Alex Grayson Signs with PST

Alex Grayson has joined the renegade Professional Squash Tour, it has today been announced.

Alex Grayson celebrated his 22nd birthday on Sunday, and promptly announced he will leave the Professional Squash Association (PSA) to compete on the US-based Pro Squash Tour (PST). He has already registered for upcoming tournaments in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Boston.

The PSA does not recognise the PST, and in 2010 banned its players from competing in its events.  The PST responded by filing a lawsuit to have the ban lifted, but has since withdrawn the suit, preferring to spend money on its players than on legal fees.  Despite the ban, the PST continues to grow since its inception in 2009, and has lured several ex top ten players (such as David Palmer and Thierry Lincou) to play out the twilight of their careers in the USA. 

Grayson is still in the early stages of his squash career, which was put on hold for most of the past year while he recovered from a knee reconstruction. He has returned to competition and recently reached the quarter-finals of the Christchurch Boys High School Open, an event that is part of the PSA World Tour.

“I am looking forward to competing in PST tournaments,” said Grayson. “This was a big decision for me because I am still early in my career.

“But on PST I will be playing some of the best players in the world, making money playing the sport I love, and I believe in the direction of the tour.”

Grayson, who is still working his way back up the rankings, is ranked ninth in New Zealand. At the age of 20, before last season’s injury, he had reached a career high ranking of 142 on the PSA Tour.  However the come back from serious injury has been hard work for the talented youngster, who in 2009 represented the New Zealand men's team at the World Teams Championships in Denmark.  Forced to start rebuilding his career again from the bottom of the rankings has meant dealing with difficult draws, and needing to qualify to get into tournaments he once would have enjoyed a favourable seeding in.

Although Grayson has managed to lift his ranking to back within the top 300 in the world (275 in the September rankings), he would have struggled to get into many PSA World Tour tournaments in the USA (where he will base himself over the New Zealand summer).  By joining the PST, he will get regular matchplay opportunities against such legends of squash as decorated as David Palmer and Thierry Lincou (among others to defect from the PSA in recent times).