Amr Shabana
After becoming the first Egyptian to top the Dunlop PSA Men's World Rankings in April 2006, Amr Shabana went on to hold the position for 33 unbroken months - confirming his status as the fifth longest-standing world number one of all-time, behind Pakistan’s Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan, Englishman Peter Nicol and Australian Geoff Hunt. And in November 2009 in Kuwait, the Prince of Cairo overwhelmed a star-studded field in the World Open to win the leading PSA World Tour title for a fourth time - an achievement only marked by Hunt and the two legendary Khans. Indeed Geoff Hunt and Jahangir Khan were in the audience to share in Shabana's success. "It's a dream. You don't think about it - you just dream about it," said Shabana when asked how it felt to equal the achievements of the sport's legendary figures. "It will take a month or two for it to sink in." Shabana has enjoyed a spectacular career in squash. His Kuwait success marked his 26th PSA World Tour title – including World Open trophies in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. The left-hander from Cairo, one of the most stylish players in the modern game, first showed his promise when he was runner-up (to compatriot Ahmed Faizy) in the British U14 Open in January 1993. Four years later he reached the final of the British U19 Open, where he again lost to Faizy. But it was in 2003 that Shabana made his major career breakthrough, securing the World Open title for the first time in Pakistan - remarkably, becoming Egypt’s first winner of the sport’s premier prize. In December 2006, he was honoured as PSA Player of the Year at the World Squash Awards in London - an accolade he received for the second time at the 2007 Awards! Plagued by injuries both late in 2009 (shoulder) and early in 2010 (back), Shabana fought through to his fourth successive Kuwait final in November when he prevailed against Gregory Gaultier in a semi-final he later described as "probably the hardest I ever played in my life". Later, he marked his second final appearance of the month at the Qatar Classic – his third in Doha – following another five-game semi-final victory over French rival Gaultier. Shabana’s 2011 campaign began in supreme style when he made it through to the final of the World Series Finals at Queen’s Club in London – an achievement which would mark his 40th Tour final appearance. But the climax with England’s new world number one Nick Matthew was then postponed, following damage to the spectacular inflatable structure in which the event had been staged. And it was Matthew who later proved to be the insurmountable hurdle for Shabana in the Tournament of Champions in January and North American Open in February. In New York, Shabana beat England’s Daryl Selby and Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema en-route to his semi-final berth with Matthew, while victories over Englishman Jonathan Kemp and Malaysian Mohd Azlan Iskandar saw the left-hander through the North American Open semi-finals in Virginia.
Shabana describes himself as a family man and lives with his family in Giza, Egypt.
British Under-14 Open runner-up in January 1993.
In 1999 Shabana won his first Tour title by when he won the Puebla Open in Mexico. Seven days later he won his second Tour title when he defeated Craig Rowland in the final of the Mexico Open.
In 2003, Shabana was seeded ninth in the rankings and caused quite a stir when he defeated Thierry Lincou in the final of the World open.
2004 was a quiet year for Shabana with only one final appearance. He stormed back to the top of his game in 2005. He triumphed in the Heliopolis Open in Cairo, the St. Louis Open crown in the United States, the Hungarian Open in Budapest and the World Open in Hong Kong for the second time.
2006 continued to be a good year for Shabana with victories in the Canadian Classic in January, the Tournament of Champions in New York in March and Bermuda PSA Masters in April. Also in April of that year 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.
Shabana held the World number 1 ranking for 33 unbroken months, from 2006 until 2009, when fellow countryman Karim Darwish took the position.
2011 Saw Shabana triumph in the US open.
In January 2012 Shabana defeated Gregory Gaultier in the final of the World Series finals.
