Challenger Tour: Five Men’s Players to Watch in 2024

The PSA Challenger Tour rolls on in 2024, with more young stars hoping to climb the rankings and make a name for themselves across the year. 

We’ve put the spotlight on five young players – all starting the year under the age of 19 – we think could break out in the men’s game across the next 12 months on the Challenger Tour.

Mohamad Zakaria 

Egyptian prodigy Mohamad Zakaria has already made his mark on the PSA Challenger Tour and won the recent British Junior Open, but that doesn’t mean there’s not more to come in 2024. 

The 16-year-old became the youngest ever male winner of a PSA Tour event in October, doing so in his first 15k event, claiming glory at the Local World LA Open. 

He followed that up with more success at The Northern Joe Cup and the Aston and Fincher Sutton Coldfield International in his next two events, meaning he has so far won three titles and lost just one match this season. 

A product of Alexandria’s Sporting Club – which boasts the likes of Nour El Sherbini and Abou Aly Eleinen among its members – Zakaria does not turn 17 until September but entered 2024 ranked 82 in the world and will have his sights set on the world’s top 50 soon. 

Jonah Bryant 

The reigning British junior champion and runner-up to Zakaria at the British Junior Open, Jonah Bryant enjoyed a successful end to 2023, winning his first three PSA Tour titles. 

Impressively, the 18-year-old dropped only two games in those three tournaments and will be hoping to take the next step this year, having recently moved to Birmingham to train full-time with Rob Owen. 

He started 2024 ranked 143 in the world having started last year outside the world’s top 200, and was recently shortlisted for Sportsaid’s One-to-Watch award, showcasing just how highly he’s regarded, both within and outside of squash. 

Hamza Khan 

Pakistan’s Hamza Khan rose to prominence in 2023 after winning the World Junior Championship, beating Zakaria in the final. 

In doing so, he ended his country’s 37-year wait for a winner of that event, and thrust himself into the limelight as the next torchbearer of Pakistani squash. 

He then reached his first 20k quarter-final at the London Open in November, beating former World No.1 and squash legend James Willstrop in the process, displaying the full range of athleticism and shot-making that has underpinned his junior career. 

Still just 18, Khan will be hoping to make a splash on the senior circuit and claim his first PSA Tour title in 2024.

David Bernet 

Talented Swiss star David Bernet is another 18-year-old hoping to break out in 2024, after reaching his first PSA Tour final in December. 

That run at the Liechtenstein Open capped a year in which he claimed victory at the Italian Junior Open and the German Junior Open, and while a first Tour title ultimately eluded him, don’t be surprised if that changes in the early part of 2024, especially after a run to the semi-finals of the British Junior Open to kick off the new year.

Melvil Scianimanico 

Another player who showcased their potential in the latter part of 2023 is France’s Melvil Scianimanico. 

The Paris-based teenager played just one Challenger Tour event in the first half of the year, but played three tournaments on the Green Squash Tour, reaching quarter-finals of the 12k Cognac Open and the 15k PSA Des Hauts De France – Wam. 

That all followed a run to the semi-finals of the World Junior Championship – where he was beaten by Khan – and glory at the French National Junior Championships and Dutch Junior Open, plus two Satellite Tour titles. 

He climbed almost 200 spots in the world rankings over the course of 2023, moving from No.343 to his current mark of No.146, and will be hoping to follow up a run to the final four of the British Junior Open with a strong start to 2024 on the PSA Tour.