By Kirsten Carlson
Forging his Path
US Men’s Team member Ryan Donegan
Aww, the glamorous world of the PSA Tour. Traveling to exotic locales like Bermuda, Egypt, Hong Kong and even some that you may have never hear of, such as say…Qatar. Yes, big cities, true squash fans, the glory of playing on the glass court in the middle of a crowd hanging on every point…and of course some decent money.
Okay, so that is the way it is for maybe the top 20 players on the Tour. But for the rest of them, like World No. 121 Ryan Donegan, life isn’t quite that way. Along with the rigors that every player on the Tour must deal with—living out of a suitcase, being away from family, spending half their time in airports—Donegan, and a great many other players, have to worry about things like “If I don’t do well enough in this tournament, I might not have enough money to fly to the next.” Or for that matter to put food on the table.
Donegan, a relatively new member of the US Men’s Squash Team has been playing full time on the PSA Tour for over a year. He played as a representative for the US Men’s Team for the first Time in September’s Pan Am Federation Cup, where he played against former World No. 1 Jonathon Power in the individual round of 16, a personal highlight for him. While it was his first time playing Power as a professional, he had played him several times before at summer camps and in a few exhibitions. Donegan attended Dartmouth, where John Power Sr. is the head squash coach. He graduated in 2005, after a successful career, earning All Ivy honors all four years, second team All-American his freshman year and first-team honors his last three years.
After being coached by Gus Cook—who actually coached him for free as his family did not have a lot of money for coaching—since he was 13, he went to train with Malcolm Willstrop in England following college. But after a year on the Tour and living overseas, Donegan is back in the US. He is the newest assistant squash pro at the Racquet Club in St. Louis.
“I just started at the job in October, so all of last year I was just training full time and playing tournaments and now I’m here at the club coaching 8-6 and I usually do my training either in the morning, at 6 a.m., or in the evening after I finish,” Donegan said. “And they allow me to travel, so I’ll just continue to play my tournaments. Qualifiers are usually Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, so I play and then come back and kind of base myself here.”
Donegan is not at all disappointed to be back in the US.
“I mean it’s kind of nice because last year I was basically just living out of my car and staying with people and there is not much stability or security in it. So being here is going to help me feel like I actually have a place to live, and feel a little bit more stable, and then I’ll deal with travel with the money that I’m making. So I think it’s going to make things easier in a sense. I mean I’m not going to be able to train in England as much, but I think I’ll be alright.”
Not only did Donegan not have a place to call home last year, but his family was in a similar situation for a couple months. Donegan is originally from Chicago, which is where he started training with Cook. His family moved to New Orleans when Donegan was 15 and Donegan would spend summers training with Cook. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, his family got lucky compared to many. Their home suffered wind and tree damage, but did not get flooded. It was unlivable for two months. Houses just two blocks south of Donegan’s were flooded but the water did not cross the main road, saving their home from further damage. In England, when Katrina hit, Donegan watched the devastation on TV.
“I mean it was unbelievable. The coverage on the BBC is pretty good. They’re allowed to show more than they do here in the States, more graphic. Seeing some of the stuff that they recorded,” Donegan said, pausing. “They had all the refugees on the highway, and I mean that highway is just outside where I live. It’s half a mile from my house. So seeing everybody stranded on the roads and just basically everything in general, was just, wow.”
Donegan was on Tour for the next several months after the hurricane, and while he doesn’t have his future plans completely sorted out, he will keep playing on the PSA Tour as much as possible. And if that eventually does not work out, or is no longer something he enjoys, there are plenty of other doors open to him, as he has a degree in English Literature.
“I heard it was a really good major to have if you wanted to have a general kind of major where it helps in all aspects of business, so I could potentially go to law school or get an MBA. I basically tried to leave my options open to do whatever I wanted to really.”
With several paths to choose from thanks to his physical and academic talent, Donegan is in an admirable position.
Shabana Wraps up Year in Style with Win in Saudi Arabia
Amr Shabana ended 2006 the same way he began it, by winning a major tournament. Shabana started the year by winning the PACE Canadian Classic in January and finished it with a win at the Saudi International on December 20. Shabana’s final victim was the surging Gregory Gaultier on a very cold glass court at Sunset Beach in Al Khobar.
The win was the fifth major title of the year for Shabana, who also won the Tournament of Champions in March, the Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters in April and the Hong Kong Squash Open in October. Shabana has stayed atop the world rankings for the past 10 months, since the retirement of Jonathon Power (who was No. 1 at the time) and a brief one-month stint by David Palmer who inherited the top spot from Power. And Shabana hasn’t looked back.
During Shabana’s stellar year, Gregory Gaultier has been the only real thorn in his side. Despite his dominant year, Shabana has fallen to Gaultier a few times—first, in the semis of the World Open in September, then in the final of the US Open in November and finally when he was forced to retire in the quarters of the Pakistan Open.
To get to the finals of the Saudi International, both Shabana and Gaultier eliminated compatriots. Shabana defeated Mohammed Abbas, his training partner of over 10 years, in the quarters while Gaultier did the same to Thierry Lincou, one of his closest friends and former World No. 1.
After a handful of tense matches including plenty of domestic battles, the two most on-point players got their rightful places in the final. But it was Shabana who had the crowd strongly in his favor. In the end it was Shabana’s match, tournament and year.
Bentley Atlanta Masters
By Andre Maur
The 4th Bentley Atlanta Masters got off to a flying start with World Champion David Palmer and former World No. 1 John White, putting on a world class exhibition at the Concourse Athletic Club in Atlanta in mid-November.
With more than 200 spectators, there was not an open seat or even a place to stand. A buffet of the ultimate finest by Atlanta Creative Events and an open martini bar kept everyone in great squash party mode.
After 90 minutes of grueling and entertaining squash, White won 11/9 in the fifth. Sponsors and players had an hour at the end of the match to ask the pros all sorts of questions, before they had to get on a flight to Boston for the US Open.
Over 100 amateurs competed on Saturday in the skill level competition for the Bentley Atlanta Masters title. Saturday night brought more fun, with an open bar and Italian food by Brio for all the players and sponsors. Sunday everyone got back down to business as the top players fought it out in the finals. The best match of the day was between David Espinosa and Atilla Votin in the 5.5 division. Espinosa was the underdog, but proved that with good coaching and hard work, anyone can win a tournament. Well done Dave and keep on working on that back hand drop.
Natalie Grinham wins Monte Carlo Classic
Two WISPA players heading in opposite directions collided in the final of the Monte Carlo Classic in early December, with the player on the rise coming out on top. Vanessa Atkinson and Natalie Grinham’s tournaments played out much like their years. Atkinson, the former World No. 1, dropped several games on her way to the last round, while Grinham did not drop one. In the final, Grinham retained control from the outset and won in three. Grinham had an outstanding 2006 with a perfect three gold medal performance at the Commonwealth Games in March and a finals appearance at the Women’s World Open. Atkinson on the other hand, had not advanced past the quarterfinals of a WISPA event since her win at the Tournament of Champions in February.