- United States Open (squash)
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The United States Open squash championships is an annual squash tournament sponsored by U.S. Squash. The championship was inaugurated in 1954 as an opportunity for professionals and amateurs to compete against each other. Prior to the mid-1980s, the tournament was held using the hardball squash format (a North American version of squash, which uses a smaller court and a faster-moving ball than the international "softball" version). In 1966, the championship merged with the Canadian Open and became the North American Open. The North American Open continued to use the hardball format and came to establish itself as the most prestigious event in the hardball game. In 1985, the United States Open was reinstituted as a "softball" squash event using the international format. (A separate North American Open competition has continued to run as a hardball event.)
The glass show court used at the 2011 US Open Squash Championships hosted by Drexel University at the Daskalakis Athletic Center
The first championship final in 1954 saw the Boston amateur player Henri Salaun defeat the great Pakistani player Hashim Khan in Hashim's first foray to North America. Subsequently the championship came to be dominated by members of the Khan family for the next three decades. Hashim won the title 3 times between 1956 and 1963. His son Sharif Khan then captured the title a record 12 times in the 13-year period between 1969 and 1981. Four other members of their extended family also won the championship – Roshan Khan (3 titles), Azam Khan (1 title), Mo Khan (3 titles), and Jahangir Khan (3 titles – 1 hardball and 2 softball). Sharif's younger brother Aziz Khan also finished runner-up in 1981. Another Khan, Jansher Khan, also won 3 titles in the 1980s and 1990s (Jansher is not known to be directly related to the other famous squash-playing Khan family, but his family originates from the same village in the Peshawar region of northern Pakistan, so it is possible that he is distantly related). Jansher's last win in 1995 marks the last time that a Pakistani player won the title. In recent years, players from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have enjoyed success at the event.
Contents
Past results
Men's championship
United States Open Championship (softball)
Year Winner Runner-up 2009 Amr Shabana Ramy Ashour 2008 not held 2007 Nick Matthew James Willstrop 2006 Grégory Gaultier Amr Shabana 2005 Lee Beachill David Palmer 2004 Lee Beachill Peter Nicol 2003 Peter Nicol David Palmer 2002 David Palmer Stewart Boswell 20011 Peter Nicol Jonathon Power 2000 Jonathon Power Simon Parke 1999 Simon Parke Jonathon Power 1998 Peter Nicol Jonathon Power 1997 Jonathon Power Simon Parke 1996 Rodney Eyles Peter Nicol 1995 Jansher Khan Simon Parke 1994 Peter Nicol Chris Walker 1993 Rodney Eyles Paul Lord 1992 not held 1991 Rodney Martin Brett Martin 1990 Jansher Khan Chris Robertson 1989 Rodney Martin Jansher Khan 1988 Jahangir Khan Chris Dittmar 1987 Jansher Khan Chris Dittmar 1986 Stuart Davenport Ross Norman 1985 Jahangir Khan Ross Norman North American Open Championship (hardball)
Year Winner Runner-up 1984 Jahangir Khan Mark Talbott 1983 Mark Talbott John Nimick 1982 Michael Desaulniers Sharif Khan 1981 Sharif Khan Aziz Khan 1980 Sharif Khan Michael Desaulniers 1979 Sharif Khan Gordon Anderson 1978 Sharif Khan Clive Caldwell 1977 Sharif Khan Geoff Hunt 1976 Sharif Khan Victor Niederhoffer 1975 Victor Niederhoffer Sharif Khan 1974 Sharif Khan Rainer Ratinac 1973 Sharif Khan Mo Khan 1972 Sharif Khan Victor Niederhoffer 1971 Sharif Khan Ken Binns 1970 Sharif Khan Mo Khan 1969 Sharif Khan Mo Khan 1968 Mo Khan Sharif Khan 1967 Ralph Howe Sam Howe 1966 Mo Khan Victor Niederhoffer United States Open Championship (hardball)
Year Winner Runner-up 1965 Mo Khan Hashim Khan 1964 Mo Khan Hashim Khan 1963 Hashim Khan Mo Khan 1962 Azam Khan Roshan Khan 1961 Roshan Khan Azam Khan 1960 Roshan Khan Azam Khan 1959 Diehl Mateer Hashim Khan 1958 Roshan Khan Henri Salaun 1957 Hashim Khan Roshan Khan 1956 Hashim Khan Azam Khan 1955 Diehl Mateer Azam Khan 1954 Henri Salaun Hashim Khan See also
- US Junior Open squash championship
- British Open Squash
- World Open
Note
1 The 2001 United States Open was played in January 2002 as the Memorial Open in honor of those who died in the September 11 2001 attacks. The event was originally scheduled to take place in September 2001, but was postponed following the attacks.
External links
Categories:- Squash tournaments
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