubt that\nWorld Squash Federation President, Jacques Fontaine, will have a plethora of political\nweapons with which to lobby the IOC over the next few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diplomacy aside, squash has been somewhat defined by a\ngenerational transition this season \u2013 most notably from an English perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2018 saw the retirement of former world number one and three-time world champion Nick Matthew, while his long-time rival and compatriot James Willstrop celebrated the twilight of his career with Commonwealth gold in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the rapidly rising stars emerging from their wake is\nDeclan James, who embodied the gradual changing of the guard with victory over\nWillstrop in the final of the season\u2019s curtain raiser in Nantes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a id='THd_E_4ITHJV1P4Yw8AkbQ' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/946344590' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'THd_E_4ITHJV1P4Yw8AkbQ',sig:'ANZJWwXI5-K6th43l83y6x9Wxy4qQI_M_EH6AXkc0TM=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'946344590',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nottingham-based 25-year-old has broken into the top 20\nin the world this year, and also enjoyed Commonwealth success with Team England\n\u2013 taking bronze alongside Willstrop in the Men\u2019s Doubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the speed of his improvement, James is the exciting\nEnglish prospect to watch on the men\u2019s side in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Much of the same narrative is true on the women\u2019s tour as\nwell, as Sarah-Jane Perry has recently taken over from former world champion Laura\nMassaro as England\u2019s number one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perry has really come of age in 2018, equalling her\ncareer-high world-ranking of six, as well as adding Commonwealth silver and the\nflagship Netsuite Open title to her array of accolades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a id='URIPk05sTgFvcjtGbXVlXg' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/944645080' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'URIPk05sTgFvcjtGbXVlXg',sig:'bbDa9dP3PDo-jsAGB-QZdo83oEzgK-pLCZjkYUlqAdo=',w:'594px',h:'373px',items:'944645080',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She looks poised to break into the top five in the world in\n2019 and possesses all the attributes required to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through a global lens, however, the Egyptian dominance at\nthe top of both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s world rankings has been unwavering\nthroughout 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mohamed Elshorbagy and Ali Farag have largely dominated the\nmen\u2019s game, developing an enthralling rivalry off the back of multiple finals\ncontested this past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elshorbagy is the current world champion and world number\none, despite only just hanging on to his ranking in November \u2013 Farag missing\nthe chance to leapfrog him after coming up shy in the Black Ball Open in Cairo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a id='6OnmerFvRox1_1kQyGYONw' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/970474196' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'6OnmerFvRox1_1kQyGYONw',sig:'svhkmll7hhbtDaJt94Q05i-HvXlXOve9AQBgFOZF0G4=',w:'594px',h:'367px',items:'970474196',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet there have been impressive challenges to the status quo interspersed\nthroughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Victory for world number three Simon Rosner at the prestigious\nTournament of Champions in January has helped justify the German\u2019s billing as\nthe most-improved player on tour in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, a shock British Open title for Colombian\nentertainer Miguel Angel Rodriguez also reminded us of the depth of the\ncompeting field and their ability to upset the odds when it comes to major\ntitles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The women\u2019s rankings, however, follow a similar pattern \u2013 Egyptians\nRaneem El Welily and Nour El Sherbini have been fighting back and forth for the\nworld number one ranking all year, with very little between the two stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a id='h_i7Evv-RfJmTwpJW9j0yA' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/970461748' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'h_i7Evv-RfJmTwpJW9j0yA',sig:'WmCiiTXrgqxaeLPx_Ecb4k5E_QY6-fB6qJo7CknUh60=',w:'594px',h:'386px',items:'970461748',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outside of the top two, Nour El Tayeb looks closest to\nupsetting the current seeding, while Kiwi Joelle King has enjoyed a brilliant\nyear, beating Perry to Commonwealth gold before clinching her first PSA Platinum\ntitle at the Hong Kong Open in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early 2019 will bless us with the Tournament of Champions (held\nin the spectacular Grand Central Terminal in New York) in January, before the\nWorld Championships take place in Chicago in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For those looking to topple the Egyptian powerhouses, two of\nthe biggest events of the year will soon provide a wonderful chance to do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For a sport that has thus far been marginalised from Olympic inclusion, squash has enjoyed good exposure this past year. Featuring at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and with the Professional Squash Association\u2019s (PSA) YouTube channel most recently hitting 100,000 subscribers, the global reach of squash is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":10564,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[57],"tags":[663,1766],"ppma_author":[4146],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v15.9.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The year in sport 2018: Squash - Sports Gazette<\/title>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The year in sport 2018: Squash - Sports Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For a sport that has thus far been marginalised from Olympic inclusion, squash has enjoyed good exposure this past year. Featuring at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and with the Professional Squash Association\u2019s (PSA) YouTube channel most recently hitting 100,000 subscribers, the global reach of squash is [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-30T10:39:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-12-30T11:37:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Saurav_Ghosal_and_James_Willstrop_2012.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1667\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sportsgazette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sportsgazette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Sports Gazette\",\"description\":\"The sports magazine brought to you by the next generation of sport writers\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Saurav_Ghosal_and_James_Willstrop_2012.jpg\",\"width\":2500,\"height\":1667},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/\",\"name\":\"The year in sport 2018: Squash - Sports Gazette\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-30T10:39:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-30T11:37:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cb01cb04be2c4cfdc5a4d085dd262cf9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/squash-2018-season-review\/\",\"name\":\"The year in sport 2018: Squash\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cb01cb04be2c4cfdc5a4d085dd262cf9\",\"name\":\"Robert Clayden\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c4d475beeca0eb26cac432d9669be54a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Robert Clayden\"},\"description\":\"Rob, 24, is a history graduate from the University of Warwick. Following his studies, he spent two years working in the education sector as a director at a tutoring firm, and still continues to work with young people in a sports coaching capacity for squash and cricket. Before undertaking his Sports Journalism Master\\u2019s at St Mary\\u2019s University, Rob spent the summer of 2018 working for digital golf magazine Golf Today. A competitive sportsman, Rob\\u2019s personal strengths and interests lie in racket sports, cricket, golf and American sports, and he joins the plethora of Surrey-based Manchester Utd fans that grace the South-East. Recent visits to Boston and San Francisco have affirmed his love for the sports culture in the US, with a more permanent move out there a long-term aspiration. You will likely find him tweeting propaganda for squash\\u2019s inclusion as an Olympic sport at anyone who will listen.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/author\/robert\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","authors":[{"term_id":4146,"user_id":38,"is_guest":0,"slug":"robert","display_name":"Robert Clayden","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c4d475beeca0eb26cac432d9669be54a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Clayden","user_url":"","description":"Rob, 24, is a history graduate from the University of Warwick. Following his studies, he spent two years working in the education sector as a director at a tutoring firm, and still continues to work with young people in a sports coaching capacity for squash and cricket. Before undertaking his Sports Journalism Master\u2019s at St Mary\u2019s University, Rob spent the summer of 2018 working for digital golf magazine Golf Today. A competitive sportsman, Rob\u2019s personal strengths and interests lie in racket sports, cricket, golf and American sports, and he joins the plethora of Surrey-based Manchester Utd fans that grace the South-East. Recent visits to Boston and San Francisco have affirmed his love for the sports culture in the US, with a more permanent move out there a long-term aspiration. You will likely find him tweeting propaganda for squash\u2019s inclusion as an Olympic sport at anyone who will listen."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10559"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10559"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10888,"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10559\/revisions\/10888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10559"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=10559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}