Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (squash player)

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Forero (born December 20, 1985, in Bogotá), known as Miguel Rodríguez, is a professional male squash player who represents Colombia. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 4 in June 2015.[1]

Miguel Rodríguez
Full nameMiguel Ángel Rodríguez Forero
Nickname(s)The Cannonball
Country Colombia
Born (1985-12-20) December 20, 1985 (age 38)
Bogotá, Colombia
ResidenceBogotá, Colombia
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight69 kg (152 lb)
Turned pro2005
RetiredActive
PlaysRight Handed
Coached byÁngel Rodríguez, Sardar Ali Khan, David Palmer
Racquet usedTecnifibre Carboflex Cannonball
Men's singles
Highest rankingNo. 4 (June 2015)
Current rankingNo. 17 (December 2024)
Title(s)30
Tour final(s)41
World OpenQF (2015, 2017, 2019)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  Colombia
World Games
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Cali Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Singles
British Open
Gold medal – first place 2018 Hull Singles
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara Singles
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Team
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima Singles
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima Team
Silver medal – second place 2023 Santiago Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Santiago Mixed doubles
South American Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Medellín Singles
Gold medal – first place 2010 Medellín Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2010 Medellín Team
PSA profile
Updated on October 2024.

Early life

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Rodríguez was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He was introduced to squash at the age of 2 by his father Ángel, a former professional squash player himself. He played primarily at the Club El Nogal in Bógota. Miguel attended the school Calasanz, where he also played football and table tennis. His most significant achievement as a junior was winning the US Junior Open and the Canadian Junior Open in Boys' Under-19 for 2 consecutive seasons (2003 and 2004). Rodríguez then started his professional squash career, and won his first PSA World Tour title in November 2005 at the age of 19.[2]

Career overview

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Rodríguez won the Colombian Open twice, in 2008 and 2010, and was runner-up in 2006 and 2012. Rodriguez won the Pan American Games in 2015

In September, he became the highest-ranked South American of all-time, exceeding then Federico Usandizaga of Argentina.

In 2013, he won the Bluenose Classic in Halifax, Canada in March and was bronze medalist at the World Games in Cali. He also won gold in the men's singles at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

On May 20, 2018, he won the 2018 British Open Squash Championships in Hull, England, beating Egypt's Mohamed El Shorbagy in a 5 game thriller to become the first-ever man from Colombia, and more broadly South America, to win the coveted British Open title. Rodríguez is known to wear different colored shoes when on court.

Titles and Finals

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Major Finals (1)

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Major tournaments include:

  • PSA World Championships
  • PSA World Tour Finals
  • Top-tier PSA World Tour tournaments (Platinum/World Series/Super Series)
Year/Season Tournament Opponent Result Score
2018 British Open Mohamed El Shorbagy Win (1) 11-7 6-11 8-11 11-2 11-9

References

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  1. ^ SquashInfo Player Profile
  2. ^ "What You May Not Know About Colombian Squash Sensation Miguel Ángel Rodríguez". Salming Canada - Running, Squash, Floorball. Archived from the original on 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
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