Next month's Kuwait Men’s World Open 2009, the premier event on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour which will be staged in Kuwait from 1-7 November, will herald the first appearance of a new world number one in Squash.

According to the Fédération Française de Squash, the achievement of reaching the Hong Kong Open final last week will lead to Gregory Gaultier being named as the new world number one when the PSA issues its next ranking list on the 1st November, which coincides with the opening of the World Open.

Twice a runner-up in the World Open, Gaultier will become the second Frenchman to top the world rankings - after Thierry Lincou.  The success also makes France only the fifth country (after Pakistan, Australia, England and Egypt) to boast two world number ones.

"We are delighted that Gregory Gaultier will make his first appearance as world number one at the Kuwait Men’s World Open 2009," said Robert Edwards, Kuwait Men’s World Open 2009 Technical Director and Presenter.

"The championship already features the very best players in the world - and we will now have five players who have been world number one!"

Second seed Gaultier will meet Scot Alan Clyne in the first round and is expected to face Egypt's defending champion Ramy Ashour in the semi-finals.  The 26-year-old from Aix-en-Provence is scheduled to line up against current world number one Karim Darwish, who is also from Egypt, in the final on Saturday 7 November.

The Kuwait Men’s World Open 2009, which will be held in the memory of His Highness Sheikh Saad Abdullah Al-Sabah The Patriarch Amir, in whose name the trophy shall be presented, will include a spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremony as well as hosting an Official Championship Gala Dinner.  

The event also boasts a prize-fund of US$277,500 - the largest ever offered by any World Open or World Tour event.

Kuwait Men’s World Open 2009 1st round draw:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Mansoor Zaman (PAK)
[29] Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [Q] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[11] James Willstrop (ENG) v [Q] Robbie Temple (ENG)
[28] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) v Arturo Salazar (MEX)
[8] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v [Q] Yasir Butt (PAK)
[18] Stewart Boswell (AUS) v [Q] Scott Arnold (AUS)
[15] Alister Walker (ENG) v Mark Krajcsak (HUN)
[30] Shahier Razik (CAN) v Renan Lavigne (FRA)
[4] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [Q] Shaun le Roux (ENG)
[24] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v Abdullah Almezayen (KUW)
[12] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) v Aaron Frankcomb (AUS)
[22] Daryl Selby (ENG) v [Q] Stephen Coppinger (RSA)
[6] David Palmer (AUS) v [Q] Julien Balbo (FRA)
[25] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Ben Ford (ENG)
[9] Wael El Hindi (EGY) v Stephane Galifi (ITA)
[26] Joey Barrington (ENG) v Amr Swelim (ITA)
[21] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
[10] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Chris Ryder (ENG)
[19] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v [Q] Martin Knight (NZL)
[7] Peter Barker (ENG) v [Q] Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
[17] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) v Simon Rosner (GER)
[14] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v [Q] Rasmus Nielsen (DEN)
[23] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) v Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY)
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v Jorge Isaac Baltazar Ferreira (MEX)
[20] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [Q] Joe Lee (ENG)
[16] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) v [Q] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
[27] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) v [Q] Yann Perrin (FRA)
[5] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [Q] John Rooney (IRL)
[31] Tom Richards (ENG) v [Q] Arthur Gaskin (IRL)
[13] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) v Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY)
[32] Julian Illingworth (USA) v Kashif Shuja (NZL)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [Q] Alan Clyne (SCO)

For further information, visit the Kuwait Men’s World Open 2009 Official Website www.kuwaitworldopen2009.com