Former British Open champion and Squash Australia Hall of Fame member Anthony Ricketts has been lured back to Australia in a top level coaching capacity.

Ricketts, 31, has been appointed as the AIS Senior Coach for the Squash Program.

He and his family will be relocating to Brisbane from New Zealand shortly and he will commence working with the program on March 16.

Ricketts has most recently been New Zealand’s National Head Coach and has worked extensively with that country’s leading players, achieving excellent results, including gold and silver at the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Ricketts, a former Australian Institute of Sport athlete himself, will be working at the AIS Squash Program in Daisy Hill under head coach Byron Davis.

'As a former professional squash player who came through the AIS I am aware of how much the AIS has contributed to Australian squash,' Ricketts said.

'It’s a great opportunity to keep that prestige going – it’s an enormous opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to contributing to the wider success of the sport.'

Sydney-born Ricketts achieved great success as a player until a chronic knee injury forced his early retirement in 2007, aged just 28.

He combined with fellow New South Welshman David Palmer and Canberra’s Stewart Boswell to keep the Australian squash flag flying high during the 2000s.

He was part of the Australian team that won the 2003 World Men’s Teams Championship and also won silver medals alongside Boswell in the men’s doubles at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.

His trophy cabinet includes two Australian Opens, the British Open, the Tournament of Champions in New York and the season-ending Super Series in London.

'We welcome the appointment of someone of Anthony’s status to the AIS,” Squash Australia CEO Gary O’Donnell said.

'His appointment has been made possible thanks to the additional funding the sport has received from the Australian Sports Commission for its high performance program.'