A star-studded field, boasting six world number ones and eight players from the current world's top 10, will be in action next month in Manchester, England, at the ROWE British Grand Prix Squash Championships 2010, according to the entry list announced today (Monday) by event promoters internationalSPORTgroup and the Professional Squash Association.

England's World No.1 Nick Matthew is top seed in the ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2010, one of only ten PSA Super Series events in 2010, and the only PSA Super Series ranking event to be staged in the UK this year.

The $92,500 championship will take place at the National Squash Centre in Sportcity from 15-20 September – and has attracted players from 13 countries, including England, Egypt, France, Australia, Pakistan, India, USA, Brazil, Italy, New Zealand, Germany, South Africa and Scotland.

Matthew, the 30-year-old from Sheffield who became England's first World No.1 for six years in June, leads a high-quality international field including Egyptian’s Ramy Ashour and Amr Shabana, Frenchmen Gregory Gaultier and Thierry Lincou, and Australian David Palmer.  Behind Matthew, domestic interest in the UK’s premier World Tour event will come from James Willstrop, Daryl Selby, Adrian Grant, Alister Walker and Chris Ryder, ranked 6, 9, 15, 16 and 39, respectively, in the world.

Matthew’s toughest threat is likely to be from Egyptian rival Ramy Ashour, the 22-year-old world No2 from Cairo whom he succeeded as World No.1 two months ago.  Ashour, the second seed, became world champion on the spectacular all-glass court at the National Squash Centre in 2008, becoming only the second player in history (after Pakistan legend Jansher Khan) to win both the junior and senior world titles. In 2007, Ashour also defeated the top eight players in the world at the same venue to be crowned ATCO Super Series Finals champion.

Ashour’s compatriot Amr Shabana is another former World No.1 and world champion in the Manchester line-up. The mercurial left-handed Egyptian, the event's third seed, won a sensational fourth World Open title in Kuwait at the end of last year, and held the World No.1 ranking for 33 months from April 2006.

France's Gregory Gaultier, the fourth seed, became World No1 in November last year and has competed in two World Open finals. But he made his mark in squash history when he became the first French winner of the prestigious British Open title – on the Sportcity glass court in September 2007.

French interest in the ROWE British Grand Prix will be further boosted by Thierry Lincou, the No.7 seed who lifted the world title in December 2004 after becoming World No.1 earlier in the year.

David Palmer leads Australian interest in Manchester, where he was a bronze medallist in the 2002 Commonwealth Games.  Winner of four British Open titles and two World Open crowns, eighth seed Palmer this month celebrated 10 unbroken years in the world's top ten having being World No.1 on two occasions in 2001 and 2006.

“The strength of the entry list says it all!” said a delighted internationalSPORTgroup™ Chief Executive Officer Paul Walters.

“This year’s championship is the last major event prior to the Commonwealth Games in India and this, combined with an entry containing six World No1s, is sure to add an additional edge to the competition which in turn will further raise media interest and awareness of the championships.

“We are very appreciative of the continued support of Manchester City Council, as we are of the support from all of our event partners. The quality of the field is a major boost to everyone who has been involved with preparations for the championship from event partners through to our event staff and volunteers. We are all determined to make this new era a huge success and I am delighted for everyone that the players have shown their support in this way,” added Walters.

ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2010 seeds:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
[5] James Willstrop (ENG)
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
[7] Daryl Selby (ENG)
[8] David Palmer (AUS)
[9] Adrian Grant (ENG)
[10] Alister Walker (ENG)
[11] Stewart Boswell (AUS)
[12] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)
[13] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY)
[14] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[15] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY)
[16] Farhan Mehboob (PAK)

For further information visit the ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2010 Official Website www.britishsquashgrandprix.com