2020 Review Part TWO : Lost and Found
The middle part of 2020 was all but lost, as Squash settled in for the lockdown.
After Canary Wharf and Black Ball had finished, there was a six-month gap as more and more tournaments were cancelled, or rescheduled then cancelled, and squash players around the world struggled to keep their fitness and skills going – hands up anyone who didn’t partake in one of the many lockdown challenges !
#SquashIsBack
The PSA did an amazing job in getting tournaments up and running again, starting with the Manchester Open in September, and for the rest of 2020 there were four more top level events (mostly in Egypt with CIB’s help), a dozen or so Challenger events, plus a smattering of National Champs and other local events.
It wasn’t squash as we know it, but at least we could use the #SquashIsBack hashtag.
Goodbye to …
There were a good number of player retirements too – Simon Rosner the most recent and Raneem El Welily the most dramatic, but plenty of others too.
And Finally …
The final tournament of the year was the Life Time City Center Challenger in Houston, and the look on the face of winner Faraz Khan (right) pretty well sums up 2020.
As we enter 2021 the future still looks uncertain – many of us are back in virtual lockdown and the squash calendar still looks pretty bare, with April’s Manchester Open the first major event on the provisional schedule.
Here’s looking at you 2021 !! 2021 Calendar
