Malaysian great Nicol David flew the flag for squash as she attended the 25th anniversary of the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid earlier this week. Laureus is a global organisation that celebrates the greatest and most inspirational sporting triumphs and uses the power of sport to transform the lives of children and young people around the world. David, 40, first became a Laureus Ambassador in 2014 before being officially announced as a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy – a recognised group of 69 sporting legends – in 2021. As an Academy Member, David is part of the ultimate sp ..read more

Last month, squash coaches from around the world gained valuable insights about the mental side of squash at a free webinar with sports psychologist Dr. Jenny Denyer. The webinar was provided free of charge to all SPIN-registered squash coaches, who joined from all over the globe. Describing the role of psychology in squash, Dr. Denyer, a former World No.8 squash pro and a current member of the WSF Coaching Commission, said: “I first got interested in psychology of coaching when I was a player as I was trying to become a better player. “Squash is very psychologically demanding, with one winne ..read more

Last week, 14 aspiring female squash coaches qualified as WSF Level 1 Coaches after completing a fully funded Women In Coaching Course at Black Ball Sporting Club, Cairo. The course, led by WSF Level 2 Tutor Ashraf Hanafi and WSF Level 2 Coach and Level 1 Tutor trainee Omneya Abdel Kawy and funded by the PSA Foundation, introduced the trainee coaches to the core principles of coaching, including scientific principles and effective communication methods. Speaking about the course, Kawy – a former World No.4 and coach to Egypt’s 2022 WSF Women’s World Team Championship winning team – explained ..read more

There are just three months to go until this year’s WSF World Junior Squash Championships, which are taking place in Houston Squash Club, USA, between 12-23 July. This year’s championships, which will comprise of an individual and team competition, will feature concurrent men’s and women’s team events for the first time in event history. At last year’s championships, which took place in Melbourne, Australia, Egypt’s Amina Orfi won her second individual title and led Egypt to victory in the team event, while Hamza Khan ended Pakistan’s 37-year wait for a title in the men’s individual event. Th ..read more

The World Squash Federation (WSF) has been granted Associate Membership to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), following a vote at yesterday’s ASOIF annual general meeting, which took place during the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2024. Also admitted as Associate Members were the International Cricket Council, the International Federation of American Football and World Lacrosse. ASOIF is a non-profit association of international sports federations that compete in the Summer Olympic Games. Its mission is to unite, promot ..read more

A record 46 teams will compete at this year’s WSF World Junior Team Championships, which will take place as part of the WSF World Junior Individual and Team Championships at Houston Squash Club, USA, 12-23 July. During the World Junior Team Championships, national federation squads of four players aged under 19 compete against each other in individual matches, with the first team to win two matches winning the tie. This year’s championships will feature a men’s and women’s event being held simultaneously for the first time in tournament history. In the men’s event, 27 teams are set to compet ..read more

France etched a new name on the ESF European Under-19 Mixed Team Squash Championship trophy as they ended England’s 12-year domination with a dramatic victory in Sunday’s final in Bucharest, Romania. France have finished runners-up 10 times in Europe’s premier junior team squash competition since its first staging in 1983, but yesterday at Aerosquash Baneasa lifted the title for the first time. After one victory each for England’s European U19 Individual champion Jonah Bryant and France’s brilliant 16-year-old Lauren Baltayan, the result came down to the third tie between England’s Abdalla ..read more

Thirty girls from the state of Peshawar, Pakistan, have been provided with a free three-day coaching clinic led by WSF accredited coaches thanks to the Noorena Shams Foundation. The clinic, which began on International Women’s Day and was organised by the Foundation’s founder, Pakistan’s former World No.120 Noorena Shams, and funded by VOA News, saw some of the biggest names in Pakistan squash attend to support the event. These included the legendary Qamar Zaman and Asian Games gold medalist Amir Atlas Khan, while the coaching sessions were delivered by Adil Atlas Khan and Owais Khan, who are ..read more

English duo Jonah Bryant and Amelie Haworth have been crowned ESF European U19 Individual Champions after both players came from behind to record 3-2 wins against Melvil Scianimanico and Lauren Baltayan, respectively, in Bucharest. In the women’s final, 18-year-old No.2 seed Haworth fought back incredibly to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. In a nerve-shredding battle, the Englishwoman somehow saved six championship balls against 16-year-old French top seed Lauren Baltayan, with Haworth coming back from 6-10 at 1-2 down to eventually record an 8-11, 8-11, 11-3, 17-15, 11-7 win. After t ..read more

World Squash Federation President Zena Wooldridge OBE has praised the legacy programmes from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on the local area following news that five new outdoor squash courts are to be built around Birmingham thanks to a Sport England funding boost for England Squash. Wooldridge, a life-long member of her local squash club in nearby Stourbridge was previously the Director of Sport at the University of Birmingham and a member of Birmingham’s 2022 Commonwealth Games Bid Committee. She said: “It’s fantastic to see the impact the Commonwealth Games continues to have on B ..read more