Lobban relishing life back in Scotland as he breaks Top 20 for First Time

After a string of good performances and off the back of a first Platinum event quarter final finish at the QTerminals Qatar Classic, Scotland’s Greg Lobban is enjoying life inside the top 20 of the PSA Men’s World Rankings for the first time.

The Scottish No.1 first appeared inside the top 50 the world back in July 2015 and has been determined to reach the top 20 milestone ever since. Eight years on, he has achieved this feat, reaching No.19 in this week’s rankings. Lobban recently moved back to his home country after a number of years training in Sheffield and has admitted that it was a change his game needed.

We caught up with the 31-year-old to talk about his rise to the top 20, the breakthrough event in Doha and more:

On reaching the top 20…

Greg Lobban – “I’m so pleased to get to the top 20. I feel like in squash it’s quite a big milestone to get top 20. I guess it feels a little bit superficial in terms of you get your name on the main screen on the graphic and and then also not so superficial as it gets you into more favourable positions and tournaments and allows you to be in any tournament that you want.

“It’s been extremely tough to get there. I’ve spent the best part of 10-12 years trying. I felt like it was the goal ever since I got into the top 50 and It felt a little bit out of my reach, but it definitely felt like a challenge to get there one day and I’m glad to have done so. I’m extremely chuffed about it.”

On his performance at the recent Qatar Classic and his win over Victor Crouin…

GL – “In Qatar, I felt like in every match I was the second best player on the court. I guess the thing I’m most pleased with is the perseverance that I showed. I think previously when I’ve not brought my best to the court I’ve become frustrated and mentally checked out, but I’ve managed to turn that around recently and learn from previous mistakes. Even though I was being outplayed in each match and I was match balls down I was able to turn the match around and be able to find a way through it which is something that I haven’t done consistently before.”

GL – “I’ve had a few wins over top 10 players before but never in a Platinum event. Victor [Crouin], is one of the most professional players on tour and you know what you’re going to get from him, he will be very close to his best at each tournament and won’t have many dips throughout the season, so to do it against someone who I respect so highly is pretty cool.”

On moving back to Scotland from Sheffield…

GL – “It wasn’t a tough decision to make to move back to Edinburgh. Moving down to Sheffield had served its purpose for the few years I was there, but it became a bit of a toxic training environment for me and I knew I wasn’t going to make any progress in that environment. I made the decision to move back and I feel like I’m progressing again. I’m enjoying my surroundings and I’m surrounded by good people, so I’m really glad I moved back home.”

On the competition inside the top 30…

GL – “It’s really tight in there, I’ve been through the rankings so I know how tough it is to move up to any milestone, top 100, top 80, top 50 and obviously it’s taken me over 10 years to reach the top 20 and I understand it’s tough for everyone. I’ve reached the top 20 at 31-years-old, so that can be an encouragement to anyone to do it and keep persevering. Hopefully now I can crack on a bit after ticking off this milestone in my career.”

On his goals for the rest of the season

GL – “Ideally I’d like to stay in the top 20, but I may be moving out of it as soon as Monday. I’d love to just get as high as possible. One thing I’ve learned is that once you meet a milestone you’re immediately moving on to the next thing, but I’m determined to enjoy this moment and make the most of it.”