The Saudi supremo, who has helped revitalise the sport since he took over in 2008, is hoping the joint men’s and women’s season finale that features the top eight players in the World Series standings, can attract greater attention to squash as it comes one of the most talked-about cities on the planet.
“My involvement in squash was really to raise the bar to bring the sport to the level I thought it deserved and give these tremendous athletes the world recognition that they deserve,” Al Turki said on Sunday in Dubai following the announcement that Burj Park would play host to the event.
“I used this tournament really as a catalyst to push the sport. We redesigned the court and everything that we have achieved in the past few years really came from all the efforts that the PSA put into this tournament. I’m really proud of our association here in Dubai because I believe that this is now the level that will really propel squash to another height amongst the world.
“When you look at Dubai, every single major sport is here, so we’re really proud of our association and we think this going to be a good future for squash.
“I promise you that this tournament will be unlike any other event that you’ve seen.”
The tournament will be held on a purpose-built glass court and will follow a different format from the regular World Series events throughout the season, with the early rounds played over best-of-three games and the semi-finals and finals best-of-five.
Squash legend Nicol David, the women’s longest reigning world No1 who is now down to No5, is excited to visit a new city on the calendar.
“Now we’ve quite a few established tournaments and every year you go back to the same city and you know what to expect. So coming to Dubai, doing the whole promo, it’s really exciting for me just to see the city itself. It is amazing and it’s just spectacular what’s going on with the city and you can feel the energy and buzz that we can bring forward to this tournament,” said the Malaysian star.
