James Willstrop (born 15 August 1983, in North Walsham, Norfolk) is an English professional squash player from Yorkshire.

Career

Willstrop has a large build for a squash player, being and . He trains at Pontefract Squash Club in West Yorkshire, where he was trained by his father, Malcolm Willstrop. 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 The British Junior Open squash championship is considered the second most prestigious junior open squash championship after the World Junior Squash Championships. It is one of the five Tier 2 events in the WSF World Junior Squash Circuit. Briti ...

trophies at under-14, under-17, and under-19. In the same year, he established himself as the world's top junior player, claiming both the European and the World junior titles. Willstrop became one of the youngest players to represent the senior England team, making his debut at both the European and

World Team Squash Championships The WSF World Team Squash Championships are an international squash competition organised by the World Squash Federation (WSF) and played between teams representing different nations. Countries enter teams of three or four players to represent t ...

in 2003. 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 The PSA World Series (formerly known as the PSA Super Series) was a series of men's and women's squash tournaments which were part of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour for the squash season. The tournaments were some of the mo ...

final. In 2005, he finished runner-up at the British Open as the seventh seed, then followed this by lifting the

Qatar Classic The Qatar Classic is an annual international squash tournament that takes place in Doha, Qatar in October or November. The event was re-established in 2001. Between 1992 and 1997, the tournament was formerly known as the Qatar International. The ...

trophy in only his second Super Series final appearance. This first-time success led to Willstrop a career-high World No. 2 in the PSA world rankings published that December. 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. He also won the bronze medal at the

2005 Men's World Open Squash Championship The 2005 Men's World Open Squash Championship is the men's edition of the World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Hong Kong from 29 November to 4 December 2005. Amr Shabana Amr ...

. In the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Willstrop partnered with Vicky Botwright to a silver medal in the mixed doubles. In 2007, Willstrop won the

British National Squash Championships The British National Squash Championships are the national squash championships for players from the United Kingdom & Ireland. They are held annually in early February, currently in Nottingham. The Championships were inaugurated in 1974 are no ...

title, beating John White in the final, helped England retain the

2007 Men's World Team Squash Championships The 2007 Men's World Team Squash Championships is the men's edition of the 2007 World Team Squash Championships organized by the World Squash Federation, which serves as the world team championship for squash players. The event were held in Chen ...

title in Chennai, India, and won the English Open, beating fellow Yorkshireman Nick Matthew in the final. Willstrop retained his British National title in February 2008, beating fellow Pontefract player Lee Beachill in the final. 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). In 2009, he reached the semi finals of the

2009 Men's World Open Squash Championship The 2009 Men's World Open Squash Championship is the men's edition of the World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in the Kuwait City in Kuwait from 1 to 7 November 2009. Amr Shabana ...

and in January 2010, Willstrop won his first Tournament of Champions title in New York, defeating World Number 1

Ramy Ashour Ramy Mohamed Ashour (born September 30, 1987, in Cairo, Egypt), known as Ramy Ashour (), is a retired professional squash player from Egypt, widely regarded as one of the best squash players in the history of the sport. He became the youngest pla ...

in the final and dropping only one game during the tournament. In the singles final of the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

in Delhi, Willstrop was defeated by compatriot Nick Matthew 11–6, 11–7, 11–7. The match ended after 66 minutes. He also finished runner up to Nick Matthew during the final of the

2010 Men's World Open Squash Championship The 2010 Men's World Open Squash Championship is the men's edition of the 2010 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place at the Sunset Beach Resort in Khobar, Saudi Arabia from 2 to ...

; it was the first time in the history of the competition that it was an all English final. In 2011, Willstrop reached the semi finals of the

2011 Men's World Open Squash Championship The 2011 Men's World Open Squash Championship is the men's edition of the 2011 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place at the squash club Victoria Squash Rotterdam and at the Luxor ...

and finished runner up with England in the

2011 Men's World Team Squash Championships The 2011 Men's World Team Squash Championships is the men's edition of the 2011 World Team Squash Championships organized by the World Squash Federation, which serves as the world team championship for squash players. The event were held in Paderb ...

. He 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. With those three

PSA World Series The PSA World Series (formerly known as the PSA Super Series) was a series of men's and women's squash tournaments which were part of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour for the squash season. The tournaments were some of the mo ...

titles, Willstrop succeeded fellow Englishman Nick Matthew as the World No. 1, in January 2012. The rivalry with Matthew continued for many years as Willstrop struggled to overcome his compatriot. Matthew regained the World Number 1 ranking and beat Willstrop in six National finals from 2010 to 2018. In 2013, Willstrop won his third World team title, after winning the

2013 Men's World Team Squash Championships The 2013 Men's World Team Squash Championships is the men's edition of the 2013 World Team Squash Championships, which serves as the world team championship for squash (sport), squash players. The event was held in Mulhouse, France, from June 9 to ...

in France. He won two medals at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

; a silver in the

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and a bronze in the doubles. He continued to compete at the highest level into his thirties and won two silver medals in the

2017 Men's World Team Squash Championships The 2017 Men's World Team Squash Championships was the men's edition of the 2017, which serves as the world team championship for squash players. The event was held in Marseille, France, from November 26 to December 3, 2017. The tournament is orga ...

and the

2019 Men's World Team Squash Championships The 2019 Men's World Team Squash Championships was the 26th edition of world men's team championship for squash players. The event was held at Squash On Fire in Washington, D.C., United States, from 15 to 21 December 2019. The tournament was organ ...

. In between he won the gold medal in the singles and bronze medal in the doubles at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. In the men's singles he beat Paul Coll of New Zealand in straight games, 11–9, 11–4, 11–6. In 2019 and 2020, Willstrop won the British National title, beating Daryl Selby and Joel Makin respectively in the finals. At the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

(his fifth Games) he won the gold medal partnering Declan James in the men's doubles.

Personal life

Willstrop is a vegan. He resides in Harrogate, Yorkshire, with his partner

Vanessa Atkinson Vanessa Louise Atkinson (born 10 March 1976 in Newcastle, England) is a former professional squash player from the Netherlands, who won the World Open in 2004 and reached the World No. 1 ranking in December 2005. Atkinson was born in England ...

, herself a professional squash player.

World Open final appearances

Major World Series final appearances

British Open

Tournament of Champions

Qatar Classic

US Open

Pakistan International

References

External links