Nick Matthew, who attended
High Storrs School, first came to the squash world's attention as an outstanding junior player. He was the 1999
British Junior Open under-19 champion, a semi-finalist at the 1998 World Junior Championships, and a member of the England team which won the 1998 world junior team title. He made his first appearance on the professional tour in 1998. He represented the
2006 England team at the
2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, where he finished fourth in the
singles competition. Also in 2006, Matthew became the first English player to win the British Open men's title since 1939. In the final, against
Thierry Lincou of France, he came back from 0–4 down in the fifth game to win 11–8, 5–11, 11–4, 9–11, 11–6. In 2007, Matthew won the
US Open title, beating
James Willstrop in the final 11–7, 11–4, 11–7. Matthew won the
British National Championship title in 2006 and 2009. In 2006, Matthew played
Lee Beachill in a tight final, which he won 11–9, 6–11, 11–9, 10–12, 12–10. In 2009, he defeated
Adrian Grant in the final 11–4, 11–3, 11–9. Matthew was a member of the England team which won the
World Team Squash Championships in 2005 and 2007. 2009 saw Matthew soar up in rankings to world No. 4 in December. His best achievement of the year is by winning the
Qatar Classic Open title in November. In the Saudi International Open, Matthew's fine run was halted by
Ramy Ashour who beat him in the final that decided the next world No. 1. Matthew lost in 110 minutes in a gruelling 5-game match. In June 2010, Matthew topped the world rankings for the first time. In the men's singles final of the
2010 Commonwealth Games in
Delhi, Matthew defeated compatriot
James Willstrop 11–6, 11–7, 11–7 in 66 minutes to win the gold medal. December 2010 Matthew won the World Open Squash Men's Title, becoming the first Englishman in the premier event's 35-year history to win the PSA World Championship Matthew won the PSA
2010 World Open, defeating
James Willstrop of England in the final by 3 games to 1 in 74 minutes at The Sunset Beach Resort in Saudi Arabia on Friday 10 December 2010. Matthew won the PSA
2011 World Open, defeating
Grégory Gaultier of France in the final by 3 games to 1 in 92 minutes at the Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on Sunday 6 November 2011. After struggling with an injury in late 2011, Matthew entered the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, beating then world number 1 James Willstrop. He has since regained his position as world number 1. He won his 3rd British Open title on 20 May 2012, becoming the first Englishman to win the title three times in the professional era. Matthew won his third PSA
2013 World Open, defeating
Grégory Gaultier of France in the final by 3 games to 2 in 111 minutes in the Central arena Manchester, England on Sunday 3 November 2013. The 33-year-old world number one from Sheffield joined a select and distinguished group of players – Australian
Geoff Hunt; Pakistanis
Jahangir Khan and
Jansher Khan; and Egyptian
Amr Shabana – who have three world titles to their name. In February 2014, Matthew won a record sixth British National title with victory over fellow Englishman
James Willstrop in the final before getting the better of Willstrop once more in the final of the
Canary Wharf Classic to win his fourth title at the London event. 2014 saw more
2014 Commonwealth Games success for Matthew despite a knee injury, sustained in training, which overshadowed his preparations. Matthew carried the baton through his native Sheffield before the Games and was then chosen by his teammates to be flag bearer for Team England at the opening ceremony at
Celtic Park in Glasgow. In competition, Matthew competed in singles and doubles with
Adrian Grant. He won Gold in singles courtesy of a 11–9 8–11 11–5 6–11 11–5 over James Willstrop in what was described as an 'absorbing contest', shown live on BBC Television. He and Grant then took silver in the doubles after falling 10–11 11–7 11–9 to Australians Cameron Pilley and David Palmer. 2015 has proved to be another successful year for Matthew. He became the first man since Ramy Ashour in 2013 to win three PSA World Tour titles in a row when he followed victories in the Swedish Open and Windy City Open with a record-breaking fifth
Canary Wharf Classic trophy. Matthew has had continued success in 2016, despite bad luck with injuries and illness at key times of the season. He won a record eighth title at the British National championships in Manchester in February, beating his long-time rival James Willstrop 11-2 6-11 11-3 11-3 and dropping only one game all week. On the PSA World Tour, he was runner-up to World No.1 Mohamad El Shorbagy in three prestigious finals. At January's J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions, played in the iconic Grand Central station, Elshorbagy defeated Matthew 8-11 11-6 11-8 6-11 11-6 in the final. In March, Matthew met El Shorbagy again in the final of the Windy City Open before injury prevented him from completing the match. In October's Delaware Investments US Open once again saw a potentially epic encounter brought to an early end as Matthew was forced to retire in the fifth game. ==Off-Court==