Amr Shabana and Nicol David will be gunning for their fifth successive titles at the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Squash Open when the world’s top players return for one of the biggest annual sporting events in Hong Kong from 23-29 August.

Nicol David, the world number one from Malaysia, is seeded to claim a record fifth women's title in the $74,000 Women’s International Squash Players' Association (WISPA) Gold event - while Shabana, the third seed from Egypt, will be hoping to equal the record five titles in a row won by legendary Pakistani Jansher Khan from 1987 to 1991 in the $147,500 PSA World Tour championship, the fifth PSA Super Series event of the year.


The early round matches will take place at Hong Kong Squash Centre in Admiralty before the tournament moves across the harbour to Diamond Hill in Kowloon for the semi-finals and finals, which will be held in a specially erected, state-of-the-art, all-glass court at Plaza Hollywood.  Players will be given a brand new experience of playing in front of the big crowds that visit the shopping mall - one of the busiest in Hong Kong.

England's new world number one Nick Matthew, who was forced to withdraw from the 2009 event with an ankle injury, is top seed in the men's event.  Runner-up in 2004, the 29-year-old from Sheffield faces a qualifier in the opening round before a predicted semi-final confrontation with title-holder Shabana.

Nicol David opens her 2010 campaign against England's Sarah Kippax and is expected to face English rival Jenny Duncalf, the world No2, in the women's final.

Speaking after the draws were made, Hong Kong Squash Chairman David Mui said: "Special thanks to our joint-title sponsors Cathay Pacific Airways and Sun Hung Kai Financial, whose support has contributed greatly to our success.  I would also like to thank our co-sponsors: Crocodile, Prince, Perrier, Fujifilm, Buler Swiss Watch, Lotus Tours and Plaza Hollywood.

"We are delighted that we attracted all the world best players including our local players, Annie Au, Rebecca Chiu, Joey Chan, Dick Lau and Max Lee, who will, I am sure, have the full support of the home crowd."

Men's 1st round draw:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Qualifier
[9] Daryl Selby (ENG) v Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
[8] Peter Barker (ENG) v Qualifier
[15] Alister Walker (ENG) v Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[12] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Qualifier
[13] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Qualifier
[10] David Palmer (AUS) v Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v Dick Lau (HKG)
[16] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
[4] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Qualifier
[11] Wael El Hindi (EGY) v Qualifier
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) v Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)
[14] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) v Qualifier
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v Qualifier

Women's 1st round draw:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v Sarah Kippax (ENG)
[16] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) v Low Wee Wern (MAS)
[7] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Joey Chan (HKG)
[14] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) v Qualifier
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v Delia Arnold (MAS)
[9] Camille Serme (FRA) v Qualifier
[6] Madeline Perry (IRL) v Qualifier
[10] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) v Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG)
[13] Annie Au (HKG) v Qualifier
[5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v Qualifier
[11] Samantha Teran (MEX) v Aisling Blake (IRL)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) v Qualifier
[15] Donna Urquhart (AUS) v Line Hansen (DEN)
[8] Kasey Brown (AUS) v Qualifier
[12] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) v Qualifier
[2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v Latasha Khan (USA)