British Open Squash Championships

While there had been a professional men's championship for some years, the 'open' men's championship (for both professionals and amateurs) was not inaugurated until 1930. Charles Read, British professional champion for many years, was designated the first open title holder. Would-be challengers were required to demonstrate they were capable of mounting a competent challenge as well as guaranteeing a minimum 'purse' (prize money) of £100 (which comprised gate-takings and players' 'subscriptions'). Read subsequently played the first final as the 'defending champion' against challenger Don Butcher in December 1930, but lost in home and away legs. The men's Championship maintained this 'challenge' system format until 1947, replacing it with the current 'knockout' system in 1948.

The ladies' championships commenced in 1922 as an amateur event and remained so until 1974. In the inaugural event, Joyce Cave defeated her sister Nancy Cave in the final.

Both Championships have been played continuously since inception, with the exception of the men's championship in 1934 (when no challenger to F.D. Amr Bey emerged) and during World War 2. The men's and women's events were originally held separately, but have been held as a joint event since 1983.

The most successful players in the history of the championships are Australian Heather McKay (née Blundell), who won the women's event 16 consecutive times from 1962 to 1977, and Pakistani Jahangir Khan, who won the men's title for 10 consecutive times from 1982 to 1991.

The event has been held at various venues since the challenge system ended in 1947.[1]

• 1948–1960 Lansdowne Club, London
• 1961–1962 Royal Automobile Club, London
• 1963–1968 Lansdowne Club and Royal Aero Club, London
• 1969, 1970–1974 Abbeydale Park, Sheffield
• 1970–1971 Edgbaston Priory, Birmingham
• 1975-1980+ Wembley Squash Centre, London
• 1980+, 1984–1994 Wembley Conference Centre
• 1981–1982 Churchill Theatre, Bromley
• 1983 Assembly Rooms, Derby
• 1984–1994 Wembley Conference Centre, London
• 1995–1997 Cardiff, Wales
• 1998, 2000, 2001 National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
• 1999 Aberdeen, Scotland
• 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009 National Squash Centre, Manchester
• 2003–2004 Albert Hall, Nottingham
• 2006 University of Nottingham, Nottingham
• 2008 Echo Arena, Liverpool
• 2012 The O2, London
• 2013 KC Stadium, Hull
• 2014–present Airco Arena, Hull

+ later rounds held at Conference Centre

After being staged at the Wembley Conference Centre for 10 years until 1994 with some capacity crowds,[2] the event began to move around Britain with eight different venues over the next 17 years – only twice staying in the same venue for consecutive years.[3]

The competition suffered much uncertainty as it continued to move around the country. In 1999, the event was nearly dropped due to lack of sponsorship, but was saved by a last-minute deal. Promoter Alan Thatcher took the event to Aberdeen in conjunction with the newly-formed Eye Group. A crowd of 1,600 witnessed an astonishing final at Aberdeen Exhibition Centre, where local hero Peter Nicol collapsed at courtside with the score one game all against his great rival Jonathon Power and was rushed to hospital suffering from food poisoning. [4] A deal with Sky Sports was signed in 2000 to cover the event saw record prize money of £110,000 but by the following year it had moved again to Birmingham's National Indoor Arena.[4]

Long term deals were agreed, but subsequently terminated early casting doubts over the staging of the event. A seven-year deal to play at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham from 2000 was terminated after two. Fablon Investments cash injection over eight years was pulled in 2002 after less than two years. Promoters John Beddington and John Nimmick moved the Open to Nottingham but they ended their involvement in 2005, again after two years.[4]

Shorter term agreements also began falling through, the Royal Horticultural Halls in London was announced as the venue for the 2005 British Open, but that agreement ended up scrapped with Manchester stepping in to host. Dunlop pulled out of their sponsorship in 2008, but the competition staggered on.[4] The 2010 event was postponed as organisers tried to get the event moved back to London, but by the time the £200,000 headline sponsor withdrew their support the 2011 competition was also cancelled.[4]

In May 2012, the competition returned with England Squash holding the British Open at The O2 with a new sponsor secured[5]

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
1930	Charles Read	Appointed Champion
1931	Don Butcher	Charles Read	9–6, 9–5, 9–5 and 9–3, 9–5, 9–3
1932	Don Butcher	Charles Arnold	9–0, 9–0, 9–0 and 9–3, 9–0, 9–5
1933	F.D. Amr Bey	Don Butcher	9–0, 9–7, 9–1 and 5–9, 5–9, 9–2, 9–1, 9–0
1934	F.D. Amr Bey	No Challenger
1935	F.D. Amr Bey	Don Butcher	9–4, 8–10, 10–8, 9–0 and 9–6, 6–9, 9–2, 0–9, 9–5
1936	F.D. Amr Bey	Jim Dear	9–3, 6–9, 8–10, 9–2, 9–4 and 9–4, 9–7, 3–9, 9–7
1937	F.D. Amr Bey	Jim Dear	9–7, 7–9, 9–7, 5–9, 9–6 and 9–7, 8–10, 9–1, 9–6
1938	F.D. Amr Bey	Jim Dear	10–8, 10–8, 4–9, 1–9, 9–4 and 9–7, 8–10, 9–6, 9–5
1939	Jim Dear	Bert Biddle	5–9, 9–6, 5–9, 9–6, 9–5 and 6–9, 9–1, 9–2, 9–6
1940	No competition (World War II)
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947	Mahmoud Karim	Jim Dear	9–4, 9–1, 9–3 and 5–9, 7–9, 9–8, 9–7, 9–4
1948	Mahmoud Karim	Jim Dear	9–5, 9–3, 5–9, 1–9, 10–8
1949	Mahmoud Karim	Brian Phillips	9–4, 9–2, 9–10, 9–4
1950	Mahmoud Karim	Abdul Bari	9–4, 9–2, 9–7
1951	Hashim Khan	Mahmoud Karim	9–5, 9–0, 9–0
1952	Hashim Khan	Mahmoud Karim	9–5, 9–7, 9–0
1953	Hashim Khan	Roy Wilson	9–2, 8–10, 9–1, 9–0
1954	Hashim Khan	Azam Khan	6–9, 9–6, 9–6, 7–9, 9–5
1955	Hashim Khan	Azam Khan	9–7, 7–9, 9–7, 5–9, 9–7
1956	Hashim Khan	Roshan Khan	9–4, 9–2, 5–9, 9–5
1957	Roshan Khan	Hashim Khan	6–9, 9–5, 9–2, 9–1
1958	Hashim Khan	Azam Khan	9–7, 6–9, 9–6, 9–7
1959	Azam Khan	Mo Khan	9–5, 9–0, 9–1
1960	Azam Khan	Roshan Khan	9–1, 9–0, 9–0
1961	Azam Khan	Mo Khan	6–9, 9–1, 9–4, 0–9, 9–2
1962	Azam Khan	Mo Khan	9–6, 7–9, 10–8, 2–9, 9–4
1963	Mo Khan	A.A. AbouTaleb	9–4, 5–9, 3–9, 10–8, 9–6
1964	A.A. AbouTaleb	Mike Oddy	9–3, 9–7, 9–0
1965	A.A. AbouTaleb	Ibrahim Amin	9–0, 0–9, 9–1, 9–6
1966	A.A. AbouTaleb	Aftab Jawaid	9–6, 5–9, 9–3, 9–1
1967	Jonah Barrington	Aftab Jawaid	9–2, 5–9, 9–2, 9–2
1968	Jonah Barrington	A.A. AbouTaleb	9–6, 9–0, 9–5
1969	Geoff Hunt	Cam Nancarrow	9–5, 9–4, 9–0
1970	Jonah Barrington	Geoff Hunt	9–7, 3–9, 9–4, 9–4
1971	Jonah Barrington	Aftab Jawaid	9–1, 9–2, 9–6
1972	Jonah Barrington	Geoff Hunt	0–9, 9–7, 10–8, 6–9, 9–7
1973	Jonah Barrington	Gogi Alauddin	9–4, 9–3, 9–2
1974	Geoff Hunt	Mo Yasin	Walkover
1975	Qamar Zaman	Gogi Alauddin	9–7, 9–6, 9–1
1976	Geoff Hunt	Mohibullah Khan	7–9, 9–4, 8–10, 9–2, 9–2
1977	Geoff Hunt	Cam Nancarrow	9–4, 9–4, 8–10, 9–4
1978	Geoff Hunt	Qamar Zaman	7–9, 9–1, 9–1, 9–2
1979	Geoff Hunt	Qamar Zaman	2–9, 9–7, 9–0, 6–9, 9–3
1980	Geoff Hunt	Qamar Zaman	9–3, 9–2, 1–9, 9–1
1981	Geoff Hunt	Jahangir Khan	9–2, 9–7, 5–9, 9–7
1982	Jahangir Khan	Hiddy Jahan	9–2, 10–9, 9–3
1983	Jahangir Khan	Gamal Awad	9–2, 9–5, 9–1
1984	Jahangir Khan	Qamar Zaman	9–0, 9–3, 9–5
1985	Jahangir Khan	Chris Dittmar	9–3, 9–2, 9–5
1986	Jahangir Khan	Ross Norman	9–6, 9–4, 9–6
1987	Jahangir Khan	Jansher Khan	9–6, 9–0, 9–5
1988	Jahangir Khan	Rodney Martin	9–2, 9–10, 9–0, 9–1
1989	Jahangir Khan	Rodney Martin	9–2, 3–9, 9–5, 0–9, 9–2
1990	Jahangir Khan	Rodney Martin	9–6, 10–8, 9–1
1991	Jahangir Khan	Jansher Khan	2–9, 9–4, 9–4, 9–0
1992	Jansher Khan	Chris Robertson	9–7, 10–9, 9–5
1993	Jansher Khan	Chris Dittmar	9–6, 9–5, 6–9, 9–2
1994	Jansher Khan	Brett Martin	9–1, 9–0, 9–10, 9–1
1995	Jansher Khan	Peter Marshall	15–4, 15–4, 15–5
1996	Jansher Khan	Rodney Eyles	15–13, 15–8, 15–10
1997	Jansher Khan	Peter Nicol	17–15, 9–15, 15–12, 8–15, 15–8
1998	Peter Nicol	Jansher Khan	17–16, 15–4, 15–5
1999	Jonathon Power	Peter Nicol	15–17, 15–12, rtd
2000	David Evans	Paul Price	15–11, 15–6, 15–10
2001	David Palmer	Chris Walker	12–15, 13–15, 15–2, 15–9, 15–5
2002	Peter Nicol	John White	15–9, 15–8, 15–8
2003	David Palmer	Peter Nicol	15–13, 15–13, 15–8
2004	David Palmer	Amr Shabana	10–11 (4–6), 11–7, 11–10 (3–1), 11–7
2005	Anthony Ricketts	James Willstrop	11–7, 11–9, 11–7
2006	Nick Matthew	Thierry Lincou	11–8, 5–11, 11–4, 9–11, 11–6
2007	Grégory Gaultier	Thierry Lincou	11–4, 10–11 (0–2), 11–6, 11–3
2008	David Palmer	James Willstrop	11–9, 11–9, 8–11, 6–11, 11–10 (3–1)
2009	Nick Matthew	James Willstrop	8–11, 11–8, 7–11, 11–3, 12–10
2010	No competition
2011
2012	Nick Matthew	Ramy Ashour	11–9, 11–4, 11–8
2013	Ramy Ashour	Grégory Gaultier	7–11, 11–4, 11–7, 11–8
2014	Grégory Gaultier	Nick Matthew	11–3, 11–6, 11–2
2015	Mohamed El Shorbagy	Grégory Gaultier	11–9, 6–11, 5–11, 11–8, 11–5
2016	Mohamed El Shorbagy	Ramy Ashour	11–2, 11–5, 11–9
2017	Grégory Gaultier	Nick Matthew	8–11, 11–7, 11–3, 11–3
2018	Miguel Ángel Rodríguez	Mohamed El Shorbagy	11-7, 6-11, 8-11, 11–2, 11-9
2019	Mohamed El Shorbagy	Ali Farag	11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11–5, 11-9

Note:
1) From 1931 to 1947, the men's championship was decided by a best-of-three-matches contest between the defending champion and a single challenger (the third match was never required, as the ultimate champion won the first two matches on each of the occasions in which the final was played with this format). The championship has been played using a 'knockout' format since 1948.

2) Peter Nicol changed his nationality in 2001.[6]

List of British Open Men's champions by number of victories

Rank	Player Name	No. of Titles	Runner-up	Final Appearances
1	Jahangir Khan	10	1	11
2	Geoff Hunt	8	2	10
3	Hashim Khan	7	1	8
4	Jansher Khan	6	3	9
5	Jonah Barrington	6	0	6
6	F.D. Amr Bey	5	0	5
7	Azam Khan	4	3	7
8	Mahmoud Karim	4	2	6
9	David Palmer	4	0	4
10	A.A. AbouTaleb	3	2	5
	Nick Matthew	3	2	5
	Grégory Gaultier	3	2	5
13	Mohamed El Shorbagy	3	1	4
14	/ Peter Nicol	2	3	5
15	Don Butcher	2	2	4
16	Jim Dear	1	5	6
17	Qamar Zaman	1	4	5
18	Mo Khan	1	3	4
17	Ramy Ashour	1	2	3
	Roshan Khan	1	2	3
18	Charles Read	1	1	2
19	David Evans	1	0	1
	Jonathon Power	1	0	1
	Anthony Ricketts	1	0	1
	Miguel Ángel Rodríguez	1	0	1
20	Aftab Jawaid	0	3	3
	Rodney Martin	0	3	3
	James Willstrop	0	3	3
21	Gogi Alauddin	0	2	2
	Chris Dittmar	0	2	2
	Thierry Lincou	0	2	2
	Cam Nancarrow	0	2	2
22	Ibrahim Amin	0	1	1
	Charles Arnold	0	1	1
	Gamal Awad	0	1	1
	Abdul Bari	0	1	1
	Bert Biddle	0	1	1
	Rodney Eyles	0	1	1
	Hiddy Jahan	0	1	1
	Mohibullah Khan	0	1	1
	Ross Norman	0	1	1
	Brett Martin	0	1	1
	Peter Marshall	0	1	1
	Mike Oddy	0	1	1
	Brian Phillips	0	1	1
	Paul Price	0	1	1
	Chris Robertson	0	1	1
	Amr Shabana	0	1	1
	Ali Farag	0	1	1
	Chris Walker	0	1	1
	John White	0	1	1
	Roy Wilson	0	1	1
	Mo Yasin	0	1	1

Men's champions by country

Champions		Runner-up
Pakistan	30	Pakistan	25
Egypt	16	England	19
Australia	13	Australia	14
England	8	Egypt	11
Ireland	6	France	4
France	2	Scotland	3
Canada	1	India	1
Scotland	1	New Zealand	1
Wales	1
Colombia	1

• British Grand Prix (squash)
• British Junior Open Squash
• Official Men's Squash World Ranking
• Official Women's Squash World Ranking

• Official Allam British Open website