They are the best of the best. Seemingly psychotic when they launch themselves in an all-out “who-cares-how-much-it’s-going-to-hurt-later” attempt to return every single ball possible, some of the world’s top professional squash players routinely throw caution to the wind just to take one more swipe at the silly little white rubber ball that can mean the difference between earning a point and falling one digit behind on the score sheet.
But most fans of squash never get the chance to see just how crazy these players are. In person, the dives, lunges, and face-plants these guys put themselves through hurt just to watch. These are the moments that generate the gasps, instantaneous hand-clapping, and explosive responses from the crowds—before the points are even over.
So we thought it would be fun to show you a few of these moments caught on camera. There aren’t many players on the tour who will sacrifice body and blood in every match they play, but the three you will see on this and the next two photos do—Amr Shabana, John White and Jonathon Power. Okay, Power has retired, but so what?! How many of you wouldn’t love to hit just one winner while seated on your backside after your opponent has seemingly hit an unreturnable ball? Yeah, we thought so.
2004 World Open, Round of 16: Desperate to win his second World Open title, this time in his home of Cairo, Egypt, Amr Shabana faced the No. 4 seed, David Palmer of Australia. Shabana, who has a reputation for diving from corner to corner, tracked this ball down but came up short in the match, falling 11-10 in the fifth after 81 minutes.2008 Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions, Quarterfinal: At six-foot, three-inches, 34-year-old John White does things men his size are just not supposed to be able to accomplish—like sit on the floor with both legs extended…in opposite directions! Ouch! But Whitey has made a habit of performing remarkable maneuvers. In his quarterfinal against Gregory Gaultier, White was seemingly finished. Down two games to one (having somehow taken the third), White was staring at an obvious four-game loss when he was on the wrong side of two matchballs—before he started diving, lunging and, yes, “splitting” his way to a fifth game. Though he lost the decider, White forever secured his place in the hearts of the New York fans with his gutty performance.2005 British Open, Semifinals: He was mercurial, witty, sometimes overly casual, but Jonathon Power was always a magician on court. Perhaps known best for his uncanny ability to convince his opponents that the ball would be going one direction only to watch them fall over themselves as he put the ball in an entirely different place, Power could produce his Houdini-like shots from just about any position—including from his Canadian derriere. And yes, he did hit a winner with this moment of creativity.
