The 2024 British National Championships get underway tomorrow from St. George’s Hill Squash Club in Weybridge, Surrey with a total of 49 players competing to become the National Champions.
Men’s top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy has claimed the title for the past two editions, beating Wales’ Joel Makin in both finals. If the World No.8 is to claim a third consecutive title, he’ll join England legend Nick Matthew as the only male players to win three or more titles in a row.
Elshorbagy is obviously determined to defend his title, but admits that this year’s event is looking as strong as he’s ever seen and will need to watch out for players who ended the season well or are returning from injury.
“It would mean a lot to me if I could win it three times in a row. To join Nick [Matthew] as the only other person to do it in the men’s event would be such an achievement and it shows how difficult it is. I’ll try my best to do it.
“This year will be a lot stronger than last year, for sure. My brother is in the draw so that will make things interesting. The last couple of years, there was only myself and Joel who were top 10 players in the draw. But with my brother in the draw this year, I think it adds more excitement and everyone wants that.
“There are also other British players that ended the season playing really well. Also you have Patrick [Rooney] coming back from an injury and he was a top 4 seed before he got injured. Greg Lobban finished the season playing really well and there are so many players who finished the season well so I’ll have to be ready if I’m going to beat them.”
The Nationals have moved around in the calendar over the years but has been a summer event for the past three years. With just two weeks to go until the new PSA season gets underway, Elshorbagy is happy that it takes place just before the PSA season as it can help preparations for early events in the schedule.
“I do like having the Nationals just before the PSA season starts. I think it helps all of us to get matches in before the season starts. Obviously we all want to win it and to have those tough matches just before the season gives us a good indication of where our squash is at. You can see what you’re lacking, what is working well and just sets us up nicely for the season.
“After Seattle I took a little break. I needed it to be honest. My body needed it but also my mind needed it too. The players that go to the World Tour Finals, they start their off-season a bit later than everyone else. I think there was only myself and Gina [Kennedy] who are in that position this time around so I’d imagine both of us would have started training maybe three weeks later than everyone else which definitely puts us at a disadvantage.
“I remember that was the case last year. I wasn’t comfortable at all in the first few matches and I was not ready at all to be there but this kind of situation is what I’m used to and it’s all about just trying to get the best out of yourself regardless of the condition you’re in.
“My pre season has been quite good I would say. I’ve been splitting my time between Birmingham and Bristol, training with a lot of the English guys and we’ve just had a squad, which was really good. In the past few years, I’ve been in Prague more but I decided to stay in England this summer to see my fitness trainer a little bit more and do some more work with him to get myself ready.
“I have some really good relationships now with the English players, having been with them at a few team tournaments so it’s been nice to hit with them and get a good block of summer training in and hopefully I’ll be ready for the Nationals coming up.”
Elshorbagy takes on a qualifier in round one on the glass on the 14th August at St Georges Hill Squash Club.
Action will be streamed live on SQUASHTV.
For updates on the British National Squash Championships, visit the official tournament website or follow England Squash on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
