The World Open is a squash event which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The World Open is widely considered to be one of the two most prestigious titles in squash, alongside the British Open (which was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport prior to the World Open's establishment). The men's World Open was first held in 1976, and the women's World Open was inaugurated in 1979.
Prior to the establishment of the men's World Open, a tournament called the World Amateur Individual Championship was held in the late-1960s and 1970s. The winners of this touranment for male players included some of the game's leading figures such as Geoff Hunt and Cam Nancarrow. However many players and fans did not consider this event to be a proper world championship because several of the game's top players were ineligible to participate as they had turned professional. The British Open had for many years been gerenerally considered to be the sport's effective world championship, and this continued to be the case until the World Open was established.
The women's World Open was held once every two years until the early-1990s, when it became an annual event. The men's event has been held every year since 1979, except for a two-year gap in 2000 and 2001 when it was not held due primarily to difficulties in securing sponsorship.
The men's and women's events have normally been held separately in two different locations. However in 2005 they were brought together in a combined event in Hong Kong.
