Amr Shabana

Amr Shabana (Lang-ar|عمرو شبانة) (born 20 July 1979, in Cairo) is a professional squash player from Egypt. He won the World Open in 2003, 2005 and 2007, and reached the World No. 1 ranking in 2006.

Career overview

The talented left-hander from Cairo first showed his promise when he was 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 in July 1999, winning the Puebla Open in Mexico. Seven days later he grabbed his second, the Mexico Open, again 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 despatched title-holder David Palmer, the third seed, in five games in the third round. He then went on to take out Palmer's Australian team-mate Anthony Ricketts in the last eight. After defeating Karim Darwish (the Egyptian No 1) in a four-game semi-final, Shabana clinched his historic title by beating the future World No 1 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 Britsih Open 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 the new-look Shabana. And the effect was plain to see: 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 of the St Louis Open 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 a 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.

In April 2006, Shabana became the first Egyptian player to reach the World No. 1 ranking.

In December 2007 Amr Shabana was crowned world champion for the third time in five years at the Endurance World Open in Bermuda.

PSA Tour Titles

PSA Tour Finals (Runner-Up)

External links

* [http://www.psa-squash.com/entry/ranking.php?player=T00018 Profile at psa-squash.com]
* [http://dev.squashinfo.com/player-7 Profile at squashinfo.com]
* [http://www.squashpics.com/amr_shabana.htm Page at squashpics.com]
* [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/674/profile.htm Article from Al-Ahram Weekly On-line (Jan 2004)]
* [http://squashsite.co.uk/20%20questions%20amr.htm 20 Questions With Amr Shabana at squashsite.co.uk]
* [http://www.squashsite.co.uk/vintage/amr.htm All About Amr Shabana at squashsite.co.uk]
* [http://www.squashsite.co.uk/kaleidoscopeAS.htm Kaleidoscope "Almost Famous" by Amr Shabana at squashsite.co.uk]
* [http://www.squashsite.co.uk/amr_profile.htm Amr's Profile at El Ahram Weekly]