Bermuda will host the highest level of professional squash seen on the island in nearly two decades today when the IQUW Bermuda Open Squash Championships starts.

As a result of support from title sponsor IQUW, Chubb, Arch, Guy Carpenter, Digicel and QBE Re, prize money has doubled and the tournament has made a significant leap from a PSA Challenger event to a PSA Copper 25K competition, and the move has attracted some of the world’s top players.

Among the squash stars on show is Mohamad Zakaria, the world junior champion from Egypt, who is the second-youngest top-20 male player of all time after the legendary Jahangir Khan.

With the players starting to arrive on island since Sunday, Micah Franklin, head of squash at Bermuda Squash Racquets Association, has been busy making last-minute preparations. Play begins at 2pm.

“The majority of players arrived on Sunday and Monday, and we are in the process of getting the club transformed,” Franklin said.

“There is a buzz around the club and everybody is excited to see the highest-ranked players we’ve had here since the 2007 World Open. This is the strongest level of play we’ve seen for a very long time and we’re really excited to see them.

“The only thing we are missing in the world is top 20. The highest seed in the men’s tournament is 20 in the world and in the women’s it’s 27 in the world. After that , the top eight seeds are top-50 players. We’re also lucky to have the world junior champion. He is going up the rankings at a crazy pace and is shaping to be a future world No 1.”

With the level so high this year, Taylor Carrick is the only Bermudian to be included in the main draw.

“We’ve gone up in quality, so that means our quality also has to go up as well,” Franklin said.

“We made the decision that we were going to support pro players and Taylor Carrick is our only touring pro at the moment. One of the criteria for getting a spot is that you have to be a member of the pro tour and Taylor is the only Bermudian pro tour player. There are a lot of restrictions on who can play now we have gone up in calibre.

“We’re really excited for Taylor, as it’s not only a huge opportunity to get some crowd support behind him but he’s also going to get valuable points and experience from playing these great players. He’s still only young, but he’s thriving and this opportunity could catapult him up the ranks. We always want to support one of our own.”

Franklin believes that the world’s best players are starting to hear about this tournament and the opportunities it provides.

“This is exactly what we’ve strived for,” Franklin said. “From our previous events, we wanted to make sure that the word got out there that we could accommodate, be the best tournament and we have one thing that no other tournament could ever have — and that is the gorgeous Bermuda, which is an easy sell to players.

“Also, now that squash is in the Olympics and we have access to that, every player in this tournament will have one eye on how to get to LA and how they will qualify. Only 16 men and women will go, so it’s going to be a really strict eligibility criteria to get in, but every single player will try to get there.”

Franklin is hopeful that this tournament will attract spectators not used to squash and create attention

“I want to see a thriving atmosphere every night and I would love to expose the sport to players in Bermuda who haven’t seen it,” he said.

“When I watch squash from players at this level, I am amazed at their athleticism and competitive nature. It’s really something impactful to watch. It’s really intense. I hope we can bring this level to the attention of juniors, but also to adults who have not seen this level before.

“I’m hoping to kick-start the sport. In the world of pickleball and other racket sports taking the limelight, it’s nice to remember how amazing and how difficult squash is. I would love to hall full of people that have never seen squash before.”