Squash: Revived Open targets world's best

World class women's squash will return to New Zealand in August with one of the richest tournaments of the international calendar.

The New Zealand Open, last staged in 1996, will be held at Mt Maunganui from August 11-16 and with a US$55,500 ($92,000) purse attached is guaranteed to attract a large number of the world's top 10 players.

The initiative from Squash New Zealand, bolstered by significant local sponsorship, has enabled the open to get second-top gold status on the women's circuit. There is one platinum tier event, the world championships in Amsterdam in September, which has a US$118,000 prize tag.

Only four tournaments are so far of gold level - last week's Texas Open, the Seoul Open next month, the Malaysian Open at the end of July and the New Zealand Open. However, prize money for several other tournaments, such as the British Open and Qatar and Monte Carlo Classics, are still to be announced. Even so, the New Zealand tournament is sure to rank inside the top 10 in terms of prize money on the circuit this year.

"A revival of the New Zealand Open has always been on the cards," New Zealand Squash chief executive Mike Thompson said yesterday. "There's a legacy we wanted to continue."

That legacy includes the eight national titles by New Zealand's alltime great Susan Devoy.

"We had originally budgeted support for the open this year but as with all sports we've come under the cosh as far as general funding goes."

Having decided around a month ago to commit to getting the tournament up again, Thompson is delighted it's going ahead.

There is no funding support from Government agency Sparc, however Thompson hopes a strong tournament, when financial times are tough, will have New Zealand Squash "ahead of the game and with something to sell when the recovery kicks in".

The centrepiece will be a glass court used in an exhibition tournament in Mt Maunganui last year.

Thompson is confident as many as 12 of the top 16 players will take part. The world's top players are obliged to take part in a number of the highest-ranked events each year.

Longtime world No 1 Nicol David of Malaysia will be the big drawcard and New Zealand could have two in the field of 16. World No 10 Shelley Kitchen seems a certainty and No 17 Jaclyn Hawkes could squeeze in.

There are ambitions to get the men's open back on the calendar. It was last held in 1993 and past winners include Pakistani greats Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan and Australian Geoff Hunt.

It will be a harder sell, however, as New Zealand does not have a player close to making an elite field. Its highest ranked male is Auckland's Kashif Shuja at No 40.