Gaultier & Matthew Top PSA World Rankings

French squash star Gregory Gaultier and England's Nick Matthew have become the first ever joint world number ones - with the duo tied level for top spot in the latest PSA World Squash Rankings.

Gaultier ended the first PSA World Series event of 2014, the recent JP Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York, as runner-up while Matthew failed to progress past the quarter-finals, meaning the pair are level on 1297.500 points.

"Being number one is a massive thing for any player and it was a big goal for me to become number one again after five years," said Gaultier, whose victory in the ToC semi-finals saw him recapture the No.1 ranking for the first time since November 2009.

"For now I'm going to enjoy it, but I need to keep improving as well.

"Even when you are on the top of your game you have to keep learning and keep improving things because if you don't move forward the other guys catch up."

Gaultier's opponent in that semi-final, 23-year-old Egyptian Mohamed Elshorbagy, has moved above compatriot Ramy Ashour to take the world No3 spot, becoming the highest-ranked Egyptian player for the first time in his career.

Elshorbagy cemented his place with an impressive January in which he emerged victorious in the Motor City Open in Detroit following his semi-final placing in New York.

"Of course it means a lot to be ranked as the number one player in Egypt but that is only a stepping stone towards my goals," said Elshorbagy.

"I turned 23 a few weeks ago but I have so much that I want to achieve and I am working hard on a daily basis to ensure I achieve them as soon as possible.

"People don't remember who the number one in their country is, but they remember who the World Champions, British Open Champions and world number ones were, so those are the goals for me.

"Players like Amr Shabana, because he has achieved so much more than any other player in Egypt has ever achieved, are the players who get remembered and I want to emulate that."