Derek Ryan (born 10 December 1969) is a retired Irish professional squash player who at the peak of his career rose to No. 7 in the world rankings, and for many years was the Irish men's number 1 player. Ryan was born in Dublin. He began playing squash along with his brother Noel, as his parents both played. Living in Killiney he played at various local clubs including Squash Ireland and from the age of 14 he played league squash withSandycove TSC. Ryan was ranked first in Ireland by the age of 19. In 2008 he played the then current world number 2 Grégory Gaultier in his testimonial match.