Scottish Squash Open to return after an 18-year hiatus

Lisa Aitken, Maggie Still, Sandy Adam and Greg Lobban at the launch of the Springfield Scottish Open.

The Scottish Squash Open is to return to the sporting calendar after an 18-year absence.

The revived competition, run by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), will debut at the Oriam in Edinburgh from 3 to 7 April 2019 and will be a Challenger 10 event with a £15,200 prize fund, split equally between male and female players.

The tournament, last played in 2001, is expected to attract a line-up packed with world-class players.

Sandy Adam, chairman of Springfield Properties, which will sponsor the event, said: “I am very proud to announce Springfield’s support of Scottish Squash, I look forward to welcoming a quality field to Edinburgh and bringing an important tournament back to life.”

Greg Lobban, currently 30th in the PSA world rankings, said: “I was too young to remember the last time there was such a big event in Scotland in 2001, but players such as Peter Nicol and John White competed, and hopefully we can attract that calibre of  players as the Springfield  Scottish Squash Open grows.”

Scottish Squash is negotiating with other firms regarding additional sponsorship to upgrade the tournament to a PSA Challenger 20, which would be one of the largest ever prize funds for a squash tournament in Scotland.