British Open Champion Gaultier To Boost Bristol In New PSL Season

The 25th season of the Premier League (PSL) gets underway next Tuesday - with recently-crowned British Open champion Gregory Gaultier making his debut for Probuild Bristol as the west country side bids to go one better than the runners-up finish achieved in last season's debut in the England Squash league now sponsored by Towergate tlc.

In a dramatic finale to the 'Wimbledon of Squash' last month in Manchester, Gaultier became the first ever Frenchman to win the prestigious British Open trophy. The 24-year-old, who has leapt to three in this month's world rankings, will make his first PSL appearance for two years as he leads Probuild Bristol in their opening Group B tie next week against Croydon's PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC.

"Even before winning the British Open, Greg had already established himself as one of the leading players on the Tour - and we are delighted that we have signed him to lead our bid to go all the way this season," said team manager Hadrian Stiff.

"He's a player with a high level of confidence who, on his day, can beat anyone - and that's a huge factor."

"In fact, it was our previous number one Adrian Grant who suggested we approach Greg - and, on the basis that their Tour commitments won't always make them available together, they can now share the responsibilities of leading the squad," added Stiff.

Gaultier will take on PSL newcomer Wael El Hindi in Tuesday's opening clash in Croydon. The world No12 from Egyptian leads the new Surrey H&RC squad, which also includes England internationals Peter Barker and Vicky Botwright who are making their debuts for the Croydon club.

Making their first appearance in the new PSL season are Energie Fitness Redditch, managed by British Open Over-55 champion Bett Dryhurst. The Worcestershire club will be led by England No6 Jonathan Kemp in their opening away fixture against Benz-Bavarian Duffield.

Duffield, the 2005/06 season champions, remained unbeaten throughout last season and went to successfully defend their title. Led for the fifth successive season by Yorkshire's world No10 Nick Matthew - who this week won the US Open title in an all-English final - the Derbyshire club is bidding to become the first club in the history of the elite league to claim a hat trick of successive PSL titles.