PSA issues Provisional Calendar for remainder of 2020-21 PSA World Tour Season
The PSA has issued a provisional calendar for the remainder of the 2020-21 PSA World Tour season which will see the world’s best players compete at seven top-class tournaments across three continents between March and July.
The CIB PSA Black Ball Squash Open will be the first PSA World Tour event of 2021 when it takes place at Cairo’s Black Ball Sporting Club from 12-25th March with back-to-back men’s and women’s PSA Platinum tournaments.
From there, Manchester’s National Squash Centre will host the Manchester Open, PSA Silver tournament from 19th-25th April, before the tour heads back to Egypt for the El Gouna International Squash Open, held from 20-28th May.
June will be a jam-packed month for the PSA World Tour, with three tournaments scheduled. The inaugural Necker Mauritius Open presented by Beachcomber will take place between 1st and 5th June following its postponement from 2020, while the Allam British Open will see players compete at the oldest tournament in professional squash from 14th to 20th June.
At the end of the month, the CIB PSA World Tour Finals will take place in Cairo, which is where the CIB Road to Egypt culminates. All PSA Platinum title winners qualify for the CIB PSA World Tour Finals, with remaining places being allocated to the highest ranked players on the CIB Road to Egypt Standings, which are currently headed up by World No.1s Ali Farag and Nour El Sherbini.
The final tournament of the season will be the 2020-21 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family. Held in Chicago from 10th to 17th 10-17, the PSA World Championships is the most prestigious tournament in squash and will provide a climactic end to the current campaign, with a total of $1,000,000 in total player compensation up for grabs.
CIB PSA Black Ball Squash Open (Platinum): 12-25 March, Cairo, Egypt
Manchester Open (Silver): 19-25 April, Manchester, England
El Gouna International Squash Open (Platinum): 20-28 May, El Gouna, Egypt
Necker Mauritius Open (Gold): 01-05 June, Grand Bay, Mauritius
Allam British Open (Platinum): 14-20 June, Hull, England
CIB PSA World Tour Finals: 22-27 June, Cairo, Egypt
2020-21 PSA World Championships: 10-17 July, Chicago, United States
The calendar is subject to change and all tournaments will abide by strict COVID-19 protocols with relation to health and safety, international travel policies and social distancing guidelines. There will be no fans on-site at certain tournaments until local situations improve.
“After a lot of hard work behind the scenes and close discussions with tournament promoters and our players, we are pleased to reveal our provisional calendar for the rest of the 2020-21 PSA World Tour season,” said PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough.
“The entirety of the 2020-21 season will have taken place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has fundamentally changed the way the PSA has had to operate both the PSA World Tour and the PSA Challenger Tour.
“If our provisional calendar comes to fruition, we will have staged 12 PSA World Tour events throughout the campaign in addition to around 50 PSA Challenger Tour events by the end of the season. While we are naturally delighted to have overcome some significant hurdles to create playing opportunities for our players, we are under no illusions that the work stops here.
“While a number of unknowns are still at play – chief among those the differing international travel policies between countries – we are already liaising with our tournament promoters as we look to establish a thriving professional circuit for the 2021-22 season. For now, I look forward to watching the world’s best squash players in action over the next few months in what promises to be a captivating end to this campaign.”