Greatest Squash Player: Laura Massaro & Gregory Gaultier Voted Number 7

Over the last month, we have given squash fans the chance to decide the greatest players in squash history as we looked over the achievements and legacies of some of the most recognisable names ever to take to a squash court.

The votes are now in and we will be announcing the results in descending order to when we reveal the official men’s and women’s GOAT.

20th Place – Don Butcher & Sheila Macintosh
19th Place – Roshan Khan & Sue Cogswell
18th Place – Azam Khan & Anna Craven-Smith
17th Place – Abdelfattah AbouTaleb & Sue King
16th Place – Ahmed Barada & Joyce Cave
15th Place – F.D. Amr Bey & Silvia Huntsman
14th Place – Mahmoud Karim & Nancy Cave
13th Place – Qamar Zaman & Janet Morgan
12th Place – Jonah Barrington & Rachael Grinham
11th Place – Peter Nicol & Vicki Cardwell
10th Place – Hashim Khan & Margot Lumb
9th Place – Mohamed ElShorbagy and Liz Irving
8th Place – Geoff Hunt and Michelle Martin

In 7th place…

Gregory Gaultier

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Nationality: French
World Championship Wins: 1
World Championship Finals: 4
British Open Wins: 3
British Open Finals: 5
PSA Tour Titles: 40

Considered to be one of the most charismatic players on the PSA World Tour, Gregory Gaultier is the most successful French player of all time and a player who has transformed from an emotional, often temperamental teenage prodigy, into one of the most consistent players around and the first player in the modern era to play in over 700 matches.

An explosive player and possibly one of the fastest and most dynamic athletes ever to play the game, Gaultier rose to province as a talented junior and finished as runner-up at the 2000 World Junior Championship.

He collected this first senior title just one year later and became an instant major title contender, really coming of age in 2006 when he collected the US Open crown and reached the final of the World Championship – beating World No.1 Amr Shabana en route to a title-decider with David Palmer.

That match would shape the next decade of Gaultier’s career. After taking the opening two games the Frenchman held match ball to win the title 3-0 only to see the opportunity go to waste as Palmer fought back to eventually win and inflict a heavy mental scar on Gaultier. The memories of that loss would return in 2007, 2011 and 2013 when he again lost in the World Championship final before finally exorcising the demons in 2015 when he clinched the prestigious crown, defeating Egypt’s Omar Mosaad, to become just the second Frenchman after Thierry Lincou to win the World Championship.

In the years following his 2006 World Championship defeat Gaultier was a regular name in major event finals, but more often than not he failed to convert in the decisive matches.

Major wins did come in 2007, when he became the first Frenchman ever to win the British Open, in 2008 when he won the World Series Finals for the first time and in 2009 when he claimed the Tournament of Champions for the first time.

Buoyed by that World title win in 2015, Gaultier looked to have gained a new confidence and in 2017, showing no signs of slowing down, he went on a six-tournament winning streak that saw him dominate the PSA World Tour and become the oldest squash World No.1 in history in the process.

Despite being 35 years old, he remains a perennial title challenger and is still considered one of the players to beat and having suffered from a run of injuries over the past three years, he could still add further titles to his name before his career comes to an end.

Laura Massaro

Nationality: English
World Championship Titles: 1
World Championship Finals: 3
British Open Titles: 2
British Open Finals: 4
PSA Tour Titles: 22

Steely determination and impressive mental strength has enabled Laura Massaro to establish herself as one of the greatest players of her generation, with the Lancastrian claiming World Championship and British Open glory in addition to enjoying a stint atop the World Rankings.

Massaro has been ever-present inside the world’s top 10 for the past decade and made history in 2014 as she became the first English woman to hold both the World Championship and British Open titles at the same time.

Massaro overcame surprise finalist Nour El Sherbini in Malaysia to earn that World Championship crown to follow up her victory over eight-time World Champion Nicol David, which saw her claim victory at the sport’s oldest tournament.

Two runner-up finishes at the British Open followed in 2014 and 2015, while a runner-up finish at the Hong Kong Open was enough to see her rise to World No.1 in January 2016, becoming just the third Englishwoman ever to hold the honour and the first since Cassie Jackman in 2004.

Massaro also made it to another World Championship final – the third of her career – three months later and her defeat to El Sherbini did little to knock her off her stride as she was crowned PSA World Series Finals champion two months later, a title she defended the following year.

In 2017, Massaro appeared in the first female all-English British Open final in 26 years, beating Sarah-Jane Perry to collect her second British Open triumph. That victory saw Massaro become the first female English player since 1951 to win the iconic tournament more than once.

Massaro has also been prolific for her country, winning the World Team Championships in 2014, while she also claimed three Commonwealth Games silver medals throughout her career.