By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)

The PSA World Tour is hoping that the new season will result in an increase in the record prize money that was on offer throughout the 2021-22 campaign.

The PSA team worked hard to rebuild the Tour after two challenging years caused by the Covid pandemic, and they were rewarded by seeing a record total of $8,179,173 worth of player compensation won by players last season.

That was an 8.1% increase on the 2018-19 season, the final full PSA Tour season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a 77.3% increase compared to the 2020-21 campaign.

Despite the challenges associated with the ongoing pandemic, prize money on the women’s tour totalled $3,567,639, while $4,611,534 was available on the men’s tour.

The top earning female on the tour, Nouran Gohar, earned $285,713 during 2021-22. The top earning male, Ali Farag, took home $275,215. Average earnings for the men’s and women’s top-10 totalled $135,006, an increase of 12.1% compared to 2018-19.

A total of 774 events took place on the PSA World Tour, PSA Challenger Tour and WSF & PSA Satellite Tour (475 men and 299 women). This was 21.2% more than in the last season before COVID-19 hit, with more than 50 countries hosting a PSA Tour event. Four countries, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Iraq, hosted PSA events for the first time.

“We are extremely pleased to announce our highest ever prize money total and we are proud of the way the sport has bounced back from the very worst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough.

“Like all other sporting organisations, we have faced unprecedented challenges over the past two and a half years, and I am pleased that the professional game has come out of the other side in fine health, which is backed up by these record figures.

“One aspect of these figures that stands out is the fact that the highest earning player on the tour is female. We believe this underpins the PSA’s status as a champion for women’s sport and we look forward to continuing our efforts to grow both the women’s and men’s tours.

“The fact that the 2021-22 season featured more events than ever before is also particularly pleasing, and this wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and commitment of our tournament promoters and the PSA Tour team.​”

With new events on the calendar, like the Zed Open in Cairo launching the new season, and the Tour returning to New Zealand later this year, the PSA appears to be in a stronger financial position than ever.

Gough added: “As we look ahead to the beginning of the 2022-23 season later this month, we are preparing for the biggest season ever of professional squash, and I’d like to invite our fans to watch all the action unfold across SQUASHTV, the home of live squash.”

Pictures courtesy of PSA World Tour