Profile
 |
Country: |
Australia |
| Date of birth: |
12th March 1979 |
| Place of birth: |
Brisbane, Australia |
| Place of residence: |
Sydney & Pontefract, England |
| Marital status: |
Single |
| Highest World ranking: |
3 (October 2005) |
| World Tour titles: |
8 |
| World Tour finals: |
14 |
| National titles: |
U12, U14, U16 & U19 Champion &
two-time Australian Open Champion |
Anthony Ricketts is a professional squash player from Brisbane, Australia.
Anthony has achieved a highest Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Ranking of three and an Australian Ranking of two.
Anthony has won eight PSA World Tour titles; Virgina Pro Championship (2007), British Open (2005), Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions (2005), EBS Dayton Open (2003), Mulpha-Gosen Malaysian Open (2001), Pakistan Circuit (2001), Eat Well Live Well Australian Open (2000) and the YTL Open (1999).
In 2003, injury briefly threatened the fiery Australian’s career before he returned hesitantly to the World Tour with a spectacular win at the 2005 Tournament of Champions which proved a reliable indicator of future success. His finest hour was still to come, when he famously text the legendary Geoff Hunt and said he would bring back the 2005 Dunlop British Open trophy for the eight times former champion – a promise he kept with a resounding victory over English rival James Willstrop.
Anthony is managed by internationalSPORTgroup™ and his principal sponsors are Wilson (rackets, clothing, equipment & luggage and footwear) and e-squash™ (string).
Biography
Anthony Ricketts, one of the most exciting players on the PSA Tour, has already notched up three final appearances in his 2007 campaign, which brings his career total to 17.
Victory in February's Virginia Pro Championship in the USA gave the Australian his seventh Tour title. But his latest final berth, in the Tournament of Champions in New York, saw him retire midway through the third game against world No1 Amr Shabana as the result of an elbow injury - causing the 27-year-old to return to his homeland for urgent treatment.
After a hugely-successful 2002 – in which he leapt from 18 to 7 in the Dunlop PSA World Rankings over the year – Ricketts consolidated his success the following year by rising to world No6 in October 2003.
However, surgery following a knee injury in January 2004 enforced a seven-month layoff. But Ricketts made a comeback at the English Open in Sheffield – and emphatically marked his return to the top of his game in February 2005 in New York, where - seeded ten - he beat third seed Peter Nicol, then Amr Shabana, before defeating world champion and world No1 Thierry Lincou in the final of the Tournament of Champions to claim his first Super Series title.
But better was yet to come: In the 2005 British Open in Manchester, the sixth-seeded Ricketts beat Peter Nicol in the semi-finals, then another Englishman James Willstrop in straight games in the final to add his name to those already on this prestigious trophy.
The success took Ricketts to a career-high No3 in the world rankings in November 2005 – making him the top-ranked Australian for the first time.
The UK-based Aussie's success continued into 2006, when he reached the final of the Canary Wharf Classic in London in February, then gained the silver medal (with Stewart Boswell) in the Commonwealth Games doubles in Melbourne.
In his third appearance in the Super Series Finals in May, Ricketts recovered from losing the first qualifying round match against Lee Beachill to beat the Englishman in the final to win the title for the first time.