SquashTalk> Columns> The Spin > SquashTalk Looks at US Elite Players[last update was 12-jan-05 ]

British Open in Nottingham:

Missing in action — The Americans

American Missing in Action on the International Stage © 2004 SquashTalk.com
by Ron Beck (Ron Beck is the editor of SquashTalk and spent five years on the WPSA pro tour)

The British Open starts today — at least the qualifying begins — in Nottingham, England.

MOST FAMOUS EVENT
I don't care how much prize money John Nimick and Jon Beddington raise or don't raise, or whether the event is in Nottingham or central London, or whether the charismatic star Jonathon Power skips the event, the British Open is still in my mind the most important squash tournament in the world. More important than the World Open or the Commonwealth Games or any other event. It's the event that Hashim Khan won in startling fashion, as an unknown from Peshawar, and then retained six more times. It's the event that Nephew Mo Khan parlayed into an entire career in the USA. It's the event that Jahangir Khan dominated for a decade (he won 10 times!.) And on the women's side, the incomparable Heather McKay won SIXTEEN times while New Zealander Susan Devoy won EIGHT times. It's how those players careers are defined. It's THE event.

NATALIE AND LATASHA
So where are the Americans? They are missing in action.

The USA Women's National team exceeded everyone's expectations in finishing 8th in the world in Amsterdam this September. But that seems to have been an abbreviated flirtation with international competition.

In the entire men's and women's 32-person main draws and qualifying draws, there are two players under the American flag — the perennial WISPA competitors Natalie Grainger and Latasha Khan. And it's a bit of a stretch for America to take credit for Grainger's presence in Nottingham - she's only resided in the USA for a few short years. I do give Natalie my total respect and admiration for her commitment to American squash as demonstrated quite clearly last weekend by her entry in the Women's Howe Cup team competition in New York City, one weekend before a critical week for her in Nottingham. And in Latasha's case, she is of the Khan clan. She bears the pride and tradition of that great squash family, which has driven her to excel at the game and to travel the world testing her form against the worlds best for a decade. Latasha, I have a lot of respect for your dedication, travels, and success on the world stage.

AVERSE TO THE TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
But where are the other American players? Where are Louisa Hall and Meredeth Quick and Michelle Quibell? Where are Preston Quick and the other American men?

Well the fact is, that the American men are not ranked quite highly enough to make it into the British Open Qualifier; but the American women are in a totally different position. There were 13 first round women's pro qualifying matches not played, either because of byes or no-shows. These were 13 available positions for the American Women.

Where are the women? Most of the American and Canadian women are entered in a $6,000 minor tournament in Florida next weekend. First of all, why is the American squash community staging a pro squash event on the British Open weekend? Second, why didn't the top American women make the trip to Nottingham? Why didn't the USSRA ask, cajole, and support the women in trying to qualify in Nottingham?

I posed the question to USSRA CEO Palmer Page. The question seemed to catch him by surprise. "We raised a lot of money at our Centennial dinner." He told me. "In the future we can maybe support some of these types of things."

I'm not sure money is the issue. Last time I checked, an advance ticket to the UK can be purchased for around $250 dollars.

Frankly, I don't understand it. After years of dedication to improving their squash games, and reaching the top of the American squash pyramid, the American players seem largely satisfied with playing in local American "satellite events," the American championships, and working in local clubs. Wouldn't they want to prove themselves on a world stage? And we are not just talking about the British Open. There was not one single American player who entered last December's World Open.

It's not that they are leaving squash - many of them are working fulltime at squash clubs, or other similar roles. And yes, I admit that in many ways fully dedicating yourself to the training, single minded focus, and travel needed to compete on the PSA or WISPA stages can be thankless, and certainly not monetarily lucrative except for a very few top players. But it's like any endeavor. If you pursue it, pursue excellence. Go for the top.

A NEW GENERATION
Christopher Gordon, the American junior star who has been playing in pro events in the UK for the past year, and Julian Illingworth, the Yale star who appeared in some pro events across the globe this summer, may be the first young Americans of the present generation to break through the American squash insecurity and compete successfully on the world stage. They have that look in their eye, the bug to compete with the very best.

A MESSAGE
America's top players. I have a message for you. If you are going to take a position on the American National Team, and accept the US Squash community's resources in that role, then fulfil your end of the bargain and compete on the world stage in the world's most important squash events. All the American squash players below you on the "squash pyramid" are looking for the country's best to reach higher!

The British Open at Albert Hall in Nottingham, England