All eyes in the professional squash world will be on Richmond, VA, Feb. 23-28, as 32 of the world’s best players, including the top eight in the world rankings, battle for the title at the 2009 Davenport & Company North American Open. The tournament, a PSA Super Series Silver event boasting a purse of nearly $100,000, will be played on an all-glass McWil exhibition court in the University of Richmond’s Millhiser Gymnasium. Tickets for all nine sessions are available to the public at www.naosquash.com with spectators expected to make the short trip from Raleigh, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York to see the action.
“This is one of the premier professional squash tournaments in North America,” says Gus Cook, the tournament director since its inception in 2004. “It is one of the few places you can see so many players from the top of the world rankings. The players enjoy coming to Richmond and fans are treated to six days of exceptional squash in a superb venue. It is a great opportunity for both squash enthusiasts and newcomers to the game who simply love watching world-class athletes in action.”
World No. 5 James Willstrop (England) returns to defend his Richmond title against a deep field featuring current World No. 1 Karim Darwish (Egypt); three-time world champion and current No. 2 Amr Shabana (Egypt); current world champion and No. 4 Ramy Ashour (Egypt); U.S. No. 1 and crowd-favorite Julian Illingworth; last year’s losing finalist and World No. 3 Gregory Gaultier (France); British Open champion and World No. 6 David Palmer (Australia); and local professional and crowd favorite Patrick Chifunda.
