ISSUE03-2018InternationalSquashMagazine

PROFESSIONAL SQUASH ASSOCIATION
LAUNCH NEW WORLD TOUR STRUCTURE
PROFESSIONALSQUASHASSOCIATION
LAUNCHNEWWORLDTOURSTRUCTURE
A new World Tour structure was introduced by the Professional
Squash Association (PSA) in August with the Australian Open becoming
the first tournament to be held in this new era for professional squash.
The objective of the structure will
establish a new and exciting image
for the PSA World Tour, which will
continue to showcase the sport’s
biggest tournaments and best players.
As part of the re-organisation, a PSA
Challenger Tour has been created and
positioned alongside the PSA World Tour
to create a strong identity for lower-tier
tournaments and will feature aspiring
youngsters working their way up the PSA
World Rankings.
The new tour structure has been put in
place with the aim of increasing earnings
and playing opportunities across both
tours, while the PSA will offer more
support for tournament promoters to
assist them with the successful delivery
of tournaments.
The world’s leading players will
continue to compete at the sport’s most
prestigious tournaments on the PSA
World Tour, including the PSA World
Championships and PSA World Tour
Finals, with prize money ranging from
$47,500 to $1,000,000. By the 2022-
2023 season, it is envisaged that the
PSA World Tour will feature up to 35
tournaments for men and women.
New tournament tiers have been created
on the PSA World Tour. The first PSA
World Tour Platinum tournament will be
the FS Investments U.S. Open Squash
Championships in October, while the J.P.
Morgan China Open will be the first PSA
World Tour Gold event in September.
The women’s Oracle NetSuite Open later
that month will be the first PSA World
Tour Silver event, while the prestigious
Carol Weymuller Open, which takes place
in October, has the honour of being
the first ever PSA World Tour Bronze
tournament.
PSA World Tour events held on all-glass
courts will be broadcast live around
the world, while in September the Open
International de squash de Nantes will
become the first PSA Challenger Tour
event to be broadcast live.
On the PSA World Tour, Platinum
tournaments will feature 48-player
draws, and Gold, Silver and Bronze
tournaments will feature 24-player
draws. Tournaments on the PSA
Challenger Tour will range from 16-24
player draws, while qualification rounds
will be scrapped on both tours.
The 2018/19 PSA World Championships
in Chicago, which will become the first
tournament in professional squash to
offer a prize purse of $1 million, will
be held in February and will feature a
64-player draw. The draw will consist of
56 PSA entrants and a wildcard, with the
other places being granted to winners of
selected ‘qualifier’ tournaments on the
PSA Challenger Tour and World Squash
Federation (WSF) invitees.
Prize money on the PSA Challenger
Tour will range from $5,500 to
$28,000 and tiers consist of PSA
Challenger Tour 5, 10, 20 and 30. A
round robin format will be available for
use at Challenger Tour 5 tournaments
throughout the 2018/19 season.
As part of the new tour structure, the
PSA have also formed the WSF & PSA
Satellite Tour in partnership with the
World Squash Federation, designed to
ease the transition from World, Regional,
National and Junior tournaments to
professional squash. In addition, the
creation of a global ranking system for
U19 and U17 players will create a pathway
for the best up-and-coming juniors from
across the globe.
“We are delighted to officially begin using
our new tour structure and are confident
that it will have a hugely positive impact
on the growth of professional squash,”
said PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough.
“A record prize money total of $6.4
million was on offer during the 2017/18
season - an 11% increase on the previous
season - while memberships are at an
all-time high, with over 900 registered
members of the PSA. We are confident
that the changes to our tour structure
will help us continue along the same
trajectory.”
PSA Tour Director Hannah Ridgard-
Mason added: “These changes will help
us to market the PSA World Tour as the
sport’s pinnacle, while the introduction of
the PSA Challenger Tour and WSF & PSA
Satellite Tours will enable us to increase
earnings and playing opportunities for
up-and-coming players, in addition to
giving them a natural pathway to the
PSA World Tour.
“We are also pleased to be able to offer
tournament promoters more support than
ever before and look forward to working
with them in the coming years as we
continue to grow professional squash.”
We are delighted to officially begin
using our new tour structure and are
confident that it will have a hugely
positive impact on the growth of
professional squash
PSA CHIEF EXECUTIVE ALEX GOUGH
INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE September 2018 | 27
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