Derek Ryan has paid a heavy price for his first-round exit from the World Open in Qatar earlier this month, falling four places to 14 in the January world rankings, issued yesterday by the Professional Squash Association.

The Dubliner, though, will have an early chance to regain his top 10 position, which he first reached in the December rankings, when he travels to America for the Rye Open in New York state and the Tournament of Champions, which will be held in New York's Grand Central Station at the end of January. Scotland's Peter Nicol celebrates a full year as world number one in the new list while the man he lost to in the World Open final, Canada's Jonathon Power, has risen to a career-best number two. Pakistan's Jansher Khan, who only played two ranking tournaments in 1998, has fallen outside the top 30 to 32.