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It’s rare when a former world champion pays a visit to the Okanagan, but that’s exactly what will happen next weekend when former world squash champion Jonathan Power, the greatest player in Canadian history, will play an exhibition against Viktor Berg, the greatest player in B.C. history, at the 2018 Vernon Squash Open.
The tournament begins next Friday, April 20 and continues until Sunday, April 22 at Rosters Sports Club and Bar and Grill in Vernon.
Power, 43, won the World Men’s Squash Championship in 1998 and captured an incredible 36 Professional Squash Association (PSA) titles and appeared in 58 finals.
Berg, 40, is the top-ranked player in B.C. history and reached the top 45 in the world during his time on the PSA world tour. He is currently the top-ranked doubles player in the world.
Adam Terhegge, the owner of the Interior Squash Academy and organizer of the 2018 Vernon Open Squash Tournament, said being able to bring a former world champion and best player in B.C. history to the Okanagan is exciting.
“Jonathan is easily the best player in Canadian history and one of the best players of all-time,” he said. “He’s incredibly talented and flamboyant ... he was called the John McEnroe of squash when he was in his prime.
“We’ve very thrilled to have him and Viktor come to our tournament to put on an exhibition match.”
A total of 90 players, including some of the very best men’s players in B.C. and Alberta, will be participating in the tournament, said Terhegge, who is ranked among the top 10 players in B.C.
The tickets to watch the Power-Berg exhibition, which will take place Saturday at 6 p.m., are sold out.
On Friday evening, Terhegge will team up with Power to take on Berg and Grant Bergman, another top-ranked B.C. player, in a doubles exhibition that all players in the tournament will be able to watch.
Vernon hasn’t hosted a big squash tournament in four years and it’s nice to bring back a tournament featuring so many great players, said Terhegge.
“The Men’s A draw will be incredible,” he said. “We have several of the best players in the province coming up. It should be a great tournament.”
Many of the top juniors from his academy will also be participating and exposing them to high-level squash will encourage them to work that much harder to improve their game, he said.
Power began playing squash at the age of seven and turned professional at age 16, making him one of the youngest members of the PSA in history when he joined in 1991.
Besides winning the world championship, Power captured the British Open in 1999, captured the World Series final twice in 2003 and 2005 and four Tournament of Champions titles between 1996 and 2002.
He also captured the men’s gold medal in the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Power is considered a squash legend not only for his success, but because he revolutionized the game from one of attrition and long rallies to attacking squash where he took the ball early and used deception to control the rallies.
Power, who was ranked No 1 in the world on several occasions between 1998 and 2006, retired the day after regaining world No. 1 status in early March of 2006.
Anyone wanting to view the squash throughout the weekend is welcome to attend, although Saturday night’s exhibition match between Power and Berg is a ticketed event, said Terhegge.
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