Squash sensation Ramy Ashour is the current World No. 2 and former World Champion. In January of 2010 at the age of 22, he became the youngest player to achieve world No. 1 ranking since the Khan era. Despite some injury troubles that hampered his progress at the end of the 2010 season he is now back, resuming his rivalry with current world No.1 Nick Matthew.

Claiming the top spot in the world rankings in January of 2010 as a result of a sensational 2009 run which included six PSA World Tour final appearances, culminating in triumphs in the final two events of the year, the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters in India and the Saudi International.

However, it was in August 2004 that Ashour first came to worldwide attention: The 16-year-old stunned the squash world by becoming the youngest ever World Junior Champion when seeded only to make the quarter-finals. Three months later, in his maiden PSA Tour appearance in Greece, he won the Athens Open – becoming one of only a handful of players to claim PSA titles on their Tour debuts. In July 2006, Ashour successfully defended his world junior crown in New Zealand to become the first man in history to win the world’s leading junior title twice.

But it was in 2008 that the then 20-year-old achieved one of his greatest feats – romping through the star-studded World Open field in England to beat top seed and defending champion Amr Shabana in the semi-finals, then, in the first all-Egyptian final, overcome Karim Darwish 5-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 to become World Champion. The fourth’s seed’s victory made him only the second player in history (after Pakistan legend Jansher Khan) to win both the junior and senior world titles. ”Putting me in the same category as Jansher is a huge thing for me,” said the new champion when told the news. “I have been watching his videos on YouTube recently – and have used some of his shots in my game.”

The 24 year old has been a sensational addition to the PSA world series and continues to notch up the world most prestigious titles with alarming regularity. His developing rivalry with Nick Matthew has seen both players raise their games to ever increasing levels. Levels that at times make you question all you think you knew about the game. This battle for the ages looks set to rage on as the two players continue to swap titles in 2011.