In Squash - The Podcast

After decades of failed Olympic bids, squash reached the promised land back in October of last year with its successful LA 2028 bid, thus injecting a newfound positive momentum that our game desperately needed. WSF President Zena Wooldridge talks about this historic moment for squash and what it means for the future of our great game. We talk about the bid itself, how the stars seemed to align, the WSF team and how they are knuckling down with their long term vision. In terms of growing the game, check all the great things the WSF is working towards at www.worldsquash.org as well as the sponsor of this podcast Open Squash at www.opensquash.org

The Canadian Open kicks off on March 3rd at a squash venue that has taken the city of Calgary by storm, the Bow Valley Athletic Club. Connor Turk is the head squash pro at BVAC, and it's great to finally get him on the pod. Son of Canadian squash legend Gene Turk, Connor's backstory is obviously an interesting one. We talk about Bow Valley, the Canadian Open and his first round match, growing up the son of Gene Turk and uncle Billy, and much more. Check our sponsor www.opensquash.org and also drop a donation to the pod via the paypal link :) . Great Chat!!!

RJ Mitchell has produced some of the finest squash journalism that we've seen in past few years during his tenure with Squash Mad. He's recently moved on to take up a new and exciting post with Squash Player Magazine, their new website in particular, which was recently taken over by the PSA. RJ and I discuss the excitement of the PSA tour this season and then he takes us into what we can look forward to on the soon to be unveiled Squash Player website. Please check out our great sponsor www.opensquash.org where growing the game and making it accessible to one and all is the OpenSquash mission.

We're back ! Episode 285 and our new segment, the monthly whip around kicks off with AR Proformance's Ahad Raza who will join me each month for a look at the pro game and then some. Many thanks to our Sponsor Open Squash and you can check them out at www.opensquash.org

Declan James made his return to the PSA tour last week in Qatar after being sidelined for 9 months due to a ruptured Achilles suffered in November of last year. Declan talks about how that all went down, and the perseverance, patience and self-belief it took to get him back to PSA playing shape once again. We also look back at his 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal winning performance alongside doubles partner James Willstrop, and much much more.

Nick Matthew is without question one of the greats of the game. His accomplishments at the highest level are impressive: Former World #1, 3X British Open and World Open champion, and that's the abridged version. Nick and I look back at a very special title, his 2006 British Open win. We also talk about the Nicol/Power generation which welcomed him to the tour, the special talent of Ramy Ashour, Mostafa Asal's situation, and of course his thoughts on the US Open. Check out our sponsor Open Squash at www.opensquash.org for all of their exciting growing the game initiatives.

Squash Stories is the squash platform that has it all really; it's unique, it's polarizing, it's encyclopedic, it's relevant, and it's Jamie Maddox who is front and center behind it all. We talk about the evolution of Squash Stories over the years, and this bleeds into a serious debate over the current member of the year short list. Jamie and I also exchange views on the Mostafa Asal saga, how we see the top of the men's game right now, and we pay a mini tribute to a mutual squash hero, Qamar Zaman. Check out our sponsor, www.opensquash.org for everything new and exciting going on there.

With 6 PSA titles to her name already and a successful junior campaign which saw her win the British Junior Open and British U19 Nationals in her last junior year, Torrie Malik is making serious inroads towards the top of the women's game. We talk about her junior days, her early PSA success and Team Malik. More importantly though, this episode is dedicated to her younger brother Sumner who passed away 5 years to the day, and Torrie talks about how special he was and the impact he's having on her squash.

Chris Walker's pro squash career speaks for itself; two time World Championship semi - finalist, 2 time World Team Championship winner, multiple commonwealth games medals, and the resume goes on...Chris is now based in New York City as the Director of Squash at the River Club, and took on duties as Head Coach for the Indian National Team close to two years ago, shortly after his last appearance here. Chris and I flesh out how the Indian National Team position came to be and how it has gone thus far. We also discuss a number of other topics including the recent Mostafa Asal ban and how to tweak your game and your training as a 50 plus player.

Mohamed Elkeiy burst onto the PSA coaching scene following the British Open as the man tasked with helping Mostafa Asal going forward. Highly respected by his peers and those in the know in the squash world, Mohamed has relished the opportunity despite all the scrutiny that is bound to come with it. Mohamed discusses how he is approaching all of this and what Mostafa needs to work on in an effort to overcome the on court issues that have plagued him for the past several seasons.

REAKT is a performance training app with some incredible features for players, pros and coaches alike. Tiago Goriely heads up the squash side of the app, and he breaks it all down with respect to how it can be of use to everyone, and it seems to me there is some great value here. Download the app by searching REAKT in your app store. Also, at the end of the pod I have a few thoughts on comments that have been made on social media in the aftermath of the season relating to "cheating" and "cheaters" in the game of squash. What does it mean exactly to "cheat"? For what it's worth, I provide my two cents worth. Many thanks to our sponsors, www.opensquash.org

At 27 years of age, 7 World Championships, 4 British Opens and at least 22 PSA titles to her name, Nour El Sherbini's accomplishments in the game are mind blowing. And amazingly, this chapter of her career, the one which has her winning the most prestigious events in the sport consistently, is far from over. Nour and I talk about her highly successful 2022/23 campaign, the women's game, the passion of Gregory Gaultier, Nicol David, and much more.

Fram Gommendy knows her squash and has more insight on the players than perhaps anyone else out there; her takes on several topics on this episode reflect that. This is a season recap that you don't want to miss and we also go into so much more. Many thanks to our sponsor Open Squash www.opensquash.org

Jamie Abbott of Cross Court Analytics first appeared on Episode 167 shortly after their launch, and since then they've been crunching the squash digits big time! The chat today with Jamie bears that out along with plenty of food for thought. On this ep we discuss several areas that they're analyzing: officiating decisions by numbers, the lack of stats utilized in pro game commentary, the numbers behind Karim Abdel Gawad's incredible comeback this season, some of the pro players that they are working with, and much more. Check out Cross Court Analytics at https://crosscourtanalytics.com/ and check out our sponsor Open Squash at https://opensquash.org/

There are some prolific, big name coaches on the PSA tour right now, but you would be hard pressed to find one who has had more success than Omar Abdel Aziz. The list of players that he's worked with and their accomplishments over the last several years is impressive and they include, amongst others, the likes of Hania El Hammamy, Tarek Momen, Karim Abdel Gawad, Nouran Gohar and Youssef Ibrahim. Omar talks about his early days on the PSA tour, the influence of Karim Darwish, Amr Shabana and Ahmad Barada, Hania and Nouran, how the season has played out with his current group of players and much more.

Youssef Ibrahim was in the ascendancy a year ago; playing scintillating squash which saw him reach world #11 before having to step away from the game due to serious knee issue. He's back, and if his form at the recent World Championships is any indication, he's not far off that world #11 form. Youssef talks about the injury, his rehab and comeback, the great match v. Mohamed El Shorbagy in Chicago along with where the backhand topspin winner that went viral came from, and much more. Check out our sponsor, Open Squash, at www.opensquash.org

Class is in session once again with Rob Dinerman. Rob provides a tremendous tribute to Paul Assaiante, a breakdown of the most recent US College Squash season, a recap of the US Pro Doubles season, his take on the PSA from the American perspective and of course his latest book A History of the Briggs Cup. For those of you interested in any of Rob's books check out www.robdinerman.com or contact https://www.mpcprinting.com/

Ali Farag and Nour El Sherbini are your 2023 World Open Champions, and RJ Mitchell and I break down their victories and how everything played out in Chicago. Check out our sponsor, Open Squash, www.opensquash.org

Double champs at the European Team Championships last week, England National Team Head Coach David Campion joins the pod to break it all down; from the ladies impressive win, to the men's inspirational win, Mohammed El Shorbagy's unbelievable comeback against Victor Crouin in the final and MES' impact on the team as a whole, and the culture the David is attempting to cultivate within the team. Really great chat!

Reigning World Open and British Open champ Ali Farag proved that he is back, playing sublime squash on his way to winning his first ever British Open last month. Now, he's a few days away from embarking on a World Open Championship three-peat. Ali talks about over coming injury, working his way back to his best form, his British Open win, the upcoming World Open, Open Squash and much more. Check out our sponsor www.opensquash.org