Tom Richards

Tom Richards has gone on to represent England at the highest level since his decision to turn professional at 18-years-old.

Guildford-born Richards captured his first PSA World Tour title at the Hithercroft Squash Club tournament in 2008 and went on to add the Kish Persian Cup and Seegarten Vitis Open the year after.

He won his first PSA M35 title at the 2012 Open De Squash Banque Nationale Groupe Financier after a fantastic tournament in which he eliminated number one seed Hisham Mohd Ashour and defeated former World Champion Thierry Lincou in the final. He was rewarded by breaking into the World’s top 15 the following month.

The Englishman failed to win a PSA World Tour title in 2013 or 2014 but came close on several occasions, most notably the 36th Indian Summer Benefiting Beyond Walls and the Ilex Construction Charlottesville Open where he reached the semi-final at both events.

He was one step away from lifting the Andorra Open crown in April 2015 but was prevented from doing so by top seed Karim Abdel Gawad who beat him in the showpiece event.

After a few mixed months, Richards then reached the latter stages of the St George’s Hill Open in October 2015 but was felled in the last four by eventual winner Chris Simpson. Richards next semi-final appearance came at the Montreal Open in 2016, where he was knocked out by Karim Abdel Gawad over three games.

Another semi-final appearance came for Richards, this time in the form of the Open International De Squash De Nantes where he again fell victim to Simpson. In 2017, Richards reached the final of the Wimbledon Club Squash Squared Open, where he was defeated by Scotsman, Alan Clyne.

The Englishman went on to win the Nash Cup later that year, beating Joel Makin in the final. He also made the final of the London Open, but was defeated by compatriot Declan James. He was beaten in the final of the Wimbledon Club Squash Squared Open again in 2018, with Mathieu Castagnet the victor this time round.

Richards beat Richie Fallons in the final of the Irish Squash Open to claim his 6th PSA Tour title, and then made the quarter finals of the Channel VAS Championships, losing to Ali Farag. The Englishman reached the last 16 of both the Qatar Classic and the Hong Kong Open before making the quarters of the Canada Cup in 2019.

He made the last 16 of the Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic, and then started the 2019/2020 season with a last eight appearance at the Gold level J.P. Morgan China Squash Open. Last 16 appearances came at the Channel VAS Championships at St. George’s Hill and the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, along with a string of second round results.

That run of results carried on into 2021, before the Englishman then made it into the last 16 of the Challenger 30 level Cleveland Skating Club Open. He followed that with another last 16 result, this time at the Platinum level Qatar QTerminals Classic, before then finishing runner-up to James Willstrop at the London Open to end his calendar year.