Professional Squash Association
 | |
| Sport | Professional Squash |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | International |
| Abbreviation | PSA |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Location | Leeds, England, United Kingdom |
| President |  Saurav Ghosal (Men) Sarah-Jane Perry (Women) |
| Chairman |  Ziad Al-Turki (ATCO) |
| CEO |  Alex Gough |
| Director |  Ahmad Bassam Ashley Bernhard Claudia Schurmann Daryl Selby John Nimick Mike Puertas |
| Other key staff | Lee Beachill (Chief Operations Officer)
Andy Malley (Tour Development) |
| Sponsor | Dunlop, Salming, ASB Squash Courts |
| Official website | |
| www | |
 Current World Tour | |
| Squash |
|---|
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) is the governing body for the men's and women's professional squash circuit. The body operates in a similar fashion to the ATP and the WTA for tennis. The PSA's highest professional level, the PSA World Tour involves over 250 tournaments annually around the world. Over 1,200 players from five continents (over 60 countries represented [1][2]) are registered with the PSA and rankings are updated monthly based on players' performances.
PSA tours
[edit]There are hundreds of PSA tournaments throughout the course of a season, and they are classified into the following categories, based on prize money:
- World Tour (The most important tournaments in prize money for more experienced and higher-ranked players, including the World Championship and PSA World Tour Finals).
- Challenger Tour (Challenger tournaments are entry point for young and or up and coming professionals progressing through to a more international level of competition). Tournaments start with a total of $3,000:
- Satellite Tour (Closed Satellite tournaments can either be National Closed Championships or a tournament/series of tournaments whose entry is restricted to members of an association that promotes the tournament).
PSA World Tour
[edit]PSA World Tour (formerly PSA World Series) comprises the most important tournaments in prize money for more experienced and higher-ranked players, including PSA World Championships and PSA World Tour Finals, labelled as following:
- PSA World Tour Platinum — 48-player draws — $165,000
- PSA World Tour Gold — 24-player draws — $97,500–$100,000
- PSA World Tour Silver — 24-player draws — $67,500–$70,000
- PSA World Tour Bronze — 24-player draws — $45,000–$47,500
Every year, the top eight performers compete in the PSA World Tour Finals. The eight players are separated into two groups of four, and play a round robin. The top two from each group advance to the semifinals (A1 vs. B2 and B1 vs. A2). The winner of the event is crowned PSA World Tour champion.[3]
PSA Challenger Tour
[edit]PSA Challenger Tour tournaments offer a $3,000–$30,000 prize-money, ideal circuit for less-experienced and upcoming players, that include the following tiers:
- PSA Challenger 30 — $30,000
- PSA Challenger 20 — $20,000
- PSA Challenger 15 — $15,000 (starting August 2023)
- PSA Challenger 12 — $12,000
- PSA Challenger 9 — $9,000 (starting August 2023)
- PSA Challenger 6 — $6,000
- PSA Challenger 3 — $3,000 (starting August 2020)
Satellite tour
[edit]Satellite tournaments can either be Regional or National Closed Championships or a tournament/series of tournaments whose entry is restricted to members of an association that promotes the tournament.
History
[edit]In January 2013, the PSA announced, along with U.S. Squash, the creation of a new tournament series called the US Pro Squash Series. This tournament series is used to support marketing activities for tournaments in the United States.[4]
In November 2014, the WSA and the PSA announced a historic merger between the two associations.[5] A decision was reached to designate the PSA operate as the governing body for both the women's and men's ranks from 1 January 2015.
On 7 December 2020 the PSA reached an agreement with Dunlop that extends Dunlop's tenure as the provider of official balls and official racquets for the PSA. The extension is three years.[6]
World rankings
[edit]PSA publishes weekly rankings of professional players: PSA World Rankings (commonly known as the ‘World rankings’).
Current men's rankings[edit]
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Current women's rankings[edit]
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Current champions
[edit]
Current men's champions[edit]
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Current women's champions[edit]
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Video game
[edit]| PSA World Tour Squash 2015 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Team6 Game Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Alternative Software |
| Platform(s) | Wii |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Sport simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
A PSA-licensed video game titled PSA World Tour Squash 2015 has been developed by Team6 Game Studios and published by Alternative Software, and was released only in various European countries on 22 May 2015, exclusively for Nintendo's Wii console.[9] The game features the likeness of several professional squash players such as Nick Matthew, Amr Shabana, Grégory Gaultier, Ramy Ashour, and many others, and takes place in many iconic, global squash courts. Players can compete in main World Tour, or set up their own tournaments with using custom player avatars and stats. The game also supports Wii MotionPlus, allowing users an enhanced, real-time squash motion control gameplay experience, (Official website) and is the last ever game for the console to do so.
See also
[edit]- PSA World Tour records
- Official Men's Squash World Ranking
- Official Women's Squash World Ranking
- World Squash Federation
- PSA Awards
- Women's Squash Association
- Squash TV
PSA World Tour Platinum events are a select group of high-profile squash tournaments easily recognised (they offer the largest prize money and attract the majority of the world's best players).
- World Championship (This is the ultimate tournament on the World Tour and to become World Champion is regarded the highest pinnacle of competitive achievement amongst PSA players. With a 64-person draw, this tournament is the most physically and mentally challenging of the season).
References
[edit]- ^ "PSA World Rankings – Men's". Professional Squash Association. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ "PSA World Rankings – Women's". Professional Squash Association. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ "World Tour Finals: Tournament History". PSA World Tour. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ "US Pro Squash Series Standings". Professional Squash Association. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014.
- ^ "WSA And PSA To Join Forces In Historic Merger". Squash Site. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ "PSA and Dunlop Announce Partnership Renewal". PSA World Tour. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Current PSA World Rankings". PSA World Tour, Inc.
- ^ "Current PSA World Rankings". PSA World Tour, Inc.
- ^ Calvert, Darren (29 April 2015). "Just When You Thought the Humble Wii Was Dead, Here Comes PSA World Tour Squash". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
