Jonathon Power

Jonathon Tyler Power (born 9 August 1974, in Comox, British Columbia, Canada) is a retired professional squash player from Canada. In 1999, he became the first North American squash player to reach the World No. 1 ranking. He won 36 top-level squash events during his career, including the World Open in 1998, and the British Open in 1999.

Power began playing squash at the age of seven and turned professional at age 16. After joining the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour in May 1991, he went on to win 36 PSA tournaments, and appeared in 58 finals. Career highlights included winning the World Open (1998), the British Open (1999), the Super Series Finals (2003 & 2005), the PSA Masters (2001, 2002 & 2005), the Tournament of Champions (1996, 1999, 2000 & 2002), and the men's singles Gold Medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Power is considered to be one of the greatest shotmakers in the history of the game, having perfected a wide range of drop shots and deception shots. He was often a crowd favourite, partly because of his emotional outbursts and verbal exchanges with referees, which sometimes led to him being compared with John McEnroe. Power's rivalry with Britain's Peter Nicol was one of the most famous and extended in the history of the game.

In January 2006, Power returned to the World No. 1 ranking, four-and-a-half years after the previous time he was ranked in the top spot (marking the longest gap between periods of holding the World No. 1 ranking of any player in history). He lost the No. 1 ranking in February 2006 to David Palmer, but regained it again in March 1 2006. One day later, on March 2, Power announced his retirement from professional squash. His wife, Sita, gave birth to their daughter named "Parker."

World Open final appearances

Trivia

* He is commonly referred to by squash enthusiasts as "JP", or "The Magician".
* During his career, he had his own signature racquet made by Dunlop.
* During the later stages of his career, he released several instructional DVDs on the game of squash.
* Unlike most top squash players who base their training in England, Power was based in Amsterdam for the early part of his career, and then in Montreal for the later stages.
* Before serving, Power almost never bounced the ball against the floor with his racquet, which is very common in squash players.

External links

* [http://www.jpsquash.com The official Jonathon Power site]
* [http://www.psa-squash.com/ranking/730613.htm Profile at psa-squash.com]
* [http://dev.squashinfo.com/player-6 Profile at squashinfo.com]
* [http://www.squashpics.com/jonathon_power.htm Page at squashpics.com]
* [http://www.squashtalk.com/html/news/feb06/news06-2-155.htm SquashTalk article on Power's retirement]
* [http://www.squashsite.co.uk/power_retires.htm SquashSite article on Power's retirement]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/squash/4781718.stm BBC article on Power's retirement]
* [http://www.squashphotos.com/powertribute.html Photo tribute at squashphotos.com]