Height 190cm
Weight 88kg
Birthplace North Walsham
Racket sponsor Unsquashable
World Rank
22
Road to Egypt
23
James Willstrop
DOB 15 August 1983
CountryEngland
- World Rank
- Road to Egypt
22
23
Latest
Bio
Results
Videos
Statistics
Head to Head
Latest Results
M. ElSherbini
CIB Squash Open Black Ball 2021 - Cairo, Egypt
16 DEC Round 1
- 2-3
- 7-11
- 11-6
- 10-12
- 11-5
- 9-11
T. Richards
London Open 2021 - London, England
21 NOV Final
- 3-0
- 11-5
- 11-7
- 12-10
G. Parker
London Open 2021 - London, England
20 NOV Semi final
- 3-1
- 11-3
- 11-4
- 7-11
- 11-3
T. Lau
London Open 2021 - London, England
19 NOV Quarter final
- 3-1
- 11-8
- 6-11
- 11-8
- 11-2
M. Lee
London Open 2021 - London, England
18 NOV Round 2
- 3-0
- 13-11
- 11-4
- 11-5
.
London Open 2021 - London, England
11 JAN Round 1
- 0-0
G. Marche
Canary Wharf Classic 2021 - London, England
16 NOV Round 2
- 0-2
- 6-11
- 4-11
M. Abouelghar
Canary Wharf Classic 2021 - London, England
14 NOV Round 1
- 2-0
- 11-6
- 11-8
T. Momen
Qatar QTerminals Classic 2021 - Doha, Qatar
18 OCT Round 2
- 0-3
- 5-11
- 9-11
- 9-11
Upcoming Matches
TBA
Squash on Fire Open 2022
Washington, United States
17 FEB Round 2
Player BIO
| James Willstrop Profile | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 15th August, 1983 |
| Height (cm) | 190 |
| Weight (kg) | 88 |
| Residence | Harrogate, England |
| Coach | Malcolm Willstrop and David Campion |
| Interests | Zxftresrtyy |
| Racket Sponsor | Unsquashable |
| String Sponsor | Unsquashable |
James Willstrop is one of England’s greatest squash players and has maintained one of the sport’s most bitter rivalries with three-time World Champion Nick Matthew.
Known as ‘The Marksman’ after his accurate shot placement, he has a large, rangy build and stands at an impressive 6 feet 4 inches. He lifted the Qatar Classic in 2005 after losing out in the final of the British Open and picked up a silver medal alongside Vicky Botwright in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
2008 saw more heartbreak at the British Open after a 3-2 defeat to David Palmer despite Willstrop holding match ball on two occasions. He reached the final again a year later but lost out in a tense five-set match with Matthew.
Willstrop started 2010 with an impressive win at the Tournament of Champions, dropping just one game throughout the whole tournament. He lost out to Matthew though in arguably the biggest match of his career, the World Championship final, later that year.
The Englishman had a stunning 2011 and earned a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games after defeat to Matthew again. Willstrop followed this up by winning fifteen matches in a row to clinch the Hong Kong Open, the Kuwait Open and the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters. This led to him reaching a career high World No.1 ranking in January 2012 but he surrendered it to compatriot Matthew after defeat in the Tournament of Champions the same year.
The Norfolk-born Willstrop wrote the book Shot and a Ghost in 2012 which released to positive reviews. Injury dogged the next two years but Willstrop still managed to pick up a solitary PSA World Tour title in March 2013 at the Canary Wharf Classic. The Englishman celebrated the birth of his son, Logan, in November 2013 with partner Vanessa Atkinson, a former Women’s World Champion.
Willstrop showed signs he was getting back to his best when he picked up his third silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, his old foe Matthew proving victorious once more. He finished 2014 on a high though, winning the China Open for the first time in September.
More injury problems went on to disrupt Willstrop's season and, despite claiming a handful of quarter-final finishes, his World Ranking took a hit as he dropped out of the top ten at the end of the 2014/15 season.
He returned to some his best form though at the 2015 World Championship in November by dumping out then World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy in the third round in a performance reminiscent of his sensational best.
Willstrop eventually bowed out at the semi-final stage to eventual World Champion Gregory Gaultier but his fine display ensured that he moved back into the world’s top 15.
After a slow start to 2016, Willstrop put in a series of superb displays towards the end of the year, reaching the final of the NetSuite Open in September before claiming a first World Series semi-final spot since 2014 at the U.S. Open the following month.
Willstrop renewed his great rivalry with Matthew in the final of December’s British Grand Prix, but fell to a 19th successive defeat to his fellow Yorkshireman. The Yorkshireman featured in the semi-final of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions but lost out to eventual winner Karim Abdel Gawad in January 2017. Willstrop then went on to reach the final of the season-ending PSA Dubai World Series Finals where he was eventually defeated by Egypt's Mohamed ElShorbagy.
In 2018 Willstrop claimed the biggest title of his squash career, defeating Paul Coll 3-0 to win Gold at the Commonwealth Games. After his outstanding performance on Australia's Gold Coast, Willstrop became the most capped England squash player in history. The former World No.1 also made the final of the Open International de Squash de Nantes, before going on to win the London Open in his final outing of 2018.
His first appearance of 2019 saw Willstrop make it to the semi finals of the CCI International, before reaching the same mark at the Wimbledon Club Squash Squared Open. He finished the season with a runners-up finish at the 5R Montpellier Metropole Open, losing out to Frenchman Gregoire Marche in the final.
Willstrop started his 2019-2020 campaign in great form, as he reached the last eight of the Open de France - Nantes presented by Tailor Capital, before reaching the same stage of the PSA Men’s World Championship in Qatar. He then won the London Open before helping England to a runners-up finish at the WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championships in Washington, D.C.
The Englishman reached the last 16 of every event he entered in 2020, starting with the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions and St. James’s Place Canary Wharf Classic. He then did the same at the four major tournaments that followed the six-month suspension of the Tour.
The Englishman started 2021 by reaching the final of the Challenger 20 level Squash on Fire Open, and he would go on to reach a Platinum quarter final later in the year, doing so at the U.S. Open presented by Truist in Philadelphia. Willstrop also claimed another title, winning the London Open on home soil, taking the 22nd title of his career.
Results
CIB Squash Open Black Ball 2021 16 - 20 Dec PSA World Tour Gold Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 |
M. ElSherbini |
24 | 2-3 |
|
London Open 2021 17 - 21 Nov PSA Challenger Tour 20 Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final |
T. Richards |
38 | 3-0 |
|
| Semi final |
G. Parker |
37 | 3-1 |
|
| Quarter final |
T. Lau |
71 | 3-1 |
|
| Round 2 |
M. Lee |
74 | 3-0 |
|
| Round 1 |
. |
- | - |
|
Canary Wharf Classic 2021 14 - 19 Nov PSA World Tour Gold Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 2 |
G. Marche |
13 | 0-2 |
|
| Round 1 |
M. Abouelghar |
14 | 2-0 |
|
Qatar QTerminals Classic 2021 17 - 23 Oct PSA World Tour Platinum Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 2 |
T. Momen |
4 | 0-3 |
|
| Round 1 |
F. Khan  |
62 | 3-0 |
|
U.S. Open 2021 01 - 06 Oct PSA World Tour Platinum Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter final |
T. Momen |
4 | 1-3 |
|
| Round 3 |
M. Abouelghar |
15 | 3-2 |
|
| Round 2 |
M. ElShorbagy |
5 | 3-1 |
|
| Round 1 |
T. Yip |
42 | 3-0 |
|
Allam British Open 2021 16 - 22 Aug PSA World Tour Platinum Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|
Manchester Open 2021 09 - 13 Aug PSA World Tour Silver Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 |
P. Rooney |
40 | 0-3 |
|
British National Championships 2021 03 - 06 Aug WSF & PSA National Championships Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|
PSA World Championships 2020-2021 14 - 22 Jul PSA World Championships Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 |
Y. Ibrahim |
24 | 1-3 |
|
Squash on Fire Open 2021 27 Jun - 01 Jul PSA Challenger Tour 20 Event
| Round | Player | WR | Games | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final |
V. Crouin |
39 | 1-3 |
|
| Semi final |
R. Kobayashi  |
68 | 3-1 |
|
| Quarter final |
A. Idrakie  |
91 | 3-0 |
|
| Round 2 |
E. Evans  |
104 | 3-0 |
|
| Round 1 |
. |
- | - |
|
Load More
Videos of James Willstrop
Load More
Head To Head Results
Career Wins / Losses
69.6Win Ratio
Won 491
Lost 214
Retired 7
Ranking
- World Ranking
Player Details
| James Willstrop Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Years | 22 |
| Total Tournaments Played | 230 |
| Total Matches Played | 705 |
| Matches Won | 491 |
| Matches Lost | 214 |
| Finals | 48 |
Join SQUASHTV and get closer to the PSA World Tour
FREE DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP
Become a Digital member for free and get:
- MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
- REGULAR NEWSLETTER
- Exclusive interviews
- LATEST OFFERS
>
FULL MEMBERSHIP
Become a SQUASHTV subscriber and get:
- 450 matches live
- Full replays
- Watch on PC, mobile & tablet
- Historic games
Search