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James Willstrop (born 15 August 1983) is an English professional squash player living in Yorkshire, England. He was born in North Walsham, Norfolk, England.
Career
Willstrop has a large build for a squash player, being 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm) and 194 pounds (88 kg). He trains at Pontefract Squash Club in West Yorkshire, where he was trained by his father, Malcolm Willstrop.[1]
In 2002 Willstrop claimed his third consecutive British Junior Under-19 National Championship title, to establish himself as England's most successful junior player of all time – having won National titles at all age groups (under-12, under-14, under-17, and under-19), and British Junior Open trophies at under-14, under-17, and under-19.[citation needed] In the same year, he established himself as the world's top junior player, claiming both the European and the World junior titles.[citation needed]
Willstrop went on to be one of the youngest players ever to play for the senior England team, representing his country for the first time at both the European and World Team Squash Championships in 2003.[2]
In 2004, he won the Pakistan Open title in Islamabad (upsetting Amr Shabana in the quarter-finals) in his first appearance in a PSA Super Series final.[citation needed] In 2005, he finished runner-up at the British Open as the seventh seed, then followed this by lifting the Qatar Classic trophy in only his second Super Series final appearance.[citation needed] This first-time success led to Willstrop a career-high World No. 2 in the PSA world rankings published that December.[citation needed] This made Willstrop the top-ranked Englishman, which led to his promotion to squad number one in the England team for the 2005 World Team Championships in Pakistan later in the month when he led the team to victory for the first time in eight years.[citation needed]
In the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Willstrop partnered with Vicky Botwright to a Silver Medal in the Mixed Doubles.[citation needed] Willstrop also won the 2007 British National Squash Championships title, beating John White in the final.[citation needed] In December 2007, Willstrop helped England retain the World Team Championship title in Chennai, India, and won the English Open, beating fellow Yorkshireman Nick Matthew in the final.[citation needed]
Willstrop retained his British National title in February 2008, beating fellow Pontefract player Lee Beachill in the final.[citation needed] He also finished runner-up at the British Open for the second time in May 2008, losing in a five-set final to David Palmer. Willstrop held match balls at 10–9 and 11–10 in the fifth game, but Palmer ultimately won 11–9, 11–9, 8–11, 6–11, and 13–11 (3–2).[citation needed]
In January 2010, Willstrop won his first Tournament of Champions title in New York, defeating World Number 1 Ramy Ashour in the final and dropping only one game during the tournament.[citation needed]
In the singles final of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Willstrop was defeated by compatriot Nick Matthew 11–6, 11–7, 11–7. The match ended after 66 minutes.[3]
Willstrop ended his 2011 season by winning 15 matches in a row en route to winning the Hong Kong Open, the Kuwait Open, and The Punj Lloyd PSA Masters.[citation needed] With those 3 PSA World Series titles, Willstrop put himself into First place in the PSA World Series rankings as well as ensuring his place at the top of the world rankings list.[citation needed] Willstrop succeeded fellow Englishman Nick Matthew as the World No. 1 in January 2012. Matthew regained his World No. 1 spot by defeating Willstrop in the Tournament of Champions 2012 on 26 January 2012.[citation needed]
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Willstrop won the Gold Medal in the Men's Singles, beating Paul Coll of New Zealand in straight games, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6.[4]
In 2020, Willstrop won the British National title, beating Joel Makin in the final.[citation needed]
Personal life
He resides in Harrogate, Yorkshire, with his partner Vanessa Atkinson, herself a professional squash player.[6]
World Open final appearances
0 title and 1 runner-up
| Outcome | Year | Location | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 2010 | Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia |  Nick Matthew |
7–11, 11–6, 11–2, 11–3 |
Major World Series final appearances
British Open: 3 finals (0 title, 3 runner-up)
| Outcome | Year | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 2005 |  Anthony Ricketts |
11–7, 11–9, 11–7 |
| Runner-up | 2008 | David Palmer |
11–9, 11–9, 8–11, 6–11, 13–11 |
| Runner-up | 2009 | Nick Matthew |
8–11, 11–8, 7–11, 11–3, 12–10 |
Tournament of Champions: 3 finals (1 title, 2 runner-up)
| Outcome | Year | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 2008 |  Ramy Ashour |
11–7, 14–12, 11–9 |
| Winner | 2010 | Ramy Ashour |
12–10, 11–5, 9–11, 11-3 |
| Runner-up | 2012 | Nick Matthew |
8–11, 11–9, 11–5, 11–7 |
Qatar Classic: 2 finals (1 title, 1 runner-up)
| Outcome | Year | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | 2005 | David Palmer |
11–1, 11–7, 11–7 |
| Runner-up | 2011 |  Grégory Gaultier |
11–8, 11–7, 2–11, 11–8 |
US Open: 1 final (0 title, 1 runner-up)
| Outcome | Year | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 2009 | Nick Matthew |
11–7, 11–4, 11–7 |
Pakistan International: 1 final (1 title, 0 runner-up)
| Outcome | Year | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | 2004 | Anthony Ricketts |
6–11, 11–9, 13–11, 11–3 |
See also
References
- ^ "James Willstrop interviews his father, squash coach and inspiration". the Guardian. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ "James Willstrop". www.squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ "Day Five – the Finals". Squashsite. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ "GC2018 - Squash". GC2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ "‘I try not to get hung up on food and sometimes you have to accept what’s available’". Squash Mad. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ "World Squash Championship: Ashour & Matthew into quarters". BBC Sport. 30 October 2013.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Further reading
- Friend, Tad (4 February 2013). "In the box". The Talk of the Town. The Sporting Life. The New Yorker. Vol. 88, no. 46. p. 22. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
External links
- James Willstrop at the Professional Squash Association (archive) (archive 2)
- James Willstrop at Squash Info
- James Willstrop at Team England
- James Willstrop at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (archived)
- James Willstrop at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
- James Willstrop at the World Games
- Page at Squashpics.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 November 2006)
- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 31 December 2021)
- Birthday tribute on Squashsite[dead link]
