Name: Borja Golan

Date of Birth: 06th January 1983

World Ranking: 9

World Series Ranking: 35

Height: 182

Weight: 76

Birthplace: Santiago De Compostela, Spain

Residence: Santiago De Compostela, Spain

Racquet: Dunlop Aerogel Pro Gt

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Coach: Jesus Souto, John Milton

Interests: Football, Tennis, Cinema

Clubs/Teams: Squash Club Santiago, Paderborn, Ornano, Oxford Esporta, Ornano

National Ranking: -

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Biography: Borja Golan has been leading Spanish interest in squash for most of this millennium - but in late 2009 suffered almost simultaneous extreme highs and lows. In August he battled through to the final of the Colombian Open in Bogota where, after stretching top seed David Palmer to a tie-break fifth game decider, he suffered a career-threatening knee injury which took him out of the game for nine months. But two days later, this success saw Golan make his debut in the world top ten - which not only marked a career-high ranking for the now 30-year-old from Santiago de Compostela, but also saw him overtake 90's star Austin Adarraga to become the highest-ranked Spaniard of all-time. It was en-route to his maiden appearance in the top ten that Golan achieved one of his greatest Tour successes - in November 2008, in his home city. He made his breakthrough in the semi-finals of the Santiago Open, fighting back from two games down to beat Dutch top seed Laurens Jan Anjema. In the final, he despatched No2 seed Stewart Boswell to win the title 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7. But Golan has been making an impressive comeback since his injury layoff. From an eight-year-low 103 ranking in May 2010, the determined Spaniard was back in the top 30 within nine months - with title wins at the La Ciotat International Open and Toulouse Open in France and the Houston Open in the USA. Incredibly, in March this year, Golan grabbed the 26th - and biggest - Tour title of his career at the Manitoba Open in Canada, beating No2 seed Cameron Pilley in straight games in the semis before despatching Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema 11-4, 11-5, 11-1 in the final. "Winning the Manitoba Open in Winnipeg was certainly my most significant success of the year," admitted Golan. Was there a significant turning point in his career? "Yes - when I beat Thierry Lincou and James Willstrop in the French Open (in September 2008)," Golan replied. "I realised that I could beat more of the top guys and my confidence and ranking grew from there." Golan continues to prove that he can mix it with players at the very top of the game: In the 2012 British Open at the O2 Arena in London, he faced Egyptian ace Ramy Ashour in the second round - and stunned the capacity crowd by taking the first two games against the No4 seed. Ashour had to dig deep to claw back the advantage before finally winning 7-11, 3-11, 11-9, 11-1, 11-6 after 49 minutes - but Golan had already made it quite clear that he was back to his very best. Golan's goals for the rest of the year are "to try to get closer to the top 10 and be free of injuries." Now firmly established in the world top 20, Golan added: "I love this game - but travelling is not my favourite hobby!!" September 2012