PSA World Series Finals

March 1, 2014

By Jay D. Prince

The PSA World Series Finals are coming to the United States for the first time, to be staged in Richmond, Virginia, at the Westwood Club, March 15-19, 2014.

First held as the Super Series Finals in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1993 and 1994, the end of season championship event of the PSA world tour has been held in England since 1996, including the last four years at Queen’s Club in London.

Prior to that, The Galleria in Hatfield (1996-1999), Broadgate Arena in London (1999-2006), and two years in the National Squash Center in Manchester (2007-2008) hosted the flagship PSA event. Twice, a WSA event was included (2012 and 2013) and, the 2010 final between Nick Matthew and Amr Shabana never happened after the collapse of the marquee that housed the court.

Beginning with two pools of four players, playing a round-robin format, the top two players in each pool advance to the semifinals where the top player in Pool A takes on the second place finisher in Pool B, and likewise with the top Pool B player facing the second place from Pool A—with the two winners squaring off in the final.

The eight players in the World Series Finals were determined by the Dunlop PSA World Series points standings based on points earned in PSA World Series events throughout the year. The events earning points for the top-eight players in 2013 were: the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, the Davenport North American Open, the Kuwait PSA Cup, the Allam British Open, the Delaware Investments U.S. Open, the Qatar Classic and the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Squash Open.

Satinder Bajwa was the man behind bringing the annual championship to England in 1996. Bajwa, at the time Jansher Khan’s manager and coach, and later the coach at Harvard University, transformed the World Series Finals into one of the leading events on the PSA calendar. Twice Peter Nicol was involved in epic, five-game finals. In 2000, Nicol outlasted Simon Parke 15-12 in the fifth; three years later he lost 15-14 in the fifth to Jonathon Power in one of the most fascinating matches in their amazing rivalry—Power famously broke his racquet in frustration in the fifth after a call didn’t go his way.

“It was one of the best squash matches I’ve ever seen,” recalled Bajwa. The World Series Finals were always a good goal for the elite players, as those outside pushed hard to crack the top eight. Last year, at Queen’s Club in London, the championships were broadcast live on SkyTV.

“I’m very proud that the Super Series Finals is still going,” Bajwa said. “It’s a legacy that squash deserves.”

This year’s Finals are sponsored by Jonathon Power’s Power Courts from Court Tech. “I’m very excited to be in the position to sponsor and give back to the sport that has given me so much,” said Power. “Since my retirement I’ve looked to grow the game in many ways. Power Courts is a natural extension of that. One of quality that I’m proud of.”

2013 World Series Finals Pools
Pool A