TORONTO — Armed with an invite from Canadian squash legend Jonathon Power, Peru's Diego Elias was just 14 when he made his first appearance at Toronto's National Squash Academy.
He would spend parts of his formative teenage years at the training centre under the watchful eye of Power and others as he aimed to one day join the Professional Squash Association tour.
It also sparked a connection with the city, one that blossomed over the years and saw Elias move to Toronto in early 2024. He gets to sleep in his own bed this week with the SmartCentres PSA Tour Finals behind held in the Ontario capital.
"Since (2011) I've been coming (for a couple months) almost every year until I moved here, and I also spent the pandemic here," Elias said after winning his opener at the season-ending tournament. "So yeah, Toronto is like a second home."
The 28-year-old Lima native has reached lofty heights over his 12 years as a pro.
In 2019, he won gold at the Pan Am Games in his home country. Four years later, Elias became the first South American to reach the No. 1 position in the world rankings.
He won a world championship in 2024 and beat top-ranked Egyptian Mostafa Asal last month to win his first British Open title.
Elias is hoping to cap another strong season in style with a victory at the five-day tournament at the Revival Film Studios. Elias, Asal and women's No. 1 Nouran Gohar of Egypt are some of the headliners.
Elias, who opened with a 3-11, 11-6, 11-6 victory over Egypt's Karim Abdel Gawad, qualified for the semifinals Tuesday with a walkover win over New Zealand's Paul Coll, who withdrew with an ankle injury.
Currently No. 2 in the world, the six-foot-two right-hander uses his wingspan to frequently cut off the ball and maintain maximum pressure on his opponents.
His ability to hit quality length and fire winners from all corners of the court can make the "Peruvian Puma" quite a handful.
"A lovely striker of the squash ball," said Lee Beachill, a former world No. 1 and now the PSA's chief operating officer. "And he plays the game in quite a pure way with the way he moves.
"He probably makes it (look) a little bit too easy at times."
Those skills were sharpened years ago at the 10-court NSA facility, which closed in 2016.
"(He) was reserved and shy when he first arrived, but you could tell he had a quiet intensity that burned deep inside," said Squash Canada CEO Jamie Nicholls, who co-founded the NSA. "His potential didn't immediately jump off the page, but the way he incorporated coaching was off the charts.
"He would take something from (Power) or other players and within days had added new layers to his game."
Elias' father, Jose Manuel, has been his son's primary coach since his junior days. Power, who extended the invite north after Elias won the U.S. Junior Open, provided another coaching layer as an experienced former world No. 1.
"Since the first day, we got along very well and we spent a lot of time together on court," said Elias, who called Power his favourite player. "I learned so many things from him."
Power was one of the sport's most vocal, creative and entertaining players before his retirement in 2006. Few could match his deception on court and his varied skillset kept opponents on their heels.
"He's been at the highest level for so many years, so just learning how to be in every situation on court," Elias said of his takeaways. "I think I was eighth to 10th in the world for a lot of years and then (I got) more serious, more responsible, training harder and smarter, and learning all that from Jonathon was just very important for my career."
Power, who was not available for an interview, is now based in Qatar and working with 22nd-ranked Abdulla Al-Tamimi. He still checks in regularly with Elias, who said they remain great friends.
Jose Manuel was in his son's corner for the opener of the US$635,000 event. A strong player in his own right, he would frequently join his son and others on the NSA courts back in the day.
"After practice ended, he would take on any Canadian national team members with gas in the tank and play for hours until there was no one left to spar with," Nicholls said in an email. "They became a big part of the NSA family.
"It was a lot of fun to watch a world champion develop right before our eyes."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
