The US Open Squash Championship has provided a significant boost for the sport with the announcement of Aon, the leading global provider of risk management and human capital solutions, as title sponsor of the forthcoming PSA World Tour tournament, from 2-6 September, in Chicago.
"We are delighted to welcome Aon aboard as title sponsor," said Tournament Director Imran Nasir. "They are a Fortune 250 company with their global headquarters here in Chicago, right next door to where we are holding the tournament.
"It is a major achievement for the sport that such a high-energy, global corporation with an understanding of sport branding is prepared to back a prestigious event like the US Open - and clearly demonstrates that Squash is a rapidly developing sport."
Nasir, head squash professional at the city's Lakeshore Athletic Club, added: "I have had a fantastic relationship with Aon for more than 12 years. I use to organise the Aon Classic that was a PSA World Tour stop for a couple of years, and then it was a professional invitational tournament.
"We attracted squash legends like Peter Nicol, Peter Marshall, Jonathon Power and Martin Heath, and the new PSA Chief Executive Officer Alex Gough won the first Aon classic that I ran about 12 years ago."
Nasir noted: "The US Open is really attracting the interest of the Chicago corporate community and we are delighted that we have two major Associate Sponsors in Zeller Realty and the Fairmont Hotel."
Adding extra spice to the proceedings, the Aon US Open is the first major tournament of the new season and will be staged in the open air inside the spectacular McWil glass court which will be set up in Pioneer Court, between Tribune Tower and the Chicago River, from September 2-6.
The Aon US Open is a PSA Five Star tournament offering a prize fund of $52,500 and has attracted a stellar draw featuring two Egyptians - with four World Open titles between them - as the top two seeds.
Ramy Ashour, the current world champion, is seeded one - ahead of legendary compatriot Amr Shabana, who boasts three world titles on his career CV.
Aon US Open 1st round draw:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v Qualifier
[6] Wael El Hindi (EGY) v Qualifier
[3] David Palmer (AUS) v Qualifier
[8] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY)
[7] James Willstrop (ENG) v Qualifier
[4] Peter Barker (ENG) v Gilly Lane (USA)
[5] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[2] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Shahier Razik (CAN)
For full tournament details, please click on: www.usopen-squash.com