Finnlay Withington is victorious as Harrogate hosts international squash tournament

Finnlay Withington won the inaugural Harrogate Squash Open. Picture: Submitted

The $3k Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour event took place at Harrogate Sports & Fitness Centre in Hookstone Road, with some of the sport’s top up-and-coming players taking their places in the 16-man draw.

Withington, from Bury, Greater Manchester, can lay claim to being one of the best young players in the world, having won the British and European junior titles this year.

He also finished runner-up in the World Junior Championship in August in France and became the first British player to reach the final since Harrogate resident James Willstrop back in 2002.

The 18-year-old overcame New Zealand’s second seed Temwa Chileshe in the semi-finals of the Harrogate Squash Open before dispatching Perry Malik in the final 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-3 to win his second PSA Tour title.

On his victory over Malik, Withington said: “He is solid. He came out with a different game-plan to when I normally play him, but I thought I adapted pretty well. I’m really pleased to win.

“This definitely gives me a lot of confidence. Whenever I play people who are around his ranking, I’m a lot more relaxed than normal. He’s really good and his ranking is definitely justified.

“I’m going to spend the prize money on a flight somewhere for a bigger tournament. This was really well-organised and beating Temwa from 2-0 down was amazing.”

Withington now has his sights set on January’s prestigious British Junior Open in Birmingham.

“I’m really excited for next year. I'm going to be training really hard for the British Junior Open and hopefully I’ll get redemption for the Worlds,” he added.

The tournament was held at Harrogate Sport & Fitness Centre following significant renovation of the venue, which has benefited from major investment in the last few years, including the addition of two padel courts and improvements to its gym and bar area.

Tournament organiser Robbie Burnett said: “This is all about giving our members the best possible experience we can.

"There were plenty of juniors here this afternoon and exposing them to world-class squash will only inspire them.

“We will definitely do it again next year.”