World Squash Exhibition Match: Ramy Ashour (World Rank 1) Vs. Alister Walker (World Rank 15)
It is with great pleasure that sponsors The Roberts Nash Advisory Group of National Bank Financial,
and Manulife Investments confirm that an exhibition match between the world’s top ranked squash
player Ramy Ashour of Egypt and the world 15th ranked player Alister Walker of Botswana has been
scheduled to take place at London Squash and Fitness Club on Wednesday January 30th at 7pm. Event
tickets sold out in less than 24 hours.
About the Athletes:
On January 1st, 2013 Ramy Ashour regained his position as world #1
David Morrish, Club Professional at London Squash and Fitness was one of Alister Walker’s
original coaches in England
Alister Walker was a finalist in the $35K 2011 National Bank Financial Group Open held in
Montreal and has been ranked as high as 12th in the world
Players will be coming to London following competition at the $115K JP Morgan Tournament of
Champions in New York January 19-24th (both), and the $70K Motor City Open in Detroit January
26-29th (Alister Walker)
Players have faced each other 5 times in PSA competition with Ramy Ashour winning each time.
Select members of London Squash as well as top members of the UWO varsity team will have
court time with the players prior to the match.
Players will be available for interviews the day of the event
About Squash in London Ontario:
Squash is a vibrant and growing sport in London with 7 facilities around the city. (Over 25 singles
courts and 1 doubles court)
London Squash and Fitness is a 46 year old member owned not-for-profit facility in the heart of
the city dedicated to the sport of squash. The club has over 300 members and programming for
every level of participant. The junior program (open to non-members) is a point of pride for the
club as it cultivates some of the best talent in the province
The men’s and women’s squash programs at UWO are rated the best in Canada with the men on
the cusp of their 30th straight OUA victory.
London Squash and Fitness has a long history of hosting the world’s top squash players, but has
never held an event with an active world #1 singles player in the past.
Since 2008 London Squash and Fitness has been host of The NASH Cup, a world class
Professional Squash Tournament drawing top ranked players from around the world. In 2013
the tournament will be offering a $15K purse and is expected to see the majority of its main
draw of 16 made up of competitors ranked between 20 and 100 in the world. For the first time
the event will also offer a $5K women’s purse. See www.nashcup.com for more details and
updates.
Thank you to our friends in the media who have already provided and confirmed coverage of this event.
It’s a wonderful opportunity have this level of play in London.
For additional information or to set up an interview please contact David Morrish (London Squash and
Fitness Club Professional) at dmorrish@lsrc.ca or 519-433-0691
Additional photos and background on the players can be found at www.psaworldtour.com
Additional information on London Squash and Fitness Club at www.lsrc.ca
Ramy Ashour
Born: September 30th, 1987 in Cairo Egypt
Height: 180cm
Weight: 80kg
Biography:
In record time, Ramy Ashour has not only become Egypt's leading player but also one of the biggest
draws on the PSA World Tour.
Now 24, Ashour burst onto the global stage in August 2004 when, aged just 16, he stunned the squash
world by becoming the youngest ever World Junior (U19) champion. Three months later, in his maiden
PSA Tour appearance in Greece, he won the Athens Open - becoming one of only a handful of players to
claim PSA titles on their Tour debuts.
And in July 2006, Ashour successfully defended his world junior crown in New Zealand to become the
first man in history to win the world's leading junior title twice.
But, according to the man himself, the turning point in his career came in England in October 2008 when
he stormed through the star-studded PSA World Championship field to beat top seed and defending
champion Amr Shabana in the semi-finals, then, in the first all-Egyptian final, overcome Karim Darwish
5-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 to win the sport’s premier title.
The fourth’s seed’s victory made him only the second player in history (after Pakistan legend Jansher
Khan) to win both junior and senior world titles. Outside the world top 150 in 2004, Ashour had made
the world top ten by the end of 2006 - and topped the PSA world rankings for the first time in January
2010, after winning three World Series events (the North American Open, PSA Masters and Saudi
International) the previous year.
On January 1st, 2013 Ramy Ashour returned to the top of the world squash rankings
Alister Walker
Born: September 19th, 1982 in Gaborone, Botswana
Height: 175cm
Weight: 74kg
Biography: After being based in the UK for several years, and representing England in the World &
European Team Championships, Alister Walker relocated to New York at the beginning of 2011 and has
now transferred his international allegiance to Botswana, the country of his birth.
Walker secured the biggest scalp of his career in 2009 with victory over Amr Shabana in the Sky Open in
Egypt, and went on to celebrate his career-high world No12 ranking in September.
Earlier in the year, Walker captured the third PSA Tour title of his career at the Midtown Sanctuaire
Open in Canada – and in 2010 enjoyed a consistently successful year which enabled him to qualify for
the year-end World Series Finals for the first time.
It was in April 2010 that he achieved his 7th and latest PSA Tour final berth – reaching the climax of the
Berkshire Open in the USA, where he finished as runner-up to Stewart Boswell.
Now inspired by his new East Coast base, Walker claimed last 16 berths in this year’s first two World
Series events in the USA, the Tournament of Champions and North American Open – in the latter
avenging his earlier loss to Stewart Boswell by beating the Australian in four games.
And in the 2011 National Bank Financial Group Open north of the border in March, Walker waltzed into
his first semi-finals of the year after upsetting fourth-seeded former compatriot Adrian Grant in the
quarter-finals of the PSA International 35 event in Montreal.
During his time in England Alister Walker was trained by David Morrish, club professional at London
Squash and Fitness.