James Willstrop

James Willstrop

James Willstrop at the 2017 Men's World Team Squash Championships
Country	England
Born	(1983-08-15) 15 August 1983 North Walsham, Norfolk
Residence	Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	88 kg (194 lb)
Turned pro	2002
Retired	Active
Plays	Right Handed
Coached by	David Campion
Racquet used	Unsquashable
Men's singles
Highest ranking	No. 1 (January 2012)
Current ranking	No. 60 (August 2023)
Title(s)	21
Tour final(s)	46
Medal record Men's squash Representing England World Championships 2010 Khobar Singles 2005 Hong Kong Singles 2009 Kuwait Singles 2011 Rotterdam Singles 2012 Doha Singles 2015 Bellevue Singles World Team Championships 2005 Islamabad Team 2007 Chennai Team 2013 Mulhouse Team 2011 Paderborn Team 2017 Marseille Team 2019 Washington D.C. Team 2003 Vienna Team World Doubles Championships 2022 Glasgow Doubles 2017 Manchester Doubles Commonwealth Games 2018 Gold Coast Singles 2022 Birmingham Doubles 2006 Melbourne Mixed doubles 2010 Delhi Singles 2014 Glasgow Singles 2014 Glasgow Doubles 2018 Gold Coast Doubles
Updated on May 2023.

James Willstrop reacts during the 2009 Kuwait Open semi-finals.

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 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.

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. 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 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 final. 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. 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.

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 title, beating John White in the final, helped England retain the 2007 Men's World Team Squash Championships 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 and 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. 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. He also finished runner up to Nick Matthew during the final of the 2010 Men's World Open Squash Championship; 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 and finished runner up with England in the 2011 Men's World Team Squash Championships. 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 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 in France. He won two medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games; a silver in the 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 and the 2019 Men's World Team Squash Championships. In between he won the gold medal in the singles and bronze medal in the doubles at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 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 (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, herself a professional squash player.

World Open final appearances

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

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

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

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

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	2009	Nick Matthew	11–7, 11–4, 11–7

Pakistan International

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2004	Anthony Ricketts	6–11, 11–9, 13–11, 11–3

See also

• Official Men's Squash World Ranking

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 Archived 22 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine