Geoff Hunt
Michelle Martin
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Geoff Hunt leads 4 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Geoff Hunt at #5 and Michelle Martin at #10.
The case for Geoff Hunt
The bridge between the amateur game and the modern professional one, and the man who beat everybody before Jahangir Khan arrived. Hunt won eight British Opens between 1969 and 1981 and the first, second, fourth and fifth World Opens in 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980 — twelve majors — after collecting multiple world amateur titles in the late 1960s. He matched Jonah Barrington's training revolution and added a far superior technical base, and their rivalry through the 1970s defined the decade. His last great act was the 1981 British Open final, in which he beat the 17-year-old Jahangir Khan; it was the final defeat before Jahangir's 555-match streak began, and Hunt retired soon afterwards, his body worn out by the volume of work the era demanded. He later became one of the sport's most influential coaches, running Australia's national programme and shaping a generation of Australian world champions.
The case for Michelle Martin
The most decorated member of the most remarkable family in squash. Martin won three consecutive World Opens in 1993, 1994 and 1995 and six consecutive British Opens from 1993 to 1998, nine majors in six years of near-total control of the women's game between the Devoy and Fitz-Gerald eras. Her brothers were both world-class professionals: Rodney Martin won the 1991 World Open in Adelaide by beating Jahangir Khan in the semifinal and Jansher Khan in the final, the only man to defeat both at their peak in a single tournament, while Brett Martin also reached the world top five. Michelle's game was orthodox, powerful and relentlessly accurate, built on Australian coaching orthodoxy of hard length and early volleying, and she led Australia to repeated World Team Championship success. She is a rare case of a player whose peak was total but whose reputation has faded simply because it sat between two more famous eras.