10 Notable Male Squash Players in History

[Updated on 1 August 2022]

1) Jahangir Khan – the GOAT

DATE OF BIRTH 10 – December, 1963

Having hernia operations as a child Jahangir Khan was very weak. He learned squash from his father and entered the British World Championships with his brother in 1957. He won the World Amateur Championships at the age of 15 and later on beating Geoff Hunt in 1981 at the World Open at the age of 17 making him the youngest player to win a World Open Championship title. From then became unbeaten in 555 matches which lasted for 5 years and 8 months. He won the British Open Championship 10 years in a row from 1982 to 1993 and the World Championship 5 times in a row from 1981 to 1985 and later on winning again in 1988.

Khan was known for his incredibly mental strength and fitness and often started his day with a 14 kilometre run before weight training and match play sessions – all of which helped turn him into one of the world’s greatest ever athletes.

2) Hashim Khan

DATE OF BIRTH 1914 – Aug, 2014

HEIGHT (cm.) 163

Hashim Khan, learned to play squash as an unpaid ball boy at a British base in Peshawar, Pakistan. Later on started coaching and won the first All-of-India squash championships in Bombay and defended the title for the next two years. He was then sponsored by the Indian government to play at the British Open in 1950 and finished runner-up. He won the British Open in 1951 when he was sponsored by the Pakistan Air Force when he started to wear shoes in the court and continued to defend the title up to 1956 and 1958.

3) Geoff Hunt

DATE OF BIRTH 11 March 1947

MATCHES PLAYED 215

WINS 178

Ranked as No.1 player from 1975 to 1980, Geoff Hunt started playing squash at 12. He won 8 British Open Champion title from 1969 to 1981 and 4 World Open from 1976 to 1980. He retired in May of 1982 and became the coach for the Australian Institute of Sports from 1985 to 2003.

4) Jansher Khan

DATE OF BIRTH 15 – June, 1969

HEIGHT (CM) 185

Jansher Khan won the Junior World Squash Championship in 1986. In 1987 he won the World Open title against Australian Chris Dittmar and continued to win 7 more World Open titles until 1996. 6 time British Open champion from 1992 through 1997.

He retired in 2001 and later became advisor to Jahangir Khan as president of the Pakistan Squash Federation.

5) Rodney Martin

DATE OF BIRTH 17 October 1965

Inducted in the Australian Squash Hall of Fame in 2007, Rodney Martin was the only player to have beaten both Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan in the same tournament and taking home the World Open Championship title in 1991.

6) Jonathon Power – Master of Deception

DATE OF BIRTH 9 August 1974

HEIGHT(cm.) 183

WEIGHT(lbs.) 181

MATCHES PLAYED 237

WINS 190

Jonathon Power started playing squash at the age of 7 and turned professional at the age of 16 after joining the Professional Squash Association in 1991. He won the World Open Championship in 1998 and the British Open in 1999. He was ranked No. 1 in 1991 and later on in 2006.

7) Peter Nicol

DATE OF BIRTH 5 April 1973

HEIGHT(cm.) 180

MATCHES PLAYED 238

WINS 199

Peter Nicol is first Scottish player who ranked No.1 for a total of 60 months during his career. He won 2 British Open Championships and won the World Open Championship in 1999. He also won 3 consecutive PSA Super Series from 1999-2001 and 2 PSA Master titles in 2000 and 2004.

8) David Palmer

DATE OF BIRTH 28 June 1976

HEIGHT(cm.) 188

WEIGHT(lbs.) 181

MATCHES PLAYED 428

WINS 321

Australian player David Troy Palmer won the World Open Championship twice in 2002 and 2005 and a four time British Open Champion in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2008. He retired in 2011 and coaches college squash at Cornell University.

9) Ramy Ashour

DATE OF BIRTH 30 September 1987

HEIGHT(cm.) 186

WEIGHT(lbs.) 172

MATCHES PLAYED 435

WINS 358

Two time World Squash Junior Champion, Ramy Mohamed Ashour is the youngest squash player to rank No.1 since the 80’s. He won three World Open Championships in 2008, 2012 and 2014 and a British Open in 2013.

10) Nick Matthew

DATE OF BIRTH 25 July 1980

HEIGHT(cm.) 183

WEIGHT(lbs.) 167

MATCHES PLAYED 476

WINS 358

Nicholas Matthew is a 3 time World Open Champion in 2010, 2011 and 2013 and a British Open Champion in 2006, 200 and 2012. He ranked No.1 three times in 2010 and the entirety of 2011.