Amr Shabana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Amr Shabana

Amr Shabana reacts during his 2009 Kuwait Open semi-final match.
Nickname(s)	The Maestro
Country	Egypt
Residence	Cairo, Egypt
Born	(1979-07-20) July 20, 1979 (age 45) Cairo, Egypt
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Turned Pro	1995
Retired	August 2015
Plays	Left Handed
Racquet used	Eye Rackets
Men's singles
Highest ranking	No. 1 (April, 2006)
Current ranking	Retired (Ended 10)
Title(s)	33
Tour final(s)	45
World Open	W (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)
Medal record Men's squash Representing  Egypt World Championships Gold 2003 Lahore Singles Gold 2005 Hong Kong Singles Gold 2007 Bermuda Singles Gold 2009 Kuwait Singles Bronze 2006 Doha Singles Bronze 2008 Manchester Singles Bronze 2010 Khobar Singles World Team Championships Gold 2009 Odense Team Silver 2001 Melbourne Team Silver 2005 Islamabad Team
Last updated on: July 2015.

Amr Shabana (Arabic: عمرو شبانة; born 20 July 1979 in Cairo) is a former professional squash player from Egypt. He won the World Open in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, and reached the World No. 1 ranking in 2006.

He represented the winning Egyptian team in the 1999 Men's World Team Squash Championships held in Cairo and the 2009 Men's World Team Squash Championships held in Denmark. Shabana's accomplishments in professional squash lead many to regard him as one of the greatest players of all time.

Career overview

The talented left-hander from Cairo first showed his promise when he was the runner-up (to compatriot Ahmed Faizy) in the British Under-14 Open in January 1993. Four years later he reached the final of the British Under-19 Open, where he again lost to Faizy.

A PSA member since 1995, Amr claimed his first Tour title with the help of Bryan "Griffin" Knight in July 1999, winning the Puebla Open final against Australia's Craig Rowland in Mexico. Seven days later he grabbed his second, the Mexico Open, again by beating Rowland in the final.

Amr Shabana crowned a remarkable year in 2003 when, as ninth seed, he forced his way through a star-studded field in the World Open in Pakistan. He dispatched title-holder David Palmer, the third seed, in five games in the third round. He then went on to take out Palmer's Australian teammate Anthony Ricketts in the last eight. After defeating Karim Darwish (the Egyptian No 1) in a four-game semi-final, Shabana clinched the historic title by beating Thierry Lincou in the final 15–14, 9–15, 15–11, 15–7, to become Egypt's first winner of the sport's premier title.

But after a disappointing following year, in which his only final appearance was in the British Open Squash Championship in England, losing to David Palmer in four games 10–11 (4–6), 11–7, 11–10 (3–1), 11–7, Shabana stormed back to the top of his game in 2005. Over a short period, he acquired a new coach, Ahmed Tahir; a new manager, the former Egyptian international Omar Elborolossy; and a wife, Nadjla. "All I have to worry about now is playing my matches – everything else is looked after for me now", said Shabana. And the effect was plain to see as a week after winning the Heliopolis Open in his home town Cairo, the seventh-seeded Shabana beat David Palmer and James Willstrop, before defeating Anthony Ricketts in the final to claim the St Louis Open crown in the United States.

The next event saw the in-form Egyptian brush aside all opposition in the Hungarian Open in Budapest, winning his third title in as many weeks after beating Grégory Gaultier in the final. But the World Open in Hong Kong confirmed his renaissance beyond doubt. Seeded five, Amr crushed fourth seed Lee Beachill in the quarters, Peter Nicol in the semis, and, in his third successive straight games victory, powered past David Palmer 11–6 11–7 11–8 in the final to become the first player since the heyday of the Khans to win the World Open title for the second time.

The new year brought continuing rewards for Shabana with victories in the Canadian Classic in January, followed by the Tournament of Champions in New York in March, and the Bermuda PSA Masters in April – bringing his PSA Tour title tally to 12, and then in April 2006, Shabana became the first Egyptian player to reach the world number 1 ranking.

In 2007, Shabana was crowned world champion for the third time in five years at the World Open in Bermuda and later in January 2009, Shabana's 33-month reign as World No. 1 was ended by his countryman Karim Darwish.

In 2014, Shabana became the oldest professional to win a World Series title by defeating Grégory Gaultier in the finals of Tournament of Champions.

On the 27th of August 2015, Shabana announced his retirement from competitive professional squash.

World Open final appearances

4 titles & 0 runner-up

Outcome	Year	Location	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2003	Lahore, Pakistan	Thierry Lincou	15–11, 11–15, 15–8, 15–14
Winner	2005	Hong Kong	David Palmer	11–6, 11–7, 11–8
Winner	2007	Bermuda	Grégory Gaultier	11–7, 11–4, 11–6
Winner	2009	Kuwait	Ramy Ashour	11–8, 11–5, 11–5

Major World Series final appearances

British Open: 1 final (0 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	2004	David Palmer	14–16, 11–7, 13–11, 11–7

Hong Kong Open: 4 finals (4 titles, 0 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2006	Ramy Ashour	13-11, 3-11, 11-5, 13-11
Winner	2007	Grégory Gaultier	11-13, 11-3, 11-6, 13-11
Winner	2008	Grégory Gaultier	11-9, 13-15, 8-11, 11-2, 11-3
Winner	2009	Grégory Gaultier	11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 5-2 (rtd)

Qatar Classic: 3 final (1 title, 2 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2007	Grégory Gaultier	11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5
Runner-up	2008	Karim Darwish	11-4, 11-5, 11-3
Runner-up	2010	Karim Darwish	8-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-6

US Open: 4 finals (2 titles, 2 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	2006	Grégory Gaultier	11-5, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9
Winner	2009	Ramy Ashour	11-7, 11-2, 7-11, 12-14, 11-8
Winner	2011	Nick Matthew	11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4
Runner-up	2014	Mohamed El Shorbagy	8-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-3

Career statistics

Amr Shabana during the 2009 Kuwait Open semi-final match against James Willstrop.

Listed below.

PSA Titles (30)

All Results for Amr Shabana in PSA World's Tour tournament

No.	Date	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score in final	Minutes played
1.	July 4, 1999	Puebla Open	Craig Rowland	11–15, 15–7, 15–7, 15–9	Unknown
2.	July 11, 1999	Mexico Open	Craig Rowland	8–15, 15–7, 15–4, 15–13	Unknown
3.	January 23, 2001	El Ahly Open	Karim Darwish	15–12, 15–12, 17–15	57minutes
4.	June 29, 2003	Spanish Open	Karim Darwish	15–13, 13–15, 15–14, 8–15, 15–13	1 h 24 min
5.	December 21, 2003	World Open	Thierry Lincou	15–11, 11–15, 15–8, 15–14	1 h 13 min
6.	September 12, 2005	Helioplis Open	Karim Darwish	11–10(2–0), 2–0 (ret)	Unknown
7.	September 20, 2003	St. Louis Open	Anthony Ricketts	11–10(2–0), 11–8, 11–7	56 min
8.	October 2, 2005	Hungarian Open	Grégory Gaultier	6–11, 11–2, 11–7, 8–11, 11–5	1 h 6 min
9.	December 4, 2005	World Open	David Palmer	11–6, 11–7, 11–8	40 min
10.	January 14, 2006	Canadian Classic	Jonathon Power	11–9, 11–8, 11–5	37 min
11.	March 3, 2006	Tournament of Champions	Nick Matthew	11–6, 11–9, 11–4	40 min
12.	April 8, 2006	Bermuda Masters	Peter Nicol	9–11, 11–6, 11–7, 2–11, 11–8	1 h 5 min
13.	October 22, 2006	Hong Kong Open	Ramy Ashour	11–10(3–1), 3–11, 11–5, 11–10(3–1)	48 min
14.	December 20, 2006	Saudi International Open	Grégory Gaultier	11–7, 11–9, 11–4	1 h 13 min
15.	January 23, 2007	Windy City Open	Anthony Ricketts	11–8, 11–8, 11–10(5–3)	53 min
16.	March 2, 2007	Tournament of Champions	Anthony Ricketts	7–11, 11–3, 8–4 (ret)	26 min
17.	October 28, 2007	Saudi International Open	Ramy Ashour	11–5, 11–5, 1–11, 11–9	50 min
18.	November 3, 2007	Qatar Classic	Grégory Gaultier	11–4, 8–11, 11–6, 11–5	52 min
19.	November 11, 2007	Hong Kong Open	Grégory Gaultier	10–11 (1–3), 11–3, 11–6, 11–10 (3–1)	1 h 1 min
20.	December 1, 2007	World Open	Grégory Gaultier	11–7, 11–4, 11–6	42 min
21.	April 27, 2008	Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open	Ramy Ashour	11–9, 11–7, 13–11	52 min
22.	November 23, 2008	Hong Kong Open	Grégory Gaultier	11–7, 13–15, 8–11, 11–2, 11–3	1 h 16 min
23.	August 1, 2009	Malaysian Open	Nick Matthew	5–11, 11–9, 11–6, 11–4	51 min
24.	September 6, 2009	US Open	Ramy Ashour	11–7, 11–2, 7–11, 12–14, 11–8	57 min
25.	October 18, 2009	Hong Kong Open	Grégory Gaultier	11–8, 9–11, 11–3, 5–2 (ret)	48 min
26.	November 7, 2009	World Open	Ramy Ashour	11–8, 11–8, 11–5	50 min
27.	October 7, 2011	US Open	Nick Matthew	11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4	51 min
28.	January 8, 2012	World Series Finals	Grégory Gaultier	6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8	1 h 31 min
29.	January 6, 2013	World Series Finals	Nick Matthew	4-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-7	57 min
30.	January 24, 2014	Tournament of Champions	Grégory Gaultier	11-8, 11-3, 11-4	42 min

Note: (ret) = retired, min = minutes, h = hours

PSA Tour Finals (runner-up) (11)

Shabana after winning the AON US Open.

No.	Date	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score in final	Minutes played
1.	May 17, 1998	Italia Open	John White	Unknown	Unknown
2.	May 3, 2003	Pakistan Circuit	Karim Darwish	12–15, 7–15, 2–6 (ret)	22 min
3.	November 6, 2004	British Open	David Palmer	11–10(6–4), 7–11, 10–11(1–3), 7–11	1 h 29 min
4.	January 25, 2005	Windy City Open	John White	7–11, 8–11, 4–11	40 min
5.	January 30, 2005	Dayton Open	Peter Nicol	6–11, 10–11(1–3), 2–11	28 min
6.	November 16, 2006	US Open	Grégory Gaultier	5–11, 11–7, 4–11, 9–11	1 h 1 min
7.	April 11, 2007	Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open	Ramy Ashour	3–11, 5–11, 10–12	34 min
8.	February 16, 2008	Canadian Classic	Ramy Ashour	2–11, 9–11, 11–8, 8–11	38 min
9.	April 20, 2008	Hurghada International	Ramy Ashour	10–11(0–2), 11–9, 7–11, 11–9, 10–11(0–2)	1 h 17 min
10.	October 31, 2008	Qatar Classic	Karim Darwish	4–11, 5–11, 3–11	29 min
11.	October 18, 2014	US Open	Mohamed El Shorbagy	11–8, 9–11, 3–11, 3–11	45 min

Singles performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.

Note: NA = Not Available

See also

• Official Men's Squash World Ranking