# Amr Shabana

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

Listed below.

### PSA Titles (30)

All Results for Amr Shabana in PSA World's Tour tournament
* Legend
* PSA Platinum Series / PSA Series Final / PSA World Open (13)
* PSA Gold Series (0)
* PSA Silver Series (3)
* PSA Star Series (10)
* PSA Super Satellite (0)
* PSA Satellite (0)
* Titles by major tournaments
* World Open (4)
* British Open (0)
* Hong Kong Open (4)
* US Open (2)
* Tournament of Champions (3)
* Qatar Classic (1)
| 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)

| 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

Terms :
| W–L | Win–loss | NWS | Not a World Series event |
| NG50 | Not an international event | NH | Not held |
| A | Absent | LQ/#Q | Lost in qualifying draw and round number |
| RR | Lost at round robin stage | #R | Lost in the early rounds |
| QF | Quarterfinalist | SF | Semifinalist |
| SF-B | Semifinalist, won bronze medal | F | Runner-up |
| F | Runner-up, won silver medal | W | Winner |
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.
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | Career SR | Career W-L |
| PSA World Tour Tournaments ||||||||||||||||||||
| World Open | 3R | Not Held | Not Held | 3R | W | QF | W | SF | W | SF | W | SF | QF | QF | QF | QF | A | 4 / 14 | 55–10 |
| British Open | A | 1R | Absent | Absent | 1R | F | A | 1R | SF | QF | SF | Not Held | Not Held | QF | A | QF | A | 0 / 9 | 16–9 |
| Hong Kong Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | NH | QF | NH | W | W | W | W | QF | QF | QF | QF | A | A | 4 / 13 | 31–9 |
| Qatar Classic | Not Held | Not Held | A | 2R | 1R | NH | 2R | 2R | W | W | A | F | 1R | NH | QF | NH | A | 2 / 9 | 20–7 |
| PSA Masters | NH | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | QF | Absent | Absent | Not Held | Not Held | SF | SF | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 7 | 10–7 |
| Tournament of Champions | Absent | Absent | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | SF | W | W | A | 2R | QF | SF | QF | A | W | SF | 3 / 12 | 30–9 |
| North American Open | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not World Series | Not World Series | Absent | Absent | Absent | QF | SF | SF | QF | QF | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 5 | 13–5 |
| Kuwait PSA Cup | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | A | NH | F | W | NH | F | 2R | NH | QF | Not Held | Not Held | 1 / 5 | 16–5 |
| US Open | Absent | Absent | NH | A | 1R | 1R | A | F | QF | NH | W | A | W | QF | A | F | A | 2 / 8 | 22–6 |
| Saudi International | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 2R | W | W | QF | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 2 / 5 | 13–3 |
| Pakistan International | 2R | Not Held | Not Held | QF | NH | QF | QF | QF | NH | NWS | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | NWS | NH | 0 / 5 | 9–5 |
| Win Ratio | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 6 | 1 / 6 | 0 / 7 | 1 / 8 | 3 / 8 | 5 / 8 | 3 / 6 | 3 / 8 | 0 / 7 | 1 / 7 | 0 / 6 | 0 / 5 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 1 | 18 / 93 | NA |
| Win–loss | 3 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 3 | 8 / 6 | 6 / 5 | 13 / 7 | 13 / 4 | 26 / 5 | 35 / 3 | 23 / 3 | 25 / 5 | 22 / 7 | 16 / 6 | 13 / 6 | 13 / 5 | 14 / 3 | 3 / 1 | NA | 233–78 |
Note: NA = Not Available