There are two modern Squash players that truly made an impact on the sport, it would have to be Nicol David and Ramy Ashour; both excelled at both junior and senior levels of the sport.
Recently these two, who are the greatest players of the sport in the 2010s era – Nicol David and Ramy Ashour, announced their retirement just as major 2018/2019 season, just as the tier one competitions season is ending.
Nicol David
Ramy Ashour (Image credit – World Squash)
Just like Nick Matthew, both Nicol and Ramy have inspired junior squash players of all cultures with their performances both on and off the court.
Success at a junior level
Both Nicol and Ramy served their young Squash apprenticeships with success in the WSF Junior Championships.
For Nicol it was the 1999 tournament in which she defeated her fellow country competitor Lynn Leong in the final in Antwerp, Belgium, making her the youngest woman to become the world junior champion at the age of 15.
As for Ramy, he won his first major international title in 2004 at the age of 16, becoming the youngest player ever to win the Men’s World Junior Squash Championship.
This success at a grassroots level set both Nicol and Ramy to advance to the senior level.
Between them, they have won major titles, notably the British Open and the prestigious World Squash Championships.
The following videos, courtesy of the PSA World are interview with the golden duo on their life playing squash:
Ramy Ashour – life on the Squash tour
Source: PSA SQUASHTV
Nicol David – career overview:
Source: PSA SQUASHTV
Success equals more Squash talent
Because of the success of both Nicol and Ramy saw Squash participation in both Malaysia and Egypt grow at a grassroots level, notably in Egypt with total world domination in major Junior and Senior Squash tournaments sanctioned by the PSA.
However, Malaysia they have a strong ladder of junior Squash players who have shown signs of greatness and are ready to take on the mantle of the country’s success in the sport.
The Squash show goes on
Even though they are both retiring, Squash fans will have the pleasure of seeing Nicol and Ramy still in the sport – as ambassadors for the grassroots development and perhaps even in pundit roles; should the sport ever make it on free-to-air or dedicated Squash TV channel be launched.
In regards to playing again, it would be foolish not to bet on either one of them playing in Squash Masters tournaments.
To conclude, Ramy is truly a great Squash player both on and off the court – his success inspired many young Squash players across the globe, especially in his native Egypt and the UK – where he studied at the University of Birmingham.
As Nicol, well her games against Laura Massaro will be down in the history of the sport as the greatest matches ever seen on a Squash court.
It is just a shame neither one, had a chance to play Squash in the Olympics Games.
