Stuart Davenport (born 21 September 1962 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

) is a New Zealand former professional squash player. He reached his career's highest ranking of World No. 3 in February 1986. Davenport learned to play squash in Christchurch, and was an outstanding junior (particularly after a growth spurt aided the physical side of his game after the age of 15). Coached by the legendary Dardir El Bakary, Davenport developed an excellent attacking game with the full array of volleys and attacking strokeplay. In 1980 he led the New Zealand Junior team to third place at the World Junior Championship in Sweden (after finishing third himself in the individual event). That same year he won the British under-19 title, and in 1982 took out the British under-23 championships. A distinguished senior professional career followed, highlights of which included finishing third in the World Individual Championships held in New Zealand in 1983, and several outstanding efforts for New Zealand in World Teams Championships events.

References

Living people New Zealand male squash players 1962 births 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen {{NewZealand-squash-bio-stub