Queens World Series final scrapped after wind damage

The revolutionary inflatable cube cost an estimated $1m

Nick Matthew's attempt to win the PSA World Series final is on hold after the Queens Club arena where it was due to take place was damaged by gales.

High winds tore a hole in the revolutionary inflatable stadium's roof causing the club to be evacuated on the eve of Saturday's showdown.

The venue was still considered a health and safety risk on Sunday.

The final between England's Matthew and Egypt's four-time world champion Amr Shabana will happen at a later date.

Matthew, the world and Commonwealth champion, was vying for his third major title in as many months and his first triumph in the Professional Squash Association's (PSA) flagship event.

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The incident is also a blow to the Queens Club, which had erected the supposedly weatherproof stadium alongside its world-famous tennis centre court to much fanfare and at an estimated cost of $1m.

The new venue, where the World Series Finals began on 11 January, had been billed as "the new face of squash", taking the sport into a "new era".

A statement on the Queens Club website on Sunday said the final had been cancelled because of "technical difficulties with the structure in which the event was being held" and offered ticketholders a full refund.

The PSA released a statement saying that a new date and venue for the final would be announced at a later date.

"Currently, we are working through the logistics and assessing forthcoming schedules to establish the exact date for when this will take place," PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough said.

"The PSA is committed to delivering a fantastic finale to what has been a world-class event. We look forward to announcing the date as soon as possible.

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