David Palmer (squash player)

David Palmer
Palmer holding a plate trophy after winning the 2002 US Open.
Full nameDavid Troy Palmer
Nickname(s)The Marine
Country Australia
Born (1976-06-28) 28 June 1976 (age 48)
ResidenceIthaca, New York, United States
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
Turned pro1994
Retired2011
PlaysRight handed
Coached byShaun Moxham
Racquet usedBlack Knight Ion X-Force Yellow
Websitewww.davidpalmer.com
Men's singles
Highest rankingNo. 1 (September 2001, February 2006)
Title(s)27
Tour final(s)53
World OpenW (2002, 2006)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  Australia
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2002 Antwerp Singles
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha Singles
Silver medal – second place 2005 Hong Kong Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Doha Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Bermuda Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Manchester Singles
World Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Melbourne Team
Gold medal – first place 2003 Vienna Team
Silver medal – second place 2007 Chennai Team
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Odense Team
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Paderborn Team
World Doubles Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Chennai Mixed doubles
Silver medal – second place 2016 Darwin Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Darwin Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Manchester Mixed doubles
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Singles
Silver medal – second place 2010 New Delhi Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Mixed doubles
Updated on 12 April 2022.

David Troy Palmer OAM (born 28 June 1976 in Lithgow, New South Wales) is an Australian retired professional squash player. He won the Super Series finals in 2002, the World Open in 2002 and 2006; the British Open in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2008; and the Australian Open in 2008.[1] He attained World No. 1 ranking in September 2001 and again (for one month) in February 2006.

Career overview

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Palmer won a Gold Medal with partner Zac Alexander in the men's doubles. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Palmer won a men's singles Silver Medal after losing in the final to England's Peter Nicol. At the same 2006 Commonwealth Games he also won Bronze Medals in the men's doubles (partner Dan Jensen) and the mixed doubles (partner Rachael Grinham). In the 2002 Commonwealth Games he won Bronze Medals in both the men's singles and the men's doubles (partner Paul Price).

In technical terms, Palmer plays a classic all-court attrition game with hard-hitting attacking shots from his opponent's loose shots. He is known for the power of his striking, and the strength of his physical play,[2] contributed to by rigorous attention to fitness. His training regime involves completing the multi-stage fitness test five times with a three-minute break between tests.[3]

Palmer has served as president of the Professional Squash Association (PSA). Following the 2004 World Doubles Squash Championships in Chennai, India, he was banned from playing in events run by the World Squash Federation (WSF) for 13 months after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of verbally abusing the referee.[4]

In 2009, Palmer was approached by the Wallabies coach Robbie Deans to help increase his team fitness.[5]

Following his retirement as a professional squash player in 2011, Palmer maintained his status as a successful, high-level coach at his David Palmer Squash Academy in Orlando, Florida. In November 2016, Palmer made his college squash coaching debut as he was named The James Broadhead '57 Head Coach of Squash at Cornell University. Palmer now leads both the men's and women's squash team at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

World Open final appearances

David Palmer & Tom Richards in action.

2 titles & 1 runner-up

Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2002 Antwerp, Belgium Scotland John White 13–15, 12–15, 15–6, 15–14, 15–11
Runner-up 2005 Hong Kong Egypt Amr Shabana 11–6, 11–7, 11–8
Winner 2006 Doha, Qatar France Grégory Gaultier 9–11, 9–11, 11–9, 16–14, 11–2

Major World Series final appearances

British Open: 4 finals (4 titles, 0 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2001 England Chris Walker 12–15, 13–15, 15–2, 15–9, 15–5
Winner 2003 England Peter Nicol 15–13, 15–13, 15–8
Winner 2004 Egypt Amr Shabana 14–16, 11–7, 13–11, 11–7
Winner 2008 England James Willstrop 11–9, 11–9, 8–11, 6–11, 13–11

Hong Kong Open: 1 final (1 title, 0 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2001 France Thierry Lincou 15–13, 15–6, 15-9

Qatar Classic: 4 finals (0 title, 4 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 2001 England Peter Nicol 15–12, 15–5, 10–15, 12–15, 15-10
Runner-up 2002 England Peter Nicol 15–9, 13–15, 15–6, 13–15, 15-7
Runner-up 2005 England James Willstrop 11–1, 11–7, 11-7
Runner-up 2007 Egypt Ramy Ashour 8-11, 11–9, 11–9, 11-6

US Open: 3 finals (1 title, 2 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2002 Australia Stewart Boswell 15–13, 15–10, 15-11
Runner-up 2003 England Peter Nicol 15–10, 14–15, 15–14, 17-15
Runner-up 2005 England Lee Beachill 11–7, 9-11, 8-11, 11–1, 11-8

Commonwealth Games final appearances

2006 Melbourne Games, Men's Singles Runners-up (1)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
2006 England Peter Nicol 9–5, 10–8, 4–9, 9–2


2018 Gold Coast Games, Winner (1) Men's Doubles with Zac Alexander
Year Opponent in final Score in final
2018 England Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller 11–9, 3-11, 11-6

Total medals won, 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze

Career statistics

Singles performance timeline (since 1999)

Terms
W–L Win–loss NWS Not a World Series event
NG50 Not an international event NH Not held
A Absent LQ/#Q Lost in qualifying draw and round number
RR Lost at round robin stage #R Lost in the early rounds
QF Quarterfinalist SF Semifinalist
SF-B Semifinalist, won bronze medal F Runner-up
F Runner-up, won silver medal W Winner

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Career SR Career W-L
PSA World Tour Tournaments
World Open 3R Not Held W 3R SF F W SF SF 2R 3R QF 2 / 11 35–9
British Open 2R SF W 2R W W A SF SF W QF Not Held 4 / 10 31–6
Hong Kong Open 1R 2R W SF NH SF NH SF SF QF 2R 2R A 1 / 10 21–9
Qatar Classic Not Held F F QF NH F F SF QF QF 2R 2R 0 / 10 27–10
PSA Masters NH 1R F SF A F 2R QF Not Held QF Absent 0 / 7 16–7
Tournament of Champions NA 2R 1R 2R SF 2R SF 2R QF SF QF QF QF 0 / 12 21-12
North American Open Not Held Not World Series Absent 2R QF 2R QF 0 / 4 6–4
Kuwait PSA Cup Not Held 1R A NH SF 2R NH Absent 0 / 3 4–3
US Open Absent NH W F SF F SF A NH SF A 2R 1 / 7 18–6
Saudi International Not Held 2R SF SF SF SF Not Held 0 / 5 13–5
Pakistan International A Not Held SF NH QF F A NH NWS Not Held 0 / 3 9–3
Win Ratio 0 / 3 0 / 5 2 / 5 2 / 8 1 / 6 1 / 8 0 / 7 1 / 8 0 / 6 1 / 7 0 / 9 0 / 5 0 / 5 8 / 82
(9,8%)
NA
Win–loss 3 / 3 5 / 5 18 / 3 25 / 6 14 / 5 19 / 7 20 / 7 23 / 7 20 / 6 21 / 6 17 / 9 7 / 5 9 / 5 NA 201 / 74
(73,1%)

[6] Note: NA = Not Available

See also

References

  1. ^ Dent A It's Palmer—finally Archived 18 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine at squashsite.co.uk
  2. ^ Commentary by Malcolm Willstrop from Canary Wharf Classic 2009 Final, Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Deans' secret weapon to squash All Blacks". TVNZ. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  4. ^ Beck R. WSF Spanks Palmer
  5. ^ Gilmour, Rod (29 April 2009). "David Palmer can squash All Blacks by helping Wallabies". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  6. ^ "PSA World Tour | Rankings | Player Profile | David Palmer". Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
Sporting positions
Preceded by World No. 1
September 2001 - December 2001
February 2006
Succeeded by