Windy City Open: A History

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The 2016 Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and EquiTrust Life Insurance Company is set to welcome a world class field to the University Club of Chicago once again when the World Series tournament gets under way on Thursday February 25.

Now entering its 35th year, the Windy City Open was first held back in 1982 in a hardball format and has developed into one of the most exciting and pioneering tournaments on the PSA World Tour.

The first ever title was won by United States player Mark Talbott, whose dominance would extend to a further 11 titles before his crown was taken by Gary Waite.

Since then, a number of famous players have lifted the Windy City Open crown with Thierry Lincou, Nick Matthew, David Palmer and Amr Shabana being just some of the renowned names to have captured the prestigious title.

The tournament adopted the more widely used international ‘softball’ format in the early 1990s and has been at the University Club of Chicago for the last 15 years.

A Women’s event was added on to the bill in 2008 with Samantha Teran defeating home hope Latasha Khan in the final. Khan remains the only American to have made it that far at this tournament on home soil but, with current United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy on hot form after last month’s runner-up showing at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, that is a record that could be set to change this month.

The Windy City Open transitioned into a World Series event for the first time in 2014 with current World Champion Gregory Gaultier taking the crown on that occasion.

Last year saw ‘The Wolf’ Nick Matthew make history as he became the oldest ever PSA World Series title winner at the age of 34 after defeating current World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy in the final while Egyptian shot-making sensation Raneem El Welily downed Malaysian superstar Nicol David to capture the Women’s title.

The 2015 instalment of the Windy City Open also saw it become the second World Series tournament to offer equal prize money across both the Men’s and Women’s game – further enhancing its standing as one of the most innovative events on the PSA World Tour and another example of how the decision to create a unified governing body, which came into effect last year, has yielded dividends.

Previous Winners – Men
2015 Nick Matthew (ENG)
2014 Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
2013 Borja Golan (ESP)
2012 Saurav Ghosal (IND)
2011 Oliver Pett (ENG)
2010 Chris Gordon (USA)
2009 Julian Illingworth (USA)
2008 Mark Heather (ENG)
2007 Amr Shabana (EGY)
2006 David Palmer (AUS)
2005 John White (SCO)
2004 Nick Matthew (ENG)
2003 Paul Price (AUS)
2002 Nick Taylor (ENG)
2001 Thierry Lincou (FRA)
2000 Clive Leach (ENG)
1999 Stephen Meads (ENG)
1998 Marcus Berrett (ITA)
1997 Martin Heath (SCO)
1996 Paul Johnson (ENG)
1995 Mark Chaloner (ENG)
1994 Gary Waite (USA)
1993 Mark Talbott (USA)
1992 Mark Talbott (USA)
1991 Mark Talbott (USA)
1990 Mark Talbott (USA)
1989 Mark Talbott (USA)
1988 Mark Talbott (USA)
1987 Mark Talbott (USA)
1986 Mark Talbott (USA)
1985 Mark Talbott (USA)
1984 Mark Talbott (USA)
1983 Mark Talbott (USA)
1982 Mark Talbott (USA)

Previous Winners – Women
2015 Raneem El Welily (EGY)
2014 Laura Massaro (ENG)
2011 Joshna Chinappa (IND)
2008 Samantha Teran (MEX)

Watch live action from the Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and EquitTrust Life Insurance on SQUASHTV*. It is also shown in Europe on Eurosport Player. Click here to find out more.

Watch live action from the Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and EquiTrust Life Insurance on SQUASHTV*. Click here to subscribe.