Shabana Is New World Number One

Egypt's Amr Shabana becomes world number one for the first time in the new April Dunlop PSA Men's World Rankings, published today by the Professional Squash Association.

The 26-year-old World Open champion from Cairo is the tenth player to top the world list since the inaugural rankings were produced more than 20 years ago - but is the first Egyptian.

Shabana rocked the squash world in December 2003 when he won the World Open for the first time in Pakistan - where he was the ninth seed! After a dismal 2004, in which he only reached one PSA Tour final, the stylish left-hander came back with a vengeance in 2005 when he picked up four titles from six final appearances - and finished the year in stunning style by becoming world champion for the second time in Hong Kong.

He has collected a further two PSA Trophies this year - winning the Canadian Classic in Toronto in January and the Tournament of Champions last month at Grand Central Terminal in New York, to bring his career title total to 11.

The new ranking list is the first since Canada's Jonathon Power announced his surprise retirement shortly after topping the list in March.

While Australia's David Palmer retains second place, James Willstrop consolidates his position as the highest-ranked Englishman by moving up to three, ahead of fourth-placed Frenchman Thierry Lincou.

Australia's Anthony Ricketts and England's Peter Nicol move up to five and six, respectively, while Englishman Nick Matthew - runner-up at last month's Tournament of Champions - rises three places to seven, his highest ranking for more than a year.

Malaysia's two players in the world top 20 are also on the rise: Ong Beng Hee moves up to No14 to celebrate his best ranking for almost two years, while Mohd Azlan Iskandar rises a single place to No12 to mark a career-best ranking.

1 [3] Amr Shabana EGY
2 [2] David Palmer AUS
3 [5] James Willstrop ENG
4 [4] Thierry Lincou FRA
5 [6] Anthony Ricketts AUS
6 [7] Peter Nicol ENG
7 [10] Nick Matthew ENG
8 [8] Lee Beachill ENG
9 [9] John White SCO
10 [11] Gregory Gaultier FRA
11 [12] Karim Darwish EGY
12 [13] Mohd Azlan Iskandar MAS
13 [14] Olli Tuominen FIN
14 [15] Ong Beng Hee MAS
15 [16] Adrian Grant ENG
16 [17] Stewart Boswell AUS
17 [22] Mohammed Abbas EGY
18 [19] Graham Ryding CAN
19 [20] Alex Gough WAL
20 [21] Wael El Hindi EGY