Gaultier Tops PSA World Rankings

31-year-old Frenchman Gregory Gaultier has moved ahead of England's Nick Matthew to top the PSA World Squash Rankings in April.

Gaultier, who held the No1 ranking in conjunction with Matthew in February - the first time ever that two men held the post simultaneously - finds himself back on top after lifting the 2014 Windy City Open crown in Chicago in early March.

Despite having been ranked no lower than No8 since May 2006 and having been ranked within the top four players in the world consecutively since December 2011, Gaultier has only previously had sole possession of the world No1 ranking on one occasion, when his name topped them all in November 2009.

"Becoming world number one is a massive achievement," said Gaultier. "I've been working hard all my life to make this kind of thing happen.

"It's important to get there but the really important thing is to stay as long as possible. That's something I didn't manage to do in the past, so I hope I can do better and at least stay at No1 for more than one month - which is a goal!

"It's important for myself in terms of achievement but also for all the people who have been working with me for all these years, like my federation and club, so they can be recognised as well."

With Gaultier ranked No1, Matthew falls to second in the rankings while Egyptian duo Mohamed Elshorbagy and Ramy Ashour - the man Gaultier beat in the Windy City Open final - trade places to occupy third and fourth, respectively.

"It's tough to stay at the top," added Gaultier. "The competition is really hard with all the other top players and youngsters coming through but the good thing about it is that everybody pushes each other to bring the best squash possible.

"I love the competition and it makes me work harder every day and makes it really interesting also for my team and myself. You really need to adapt your training constantly to what players bring and you have to find solutions.

"I can't win all matches even if I wish I could. The other players in the top are really strong and even if I am 100 per cent I can't guarantee a win as the level of certain guys can be amazing.

"But I will keep working hard to do better if it is possible and I have goals for this year and hope I will reach them."

Elsewhere in the top 10, Spanish champion Borja Golan moves ahead of England's James Willstrop to a career-high world No5 while England's Peter Barker leapfrogs Egyptian pair Amr Shabana and Karim Darwish to world No7.

Indian No.1 Saurav Ghosal also rises two positions to equal his highest ever career ranking of 15 with England's Chris Simpson breaking into the world top 20 for the first time in his career to occupy the No20 position.