Amr Shabana

Amr Shabana (Arabic: عمرو شبانة; born 20 July 1979 in Cairo) is a former professional squash player from Egypt. He won the World Open in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, and reached the World No. 1 ranking in 2006.

Amr Shabana
Amr Shabana reacts during his 2009 Kuwait Open semi-final match.
Nickname(s)The Maestro
CountryEgypt
ResidenceCairo, Egypt
Born (1979-07-20) July 20, 1979
Cairo, Egypt
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Turned Pro1995
RetiredAugust 2015
PlaysLeft Handed
Racquet usedEye Rackets
Men's singles
Highest rankingNo. 1 (April, 2006)
Current rankingRetired (Ended 10)
Title(s)33
Tour final(s)45
World OpenW (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  Egypt
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Lahore Singles
Gold medal – first place 2005 Hong Kong Singles
Gold medal – first place 2007 Bermuda Singles
Gold medal – first place 2009 Kuwait Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Manchester Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Khobar Singles
World Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Odense Team
Silver medal – second place 2001 Melbourne Team
Silver medal – second place 2005 Islamabad Team
Last updated: July 2015.

He represented the winning Egyptian team in the 1999 Men's World Team Squash Championships held in Cairo and the 2009 Men's World Team Squash Championships held in Denmark. Shabana's accomplishments in professional squash lead many to regard him as one of the greatest players of all time.

Career overview

The talented left-hander from Cairo first showed his promise when he was the runner-up (to compatriot Ahmed Faizy) in the British Under-14 Open in January 1993. Four years later he reached the final of the British Under-19 Open, where he again lost to Faizy.

A PSA member since 1995, Amr claimed his first Tour title with the help of Bryan "Griffin" Knight in July 1999, winning the Puebla Open in Mexico. Seven days later he grabbed his second, the Mexico Open, again by beating Australia's Craig Rowland in the final.

Amr Shabana crowned a remarkable year in 2003 when, as ninth seed, he forced his way through a star-studded field in the World Open in Pakistan. He dispatched title-holder David Palmer, the third seed, in five games in the third round. He then went on to take out Palmer's Australian teammate Anthony Ricketts in the last eight. After defeating Karim Darwish (the Egyptian No 1) in a four-game semi-final, Shabana clinched the historic title by beating Thierry Lincou in the final 15–14, 9–15, 15–11, 15–7, to become Egypt's first winner of the sport's premier title.

But after a disappointing following year, in which his only final appearance was in the British Open Squash Championship in England, losing to David Palmer in four games 10–11 (4–6), 11–7, 11–10 (3–1), 11–7, Shabana stormed back to the top of his game in 2005. Over a short period, he acquired a new coach, Ahmed Tahir; a new manager, the former Egyptian international Omar Elborolossy; and a wife, Nadjla. "All I have to worry about now is playing my matches – everything else is looked after for me now", said Shabana.[1] And the effect was plain to see as a week after winning the Heliopolis Open in his home town Cairo, the seventh-seeded Shabana beat David Palmer and James Willstrop, before defeating Anthony Ricketts in the final to claim the St Louis Open crown in the United States.

The next event saw the in-form Egyptian brush aside all opposition in the Hungarian Open in Budapest, winning his third title in as many weeks after beating Grégory Gaultier in the final. But the World Open in Hong Kong confirmed his renaissance beyond doubt. Seeded five, Amr crushed fourth seed Lee Beachill in the quarters, Peter Nicol in the semis, and, in his third successive straight games victory, powered past David Palmer 11–6 11–7 11–8 in the final to become the first player since the heyday of the Khans to win the World Open title for the second time.

The new year brought continuing rewards for Shabana with victories in the Canadian Classic in January, followed by the Tournament of Champions in New York in March, and the Bermuda PSA Masters in April – bringing his PSA Tour title tally to 12, and then in April 2006, Shabana became the first Egyptian player to reach the world number 1 ranking.

In 2007, Shabana was crowned world champion for the third time in five years at the World Open in Bermuda and later in January 2009, Shabana's 33-month reign as World No. 1 was ended by his countryman Karim Darwish.

In 2014, Shabana became the oldest professional to win a World Series title by defeating Grégory Gaultier in the finals of Tournament of Champions.

On the 27th of August 2015, Shabana announced his retirement from competitive professional squash.[2]

World Open final appearances

4 titles & 0 runner-up
Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2003Lahore, PakistanFrance Thierry Lincou15–11, 11–15, 15–8, 15–14
Winner2005Hong KongAustralia David Palmer11–6, 11–7, 11–8
Winner2007BermudaFrance Grégory Gaultier11–7, 11–4, 11–6
Winner2009KuwaitEgypt Ramy Ashour11–8, 11–5, 11–5

Major World Series final appearances

British Open: 1 final (0 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2004Australia David Palmer14–16, 11–7, 13–11, 11–7

Hong Kong Open: 4 finals (4 titles, 0 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2006Egypt Ramy Ashour13-11, 3-11, 11-5, 13-11
Winner2007France Grégory Gaultier11-13, 11-3, 11-6, 13-11
Winner2008France Grégory Gaultier11-9, 13-15, 8-11, 11-2, 11-3
Winner2009France Grégory Gaultier11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 5-2 (rtd)

Qatar Classic: 3 final (1 title, 2 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2007France Grégory Gaultier11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5
Runner-up2008Egypt Karim Darwish11-4, 11-5, 11-3
Runner-up2010Egypt Karim Darwish8-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-6

US Open: 4 finals (2 titles, 2 runner-up)
Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2006France Grégory Gaultier11-5, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9
Winner2009Egypt Ramy Ashour11-7, 11-2, 7-11, 12-14, 11-8
Winner2011England Nick Matthew11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4
Runner-up2014Egypt Mohamed El Shorbagy8-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-3

Career statistics
Amr Shabana during the 2009 Kuwait Open semi-final match against James Willstrop.

Listed below.

PSA Titles (30)

All Results for Amr Shabana in PSA World's Tour tournament

Legend
PSA Platinum Series /
PSA Series Final /
PSA World Open (13)
PSA Gold Series (0)
PSA Silver Series (3)
PSA Star Series (10)
PSA Super Satellite (0)
PSA Satellite (0)
Titles by major tournaments
World Open (4)
British Open (0)
Hong Kong Open (4)
US Open (2)
Tournament of Champions (3)
Qatar Classic (1)
No. Date Tournament Opponent in final Score in final Minutes played
1. July 4, 1999 Puebla Open Australia Craig Rowland 11–15, 15–7, 15–7, 15–9 Unknown
2. July 11, 1999 Mexico Open Australia Craig Rowland 8–15, 15–7, 15–4, 15–13 Unknown
3. January 23, 2001 El Ahly Open Egypt Karim Darwish 15–12, 15–12, 17–15 57minutes
4. June 29, 2003 Spanish Open Egypt Karim Darwish 15–13, 13–15, 15–14, 8–15, 15–13 1 h 24 min[3]
5. December 21, 2003 World Open France Thierry Lincou 15–11, 11–15, 15–8, 15–14 1 h 13 min[4]
6. September 12, 2005 Helioplis Open Egypt Karim Darwish 11–10(2–0), 2–0 (ret) Unknown
7. September 20, 2003 St. Louis Open Australia Anthony Ricketts 11–10(2–0), 11–8, 11–7 56 min[5]
8. October 2, 2005 Hungarian Open France Grégory Gaultier 6–11, 11–2, 11–7, 8–11, 11–5 1 h 6 min[6]
9. December 4, 2005 World Open Australia David Palmer 11–6, 11–7, 11–8 40 min[7]
10. January 14, 2006 Canadian Classic Canada Jonathon Power 11–9, 11–8, 11–5 37 min[8]
11. March 3, 2006 Tournament of Champions England Nick Matthew 11–6, 11–9, 11–4 40 min[9]
12. April 8, 2006 Bermuda Masters England Peter Nicol 9–11, 11–6, 11–7, 2–11, 11–8 1 h 5 min[10]
13. October 22, 2006 Hong Kong Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–10(3–1), 3–11, 11–5, 11–10(3–1) 48 min[11]
14. December 20, 2006 Saudi International Open France Grégory Gaultier 11–7, 11–9, 11–4 1 h 13 min[12]
15. January 23, 2007 Windy City Open Australia Anthony Ricketts 11–8, 11–8, 11–10(5–3) 53 min[13]
16. March 2, 2007 Tournament of Champions Australia Anthony Ricketts 7–11, 11–3, 8–4 (ret) 26 min[14]
17. October 28, 2007 Saudi International Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–5, 11–5, 1–11, 11–9 50 min[15]
18. November 3, 2007 Qatar Classic France Grégory Gaultier 11–4, 8–11, 11–6, 11–5 52 min[16]
19. November 11, 2007 Hong Kong Open France Grégory Gaultier 10–11 (1–3), 11–3, 11–6, 11–10 (3–1) 1 h 1 min[17]
20. December 1, 2007 World Open France Grégory Gaultier 11–7, 11–4, 11–6 42 min[18]
21. April 27, 2008 Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–9, 11–7, 13–11 52 min[19]
22. November 23, 2008 Hong Kong Open France Grégory Gaultier 11–7, 13–15, 8–11, 11–2, 11–3 1 h 16 min[20]
23. August 1, 2009 Malaysian Open England Nick Matthew 5–11, 11–9, 11–6, 11–4 51 min[21]
24. September 6, 2009 US Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–7, 11–2, 7–11, 12–14, 11–8 57 min[22]
25. October 18, 2009 Hong Kong Open France Grégory Gaultier 11–8, 9–11, 11–3, 5–2 (ret) 48 min[23]
26. November 7, 2009 World Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–8, 11–8, 11–5 50 min[24]
27. October 7, 2011 US Open England Nick Matthew 11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4 51 min[25]
28. January 8, 2012 World Series Finals France Grégory Gaultier 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8 1 h 31 min[26]
29. January 6, 2013 World Series Finals England Nick Matthew 4-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-7 57 min [27]
30. January 24, 2014 Tournament of Champions France Grégory Gaultier 11-8, 11-3, 11-4 42 min [28]

Note: (ret) = retired, min = minutes, h = hours

PSA Tour Finals (runner-up) (11)
Shabana after winning the AON US Open.
No. Date Tournament Opponent in final Score in final Minutes played
1. May 17, 1998 Italia Open Scotland John White Unknown Unknown
2. May 3, 2003 Pakistan Circuit Egypt Karim Darwish 12–15, 7–15, 2–6 (ret) 22 min[29]
3. November 6, 2004 British Open Australia David Palmer 11–10(6–4), 7–11, 10–11(1–3), 7–11 1 h 29 min[30]
4. January 25, 2005 Windy City Open Scotland John White 7–11, 8–11, 4–11 40 min[31]
5. January 30, 2005 Dayton Open England Peter Nicol 6–11, 10–11(1–3), 2–11 28 min[32]
6. November 16, 2006 US Open France Grégory Gaultier 5–11, 11–7, 4–11, 9–11 1 h 1 min[33]
7. April 11, 2007 Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 3–11, 5–11, 10–12 34 min[34]
8. February 16, 2008 Canadian Classic Egypt Ramy Ashour 2–11, 9–11, 11–8, 8–11 38 min[35]
9. April 20, 2008 Hurghada International Egypt Ramy Ashour 10–11(0–2), 11–9, 7–11, 11–9, 10–11(0–2) 1 h 17 min[36]
10. October 31, 2008 Qatar Classic Egypt Karim Darwish 4–11, 5–11, 3–11 29 min[37]
11. October 18, 2014 US Open Egypt Mohamed El Shorbagy 11–8, 9–11, 3–11, 3–11 45 min[38]

Singles performance timeline
Terms
W–L Win–loss NWS Not a World Series event
NG50 Not an international event NH Not held
A Absent LQ/#Q Lost in qualifying draw and round number
RR Lost at round robin stage #R Lost in the early rounds
QF Quarterfinalist SF Semifinalist
SF-B Semifinalist, won bronze medal F Runner-up
F Runner-up, won silver medal W Winner

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.

Tournament19992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015Career SRCareer W-L
PSA World Tour Tournaments
World Open 3R Not Held 3R W QF W SF W SF W SF QF QF QF QF A 4 / 14 55–10
British Open A 1R Absent 1R F A 1R SF QF SF Not Held QF A QF A 0 / 9 16–9
Hong Kong Open 1R 1R 1R 2R NH QF NH W W W W QF QF QF QF A A 4 / 13 31–9
Qatar Classic Not Held A 2R 1R NH 2R 2R W W A F 1R NH QF NH A 2 / 9 20–7
PSA Masters NH 1R 1R QF 1R QF Absent Not Held SF SF A Not Held 0 / 7 10–7
Tournament of Champions Absent 2R 1R 1R A SF W W A 2R QF SF QF A W SF 3 / 12 30–9
North American Open Not Held Not World Series Absent QF SF SF QF QF Not Held 0 / 5 13–5
Kuwait PSA Cup Not Held 1R A NH F W NH F 2R NH QF Not Held 1 / 5 16–5
US Open Absent NH A 1R 1R A F QF NH W A W QF A F A 2 / 8 22–6
Saudi International Not Held 2R W W QF 1R Not Held 2 / 5 13–3
Pakistan International 2R Not Held QF NH QF QF QF NH NWS Not Held NWS NH 0 / 5 9–5
Win Ratio 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 6 1 / 6 0 / 7 1 / 8 3 / 8 5 / 8 3 / 6 3 / 8 0 / 7 1 / 7 0 / 6 0 / 5 1 / 4 0 / 1 18 / 93 NA
Win–loss 3 / 3 0 / 3 1 / 3 8 / 6 6 / 5 13 / 7 13 / 4 26 / 5 35 / 3 23 / 3 25 / 5 22 / 7 16 / 6 13 / 6 13 / 5 14 / 3 3 / 1 NA 233–78

[39] Note: NA = Not Available

See also

References
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  2. "Message from the "maestro" Amr Shabana". psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
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  4. "Amr Shabana - First Egyptian World Champion". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  5. "Final from St Louis". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  6. "Sahabana sneaks by Gaultier". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
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  26. "Shabana Wins PSA World Series Finals Crown". www.psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  27. "Shabana Retains World Series Finals Crown". www.psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  28. "Shabana Wins 2014 Tournament of Champions". www.psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
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  31. "White hot in cold Chicago". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  32. "Nicol back on top in Ohio". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  33. "Gaultier claims US Open title". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  34. "Ramy & Nicol takes Kuwait crown". Squashsite.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  35. "Ramy retains against rusty Shabana". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
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  39. "Amr Shabana - Professional Squash Association". www.psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
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