ISLAMABAD:The Allam British Open would celebrate its centenary year when the longest-running tournament in professional squash takes place from March 28 to April 3 at the Hull’s Allam Sports Centre.
Since beginning in 1922 with a women’s event – won by England’s Joyce Cave – the Allam British Open has established itself as one of the most iconic tournaments on the PSA World Tour and has seen the sport’s biggest names lift the famous trophy, including greats such as Australia’s Heather McKay and Pakistan’s Jahangir Khan, who hold the record for most British Open wins, with 16 and 10, respectively, said a press release issued here.
This year would also see the tournament celebrate 10 years of support from title sponsor Dr Assem Allam, who first became involved with the tournament in 2012.
Since then, the tournament has become synonymous with Hull and has gone from strength-to-strength, culminating in last year’s dramatic event which saw Paul Coll become the first male New Zealander to win the title, while Nour El Sherbini captured her third British Open crown.
Dr Allam has himself created a record with a 10th consecutive year as title sponsor for one of the most prestigious events on the PSA World Tour calendar.
Both Coll and El Sherbini would return to defend their titles. Coll, who would become the first male Kiwi to reach World No.1 prior to the event, was the No.2 seed and will play either three-time runner-up James Willstrop or Frenchman Auguste Dussourd in round two.
From there, he was seeded to face the likes of World No.12 Gregoire Marche, Qatar Classic champion Diego Elias and World No.4 Mostafa Asal, before a potential final clash against last year’s runner-up and current World No.1 Ali Farag.
Farag has a tricky path to the final which includes three former World Champions in Karim Abdel Gawad, Tarek Momen and three-time Allam British Open champion Mohamed ElShorbagy.
The highest-ranked British player in the men’s draw was Welshman Joel Makin, who is seeded eighth for the event. He is seeded to meet Asal in the quarter finals.
In the women’s draw, El Sherbini would begin her attempts to record a fourth Allam British Open triumph. The Egyptian will face either Zeina Mickawy or Cindy Merlo in round two, before a potential third round fixture against the in-form Georgina Kennedy.
From there, the 26-year-old could face No.7 seed Salma Hany and No.3 seed Hania El Hammamy, before a potential rematch with 2019 champion Nouran Gohar, who El Sherbini beat in the 2016 and 2021 finals.
Gohar was on the same side of the draw as 2017 champion Sarah-Jane Perry – the highest-ranked British player in the draw – and USA No.1 Amanda Sobhy.
The wildcards for the event were English quartet Nick Wall, Sam Todd, Mille Tomlinson and Katie Maliff.
Dr Allam said, “This is a great honour for me to have been able to sponsor such an iconic sports event with so many stories and memories. The event has touched every corner of the world and I am so proud to now create another story as the longest consecutive title sponsor (10 years) in the 100-year history of the event.”
In addition to the $360,000 in total player prize compensation, a place at the season-ending CIB PSA World Tour Finals was also up for grabs, with all winners of PSA World Tour Platinum events being granted a spot at the tour’s showpiece event, which will be held in Cairo, Egypt in June, 2022.