SINCE turning professional in February of this year, Jamaican squash ace Chris Binnie has jumped almost 200 places in the world rankings.

Having won the British Virgin Islands (BVI) Open in June — only his third Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournament —- the 23-year-old has leaped to No 168 in the world as of August.

“It’s a great feeling, considering I only turned professional about six months ago,” Binnie said of his rating.

“I have played four pro tournaments and done well, winning two actually, which has helped to catapult my ranking up to where it is now from over 400 in the world in March.

“I could not have asked for a better start to my career and hopefully, it continues to get better,” he added.

The BVI Open, which made the reigning Caribbean Area Squash Association champion the first and only Jamaica to win a PSA tour, also made Binnie upbeat about the future.

“That one tournament win helped me jump up the rankings over 100 spots, so it was great help in terms of rankings. It also gave me a lot more confidence about my game to know that I’m a good player and I can compete on the big stage,” noted Binnie, a Campion College past student who was the top scholar in geographic studies in 2008.

In February Binnie, who holds a Bachelor of Sciences degree with honours from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, with GPA of 3.8, was ranked No 365 in the world.

His fell even further in March and April to No 378 and No 389 respectively, after competing at the Manitoba Open in Canada and the Rochester Pro-Am in the United States.

Since May, however, his ranking has been climbing after competing in the Atlanta Open on May 12 and BVI Open on June 12.

Binnie, who played both Manning Cup football and Grace Shield cricket for Campion, rose to No 358 in May, No 311 in the June and No 205 in July to the current No 168.

A national and Caribbean Junior champion for four years, Binnie hopes to play four more PSA tournaments in November and December in North America and a few more in Europe in the spring.

With squash being given a huge push to become an Olympic sport by 2020, Binnie hopes he would have a much better ranking by then.

“Hopefully, I’ll will be higher up the rankings and by that time I could be at a high enough level to compete for a medal,” he pointed out.

Despite squash not being an Olympic sport, Binnie, who has a double major in environmental science and economics, also at Trinity College, says he will make a career out of it while he is young.

“There is still a big professional circuit around the world,” explained the six-feet-three-inch player.

“Hopefully, I’ll be the best in the world some day. Got to always try and be the best at whatever it is you do, or that’s my view, so that’s what I am going to hope for,” he stressed.