Amr Shabana

Amr Shabana
Amr Shabana.jpg
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 (age 43)
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)
Last updated: 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 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. 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.

World Open final appearances

4 titles & 0 runner-up

Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2003 Lahore, Pakistan France Thierry Lincou 15–11, 11–15, 15–8, 15–14
Winner 2005 Hong Kong Australia David Palmer 11–6, 11–7, 11–8
Winner 2007 Bermuda France Grégory Gaultier 11–7, 11–4, 11–6
Winner 2009 Kuwait Egypt 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 Australia 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 Egypt Ramy Ashour 13-11, 3-11, 11-5, 13-11
Winner 2007 France Grégory Gaultier 11-13, 11-3, 11-6, 13-11
Winner 2008 France Grégory Gaultier 11-9, 13-15, 8-11, 11-2, 11-3
Winner 2009 France 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 France Grégory Gaultier 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5
Runner-up 2008 Egypt Karim Darwish 11-4, 11-5, 11-3
Runner-up 2010 Egypt 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 France Grégory Gaultier 11-5, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9
Winner 2009 Egypt Ramy Ashour 11-7, 11-2, 7-11, 12-14, 11-8
Winner 2011 England Nick Matthew 11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4
Runner-up 2014 Egypt 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 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
5. December 21, 2003 World Open France Thierry Lincou 15–11, 11–15, 15–8, 15–14 1 h 13 min
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
8. October 2, 2005 Hungarian Open France Grégory Gaultier 6–11, 11–2, 11–7, 8–11, 11–5 1 h 6 min
9. December 4, 2005 World Open Australia David Palmer 11–6, 11–7, 11–8 40 min
10. January 14, 2006 Canadian Classic Canada Jonathon Power 11–9, 11–8, 11–5 37 min
11. March 3, 2006 Tournament of Champions England Nick Matthew 11–6, 11–9, 11–4 40 min
12. April 8, 2006 Bermuda Masters England Peter Nicol 9–11, 11–6, 11–7, 2–11, 11–8 1 h 5 min
13. October 22, 2006 Hong Kong Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–10(3–1), 3–11, 11–5, 11–10(3–1) 48 min
14. December 20, 2006 Saudi International Open France Grégory Gaultier 11–7, 11–9, 11–4 1 h 13 min
15. January 23, 2007 Windy City Open Australia Anthony Ricketts 11–8, 11–8, 11–10(5–3) 53 min
16. March 2, 2007 Tournament of Champions Australia Anthony Ricketts 7–11, 11–3, 8–4 (ret) 26 min
17. October 28, 2007 Saudi International Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–5, 11–5, 1–11, 11–9 50 min
18. November 3, 2007 Qatar Classic France Grégory Gaultier 11–4, 8–11, 11–6, 11–5 52 min
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
20. December 1, 2007 World Open France Grégory Gaultier 11–7, 11–4, 11–6 42 min
21. April 27, 2008 Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–9, 11–7, 13–11 52 min
22. November 23, 2008 Hong Kong Open France Grégory Gaultier 11–7, 13–15, 8–11, 11–2, 11–3 1 h 16 min
23. August 1, 2009 Malaysian Open England Nick Matthew 5–11, 11–9, 11–6, 11–4 51 min
24. September 6, 2009 US Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–7, 11–2, 7–11, 12–14, 11–8 57 min
25. October 18, 2009 Hong Kong Open France Grégory Gaultier 11–8, 9–11, 11–3, 5–2 (ret) 48 min
26. November 7, 2009 World Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 11–8, 11–8, 11–5 50 min
27. October 7, 2011 US Open England Nick Matthew 11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4 51 min
28. January 8, 2012 World Series Finals France Grégory Gaultier 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8 1 h 31 min
29. January 6, 2013 World Series Finals England Nick Matthew 4-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-7 57 min
30. January 24, 2014 Tournament of Champions France Grégory Gaultier 11-8, 11-3, 11-4 42 min

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
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
4. January 25, 2005 Windy City Open Scotland John White 7–11, 8–11, 4–11 40 min
5. January 30, 2005 Dayton Open England Peter Nicol 6–11, 10–11(1–3), 2–11 28 min
6. November 16, 2006 US Open France Grégory Gaultier 5–11, 11–7, 4–11, 9–11 1 h 1 min
7. April 11, 2007 Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open Egypt Ramy Ashour 3–11, 5–11, 10–12 34 min
8. February 16, 2008 Canadian Classic Egypt Ramy Ashour 2–11, 9–11, 11–8, 8–11 38 min
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
10. October 31, 2008 Qatar Classic Egypt Karim Darwish 4–11, 5–11, 3–11 29 min
11. October 18, 2014 US Open Egypt Mohamed El Shorbagy 11–8, 9–11, 3–11, 3–11 45 min

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

Note: NA = Not Available

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-04-27 11:29 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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