Amr Shabana

Amr Shabana

Amr Shabana reacts during his 2009 Kuwait Open semi-final match.
Personal information
Nickname	The Maestro
Born	(1979-07-20) July 20, 1979 (age 46) Cairo, Egypt
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Country	Egypt
Handedness	Left Handed
Turned pro	1995
Retired	August 2015
Racquet used	Eye Rackets
Men's singles
Highest ranking	No. 1 (April, 2006)
Current ranking	Retired (Ended 10)
Title	33
Tour final	45
World Open	W (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)
Medal record Men's squash Representing   Egypt World Championships 2003 Lahore Singles 2005 Hong Kong Singles 2007 Bermuda Singles 2009 Kuwait Singles 2006 Doha Singles 2008 Manchester Singles 2010 Khobar Singles World Team Championships 2009 Odense Team 2001 Melbourne Team 2005 Islamabad Team
Updated on July 2015

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.

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 final against Australia's Craig Rowland in Mexico. Seven days later he grabbed his second, the Mexico Open, again by beating 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
Winner	2003	Lahore, Pakistan	Thierry Lincou	15–11, 11–15, 15–8, 15–14
Winner	2005	Hong Kong	David Palmer	11–6, 11–7, 11–8
Winner	2007	Bermuda	Grégory Gaultier	11–7, 11–4, 11–6
Winner	2009	Kuwait	Ramy Ashour	11–8, 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-up	2004	David Palmer	14–16, 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
Winner	2006	Ramy Ashour	13-11, 3-11, 11-5, 13-11
Winner	2007	Grégory Gaultier	11-13, 11-3, 11-6, 13-11
Winner	2008	Grégory Gaultier	11-9, 13-15, 8-11, 11-2, 11-3
Winner	2009	Grégory Gaultier	11-9, 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
Winner	2007	Grégory Gaultier	11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5
Runner-up	2008	Karim Darwish	11-4, 11-5, 11-3
Runner-up	2010	Karim Darwish	8-11, 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-up	2006	Grégory Gaultier	11-5, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9
Winner	2009	Ramy Ashour	11-7, 11-2, 7-11, 12-14, 11-8
Winner	2011	Nick Matthew	11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4
Runner-up	2014	Mohamed El Shorbagy	8-11, 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	Craig Rowland	11–15, 15–7, 15–7, 15–9	Unknown
2.	July 11, 1999	Mexico Open	Craig Rowland	8–15, 15–7, 15–4, 15–13	Unknown
3.	January 23, 2001	El Ahly Open	Karim Darwish	15–12, 15–12, 17–15	57minutes
4.	June 29, 2003	Spanish Open	Karim Darwish	15–13, 13–15, 15–14, 8–15, 15–13	1 h 24 min [3]
5.	December 21, 2003	World Open	Thierry Lincou	15–11, 11–15, 15–8, 15–14	1 h 13 min [4]
6.	September 12, 2005	Helioplis Open	Karim Darwish	11–10(2–0), 2–0 (ret)	Unknown
7.	September 20, 2003	St. Louis Open	Anthony Ricketts	11–10(2–0), 11–8, 11–7	56 min [5]
8.	October 2, 2005	Hungarian Open	Grégory Gaultier	6–11, 11–2, 11–7, 8–11, 11–5	1 h 6 min [6]
9.	December 4, 2005	World Open	David Palmer	11–6, 11–7, 11–8	40 min [7]
10.	January 14, 2006	Canadian Classic	Jonathon Power	11–9, 11–8, 11–5	37 min [8]
11.	March 3, 2006	Tournament of Champions	Nick Matthew	11–6, 11–9, 11–4	40 min [9]
12.	April 8, 2006	Bermuda Masters	Peter Nicol	9–11, 11–6, 11–7, 2–11, 11–8	1 h 5 min [10]
13.	October 22, 2006	Hong Kong Open	Ramy Ashour	11–10(3–1), 3–11, 11–5, 11–10(3–1)	48 min [11]
14.	December 20, 2006	Saudi International Open	Grégory Gaultier	11–7, 11–9, 11–4	1 h 13 min [12]
15.	January 23, 2007	Windy City Open	Anthony Ricketts	11–8, 11–8, 11–10(5–3)	53 min [13]
16.	March 2, 2007	Tournament of Champions	Anthony Ricketts	7–11, 11–3, 8–4 (ret)	26 min [14]
17.	October 28, 2007	Saudi International Open	Ramy Ashour	11–5, 11–5, 1–11, 11–9	50 min [15]
18.	November 3, 2007	Qatar Classic	Grégory Gaultier	11–4, 8–11, 11–6, 11–5	52 min [16]
19.	November 11, 2007	Hong Kong Open	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	Grégory Gaultier	11–7, 11–4, 11–6	42 min [18]
21.	April 27, 2008	Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open	Ramy Ashour	11–9, 11–7, 13–11	52 min [19]
22.	November 23, 2008	Hong Kong Open	Grégory Gaultier	11–7, 13–15, 8–11, 11–2, 11–3	1 h 16 min [20]
23.	August 1, 2009	Malaysian Open	Nick Matthew	5–11, 11–9, 11–6, 11–4	51 min [21]
24.	September 6, 2009	US Open	Ramy Ashour	11–7, 11–2, 7–11, 12–14, 11–8	57 min [22]
25.	October 18, 2009	Hong Kong Open	Grégory Gaultier	11–8, 9–11, 11–3, 5–2 (ret)	48 min [23]
26.	November 7, 2009	World Open	Ramy Ashour	11–8, 11–8, 11–5	50 min [24]
27.	October 7, 2011	US Open	Nick Matthew	11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4	51 min [25]
28.	January 8, 2012	World Series Finals	Grégory Gaultier	6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8	1 h 31 min [26]
29.	January 6, 2013	World Series Finals	Nick Matthew	4-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-7	57 min [27]
30.	January 24, 2014	Tournament of Champions	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	John White	Unknown	Unknown
2.	May 3, 2003	Pakistan Circuit	Karim Darwish	12–15, 7–15, 2–6 (ret)	22 min [29]
3.	November 6, 2004	British Open	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	John White	7–11, 8–11, 4–11	40 min [31]
5.	January 30, 2005	Dayton Open	Peter Nicol	6–11, 10–11(1–3), 2–11	28 min [32]
6.	November 16, 2006	US Open	Grégory Gaultier	5–11, 11–7, 4–11, 9–11	1 h 1 min [33]
7.	April 11, 2007	Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open	Ramy Ashour	3–11, 5–11, 10–12	34 min [34]
8.	February 16, 2008	Canadian Classic	Ramy Ashour	2–11, 9–11, 11–8, 8–11	38 min [35]
9.	April 20, 2008	Hurghada International	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	Karim Darwish	4–11, 5–11, 3–11	29 min [37]
11.	October 18, 2014	US Open	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.

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Career SR	Career 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

• Official Men's Squash World Ranking

References

1. "QATAR CLASSIC 2008" (PDF). qatarsquash.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
2. "Message from the "maestro" Amr Shabana". psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
3. "Shabana wins Egyptian duel in Seville". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
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.
7. "Double title for Shabana as Nicol takes it all". Womens World Open Official Website. Retrieved 2009-05-19.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. "2006 Canadian Classic result". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on 2009-07-05. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
9. "Shabana & Atkinson win Tournament of Champions titles". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
10. "Shabana wins Super Show". Squashsite.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
11. "World number ones takes Hong Kong title". Squashsite.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
12. "Shabana Beats Gaultier to Confirm No. 1 Status". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
13. "The last match". Squashsite.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
14. "Shabana takes two". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
15. "Saudi showdown". Atcosquash.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
16. "Top seeds take Qatar crown". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
17. "Three in a row for Nicol and Amr". Squashsite.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
18. "Shabana makes it three". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
19. Steve Cubbins, Framboise Gommendy. "Shabana's turn". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
20. "SFour each for Nicol and Shabana". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
21. "David & Shabana shine in KL". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
22. "Magnificent Shabana takes US Open". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
23. Steve Cubbins, Framboise Gommendy. "Five and counting for Shabana & David in Hong Kong". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
24. "It's four for Shabana". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
25. "Amr Shabana Is US Open Champion". www.psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
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.
29. "Darwish grabs crown as Shabana bows out". Pakistan Daily Times. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
30. "Palmer's British Hat-trick". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
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.
36. Framboise Gommendy. "Ramy wins a thriller". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
37. "A first major for Karim". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
38. "DAVID COMPLETES FIRST U.S. OPEN THREE-PEAT; ELSHORBAGY ROLLS OVER SHABANA". usopensquash.com. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
39. "Amr Shabana - Professional Squash Association". www.psaworldtour.com. Retrieved 2018-07-10.

External links

• Amr Shabana at the Professional Squash Association ( archive ) ( archive 2 )
• Amr Shabana at Squash Info
• Page at Squashpics.com at the Wayback Machine (archived October 22, 2006)
• Article from Al-Ahram Weekly On-line (Jan 2004) at the Wayback Machine (archived December 23, 2005)
• 20 Questions With Amr Shabana at Squashsite.co.uk
• All About Amr Shabana at Squashsite.co.uk
• Kaleidoscope Almost Famous by Amr Shabana at Squashsite.co.uk
• Amr's Profile at El Ahram Weekly

Sporting positions
Preceded by Jonathon Power	World No. 1 April 2006 - December 2008	Succeeded by Karim Darwish
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Thierry Lincou	PSA Player of the Year 2005-06	Succeeded by James Willstrop