What Is The Oldest Open Squash Championship?

The game of squash has been played for nearly two centuries but has seen a level of evolution many of its ancestors have not, which has shaped the design, materials and need for dedicated courts ever since.

There are two major phases for the development of squash, separated by the First World War. The first phase was the gradual evolution of the game as a variation of rackets (itself a variation of royal tennis) into a standardised game with its own set of rules.

The second phase was the professionalisation and establishment of squash as a major spectator sport with a series of regional, national and global championships.

The modern World Squash Championships were established in 1976, organised by the then-newly found Professional Squash Association to firmly and definitively establish a world champion of the sport.

Before this was the case, the world champion of squash was typically considered to be the winner of the British Open Squash Championship, often compared to the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Whilst there had been previous professional tournaments held before the British Open, it was the first to be open to both professional and amateur players, creating a surge of competition and prestige comparable to the Open Era of tennis.

However, the format of the championship in these early days was far closer to royal tennis than lawn tennis, using a challenge format most commonly seen in professional boxing and the World Chess Championship.

In the case of the British Open, the champion would remain so until a challenger could beat them, which led to a somewhat awkward moment in 1933 where defending champion F.D. Amr Bey retained the championship by default after not receiving a challenge.

After an eight-year hiatus due to the Second World War, there was one more challenge match in 1947 where challenger Mahmoud Karim defeated defending champion Jim Dear, but since then it has been competed in a knockout tournament format.

The spirit of this challenger format has lived on, however, as the tournament has played host to some historic runs of dominance. From the decade-long success of Jahangir Khan to the 18-year undefeated streak of Heather McKay, squash has seen a number of champions who seemed invincible.