Players and records
The (British) Squash Rackets Association conducted its first British Open championship for men in 1930, using a 'challenge' system: Charles Read was designated champion, but was beaten in home and away matches by Don Butcher. This championship continues to this day, but now using a knockout format since 1947.
Since its inception, the men's British Open has been dominated by relatively few players: F.D. Amr Bey (Egypt) in the 1930s; Mahmoud Karim (Egypt) 1940s; brothers Hashim Khan and Azam Khan (Pakistan) 1950s and 1960s; Jonah Barrington (Great Britain and Ireland) and Geoff Hunt (Australia) 1960s and 1970s; Jahangir Khan (Pakistan) 1980s; Jansher Khan (Pakistan) 1990s. Recent championships have been shared by players from England, Scotland, Wales, Australia and Canada.
The women's championship started in 1921, and has similarly been dominated by relatively few players: Joyce Cave and Nancy Cave (England) in the 1920s; Margot Lumb (England) 1930s; Janet Morgan (England) 1950s; Heather McKay (Australia) 1960s and 1970s; Susan Devoy (New Zealand) 1980s; Michelle Martin (Australia) 1990s.
Because of its traditions, the British Open is considered by many to be more prestigious than the World Open, which began in the mid-1970s. However, some have shown concern about the ability of the former to sustain its prominence citing its failure in 2005 to attract top players including World No. 1 Amr Shabana (Egypt) and some of the other top players due in part to the disparity in prize money. In 2005 the combined men's and women's prize money for the British Open came to $71,000.[3] The 2006 World Open's prize money is estimated to be about $2 million.[4] Even Sakhi Kahn, while maintaining the great importance the British Open, the oldest of squash events, has always held for his family, concedes that now "many have replaced the World Open as the event to win."[5]
Heather McKay, with her lengthy and absolute dominance of the game during the 1960s and 1970s, is undoubtedly the greatest woman player of all time. Amongst the men, most modern commentators consider Hashim Khan (1950s) or Jahangir Khan (1980s) to be the greatest male players (the two Pakistani players are distantly related). Other worthy contenders are Jonah Barrington, Geoff Hunt and Jansher Khan.
In 2001, 23 year old Vicky Botwright (16th seed) posed for a photoshoot on court in a sports bra and thong claiming that she was hoping to bring more attention to the often overlooked sport. However, the Women's International Squash Players' Association counter-claimed that the rules of the sport require female players to wear either a skirt or dress and Botwright would not be allowed to play in such attire in official matches. Later the pictures were revealed to have been a publicity stunt that Botwright regretted.
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