Professional Squash Association

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Professional Squash Association
PSA
375px
Sport Professional Squash
Jurisdiction International
Founded 1975 (1975)
Location Leeds, England, United Kingdom
President England James Willstrop (Men)
England Jenny Duncalf (Women)
Chairman Saudi Arabia Ziad Al-Turki
Chief Exec Wales Alex Gough
Director England Jonathan Kemp
France Renan Lavigne
Bahrain Mohab Khattab
England Chris Hornbuckle
Netherlands Marjolein Houtsma
United States Ashley Bernhard
Other key staff England Lee Beachill (Chief Operations Officer)

Netherlands Tommy Berden (Chief Commercial Officer)
England Hannah Mason (Tour Director)
England Lee Drew (Refereeing Director)

Regional Representative :
India Ritwik Bhattacharya (Asia)
England Tim Garner (Europe)
New Zealand Kashif Shuja (Oceania)
United States Graham Bassett (America)
Sponsor Dunlop, Salming, ASB Squash Courts
Official website
www.psaworldtour.com
Squash current event.svg Current World Tour
Squash
File:Logo of PSA 2011.jpg
Previous PSA Logo (2011-2014)

The Professional Squash Association (PSA) is the governing body for the men's and women's professional squash circuit. The body operates in a similar fashion to the ATP and the WTA for tennis. The PSA World Tour involves over 200 tournaments annually all over the globe. Over 800 players from all the 5 continents (over 60 different contries represented [1] [2]) are registered with the PSA and rankings are updated monthly based on players' performances.

In November 2014, the WSA and the PSA announced an historic merge between the two associations.[3] A decision was reached that will see the PSA operate as the governing body for both the women's and men's ranks from January 1, 2015.

PSA World Tour

There are hundreds of PSA tournaments throughout the course of a season of the PSA World Tour, and they are classified into the following categories, based on prize money:

  • Closed Satellite (Closed Satellite tournaments can either be National Closed Championships or a tournament/series of tournaments whose entry is restricted to members of an association that promotes the tournament).
  • Challenger (Challenger tournaments are entry point for young and or up and coming professionals progressing through to a more international level of competition). Tournaments start with a total of $5,000 :
  1. PSA Challenger 15 $15,000 - $24,999
  2. PSA Challenger 10 $10,000 - $14,999
  3. PSA Challenger 5 $5,000 - $9,999
  • International (These events range from larger club events and entry point glass court events all the way through to higher profile glass court events) :
  1. PSA International 100 $100,000 - $149,999
  2. PSA International 70 $70,000 - $99,999
  3. PSA International 50 $50,000 - $69,999
  4. PSA International 35 $35,000 - $49,999
  5. PSA International 25 $25,000 - $34,999
  • World Series (The PSA World Series is a select group of high profile squash tournaments easily recognised. They offer the largest prize money and attract the majority of the world's best players) :

PSA World Series - $150,000

  • World Championship (This is the ultimate tournament on the World Tour and to become World Champion is regarded the highest pinnacle of competitive achievement amongst PSA players. With a 64-man draw, this tournament is the most physically and mentally challenging of the season).

On January 17, 2006, the PSA reached an agreement with Dunlop that extends Dunlop's tenure as the provider of official balls and official racquets for the PSA. The extension is five years.

Before January 1, 2015, the women's squash game was governed by the Women's Squash Association (WSA).

World Series Squash Finals

Every year, the top eight performers from the various World Series events gather for the PSA World Series Finals. The eight players are separated into two groups of four, and play a round robin. The top two from each group advance to the semifinals (A1 vs. B2 and B1 vs. A2). The winner of the event is crowned World Series champion.

US Pro Squash Series

On January 2013, the PSA announced along with U.S. Squash, to create a new tournament series called the US Pro Squash Series. This tournament series is used to support marketing activities for tournaments in the United States.[4]

World Rankings

PSA publishes monthly rankings of professional players: PSA World Rankings (commonly known as the ‘World rankings’).

Current Champions

Video game

PSA World Tour Squash
Developer(s) Alternative Software
Publisher(s) Alternative Software
Platforms Wii
Release date(s)
    Genre(s) Sport simulation
    Mode(s) Single-player

    A PSA-licensed video game titled PSA World Tour Squash 2015 has been developed and published by Alternative Software, and is released only in various European countries on May 22, 2015 exclusively for Nintendo's Wii console.[7] The game features the likeness of several professional squash players such as Nick Matthew, Amr Shabana, Grégory Gaultier, Ramy Ashour, and many others, and takes place in many iconic, global squash courts. Players can compete in main World Tour, or set up their own tournaments with using custom player avatars and stats. The game also supports Wii MotionPlus, allowing users an enhanced, real-time squash motion control gameplay experience. (Official website)

    See also

    References

    1. https://psaworldtour.com/rankings/world_tour?g=men
    2. https://psaworldtour.com/rankings/world_tour?g=women
    3. http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/psa_wsamerge.htm
    4. http://www.psaworldtour.com/page/USProSquashSeries/
    5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

    External links