Fresh off her 3rd Canadian National championship in Vancouver, Hollie received the news that she'd been selected, not surprisingly so, to represent Canada at the upcoming Birmingham Commonwealth Games. It may have been a foregone conclusion, but after not having been chosen in 2018, it must have felt great to receive that phone call. Hollie and I talk about winning her third national title, the excitement of playing the Commonwealth Games and going for a medal,  training under Malcolm Willstrop and the Pontefract stable, and her assessment of the 2021/22 season.

Episode 220 Hollie Naughton -  Commonwealth Games

Without question, Rob Owen is among the very best coaches in the pro game today. That is non-negotiable. The success that he's had with players in his stable is impressive: former world #1 and current #2 Paul Coll, SJ Perry, Joel Makin, George Parker, Nele Giles, Jasmine Hutton, Dimitri Steinmann, a number of England's top juniors, and the list goes on. Rob's approach to the game and vision for the game is unique, and needs to be heard. We talk about his career, many of his current and past players, the pro game and a few of its cast of characters, officiating, coaching certification and his approach to coaching, playing in outdoor venues, and much more. Many thanks to our tremendous sponsor opensquash.org

Episode 233 Rob Owen

The only man to beat Jahangir and Jansher Khan in the same event, the 1991 World Open, Rodney Martin has parlayed a great playing career into a coaching a career that sees him as one of the very best in the game. Rodney talks about the key figures in his stable currently, women's world #1 Noran Gohar, men's #6 Marwan El Shorbagi and men's #28 Abdullah Al Tamimi. We get into his thoughts on the technical side of things, and why squash players need to be wary of the over abundance of what he terms "gimmicky" coaching that's out there. Rodney's awareness of the Mostafa Asal on court issues dates back several years, and he provides his insight into this and his thoughts on what those of us on social media think of the issue.  And, we also discuss the problems Australian squash has had in reliving its glory days when it was producing the game's very best players . Rodney hits this one out of the park. Great chat. Many thanks to our sponsors www.opensquash.org

Episode 236 Rodney Martin

Hard to believe it was 4 years back, shortly after retirement, that the Wolf, Nick Matthew, first appeared on this podcast. Former World #1, 3 x British and World Open Champ and 3x Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Nick shows up like the legend he truly is. Nick gives great insight into everything we touched on: the recent British Junior Open including British success at U19, the first ever US male winner in any age group, coaching and officiating issues, and of course the Egyptian dominance over-all. Nick gives his TOC predictions, great insight on new world #1 Mostafa Asal, and how he and his peers back in the day would have played v. Asal, both mentally and from a tactical standpoint. Ep 250 is indeed pure gold. Many thanks to our sponsors at www.opensquash.org

Episode 250 Nick Matthew

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

Episode 269 Ali Farag

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

Episode 273 Youssef Ibrahim

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.

Episode 277 Nour El Sherbini

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

Episode 278 Tiago Goriely - REAKT

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.

Episode 279 Mohamed Elkeiy

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.

Episode 280 Chris Walker

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.

Episode 281 Torrie Malik

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.

Episode 282 Jamie Maddox

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.

Episode 283 Nick Matthew

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.

Episode 284 Declan James

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

Episode 285 Monthly Whip Around With Ahad Raza

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.

Episode 286 RJ Mitchell - Tour Thoughts, Squash Player Magazine And 50th Anniversary Of PSA

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!!!

Episode 287 Connor Turk - Canadian Open Bow Valley Athletic Club

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

Episode 288 Zena Wooldridge - LA 2028 And Beyond

Jethro Binns and the crew at SquashSkills were the first to go all in on a one-stop-shop for squash coaching for the entire squash community. Since then, he continues his effort to find the next innovation along those lines, and Jethro comes on to bring us up to speed in terms of Squash Levels, LevelTech and the DoubleDot AI Squash Coach. The fire burns like never before and we discuss these and other projects that we can look forward to. Check out Squash Levels at https://www.squashlevels.com/home, LevelTech at https://leveltech.io/ and our tremendous sponsor Open Squash at www.opensquash.org

Episode 289 Jethro Binns -Squash Levels, DoubleDot AI Squash Coach and LevelTech

Squash's inclusion in the LA 28 Olympic Games has ignited an even greater fire within the squash community towards growing the game. This June alongside the British Open in Birmingham, the PSA Foundation Squash Summit will take place bringing together squash minds from across the board to discuss the way forward for our great game. Adriana Olaya is the Head of the PSA Foundation and she breaks it all down on Ep. 290.

Episode 290 Adriana Olaya - PSA Foundation Squash Summit 2024

For the past 15 years, the game of professional squash has been synonymous with the name Joey Barrington. Joey has been the lead commentator and face of PSA Squash TV for close to 15 years, and it goes without saying part of squash royalty, the son of living legend Jonah Barrington. Joey's youthful exuberance combined with incredible squash IQ is on display whenever he takes the mic, and it certainly brushes off on the stellar co commentating team Squash TV assembles for each event. Joey takes a look back at the early Squash TV days, the exciting men's and women's finals at Optasia, the upcoming London Squash Classic and this summer's JB PJ elite junior squash camps at the storied squash facility of Millfield School.

Episode 291 Joey Barrington

The University of Pennsylvania won its first ever US Collegiate Squash National Championship (Potter Cup) a few weeks back with head coach Gilly Lane leading the way for the Quakers. Gilly talks about the big win and how some ups and downs this season and in recent seasons laid the groundwork. We also talk about his maturity as coach, butting heads each week with some of the games greats, how the college game compares to his days as a player while at Penn and much more.

Episode 292 Gilly Lane

Simon Parke, former British National Champion and world #3, played through several of the most intriguing eras of squash including the Jansher Khan era as well as the early days of the Power/Nicol rivalry. Simon talks about how he sees the game today and in doing so I selfishly request that he reflect back on his time on court which for me is a kid in a candy store scenario. We also talk about his recent and upcoming SquashTV duties which includes the Squash in Land event in Cleveland and the PSA's return to Egypt with Blackball. Great chat and check out what it means to grow the game at www.opensquash.org

Episode 293 Simon Parke

Satomi Watanabe made Japanese squash history becoming the first Japanese player, male or female, to win a PSA event of the magnitude of the Optasia Squash Championships. It can be said that Satomi burst onto the PSA scene last season with several epic performances, but those in the know, including Jonah Barrington, had her pegged early on for what we've seen of late. Satomi along with her coach Tiago Goriely talk about her first big PSA win, what it took to get there, and what it's going to take to capitalize on this momentum and take it to the next level. We also take a look at her backstory, which includes her connection with Sivasangari Subramanium which dates back to the early junior days in Malaysia. Don't forget to check out our sponsor Open Squash and www.opensquash.org where you can check out all of their tremendous game growth initiatives.

Episode 294 Satomi Watanabe

US squash had a comparatively low profile globally in the 80s and early 90s. This has without question changed dramatically as they without question lead the way globally and always seem poised to take on new initiatives domestically which translate at a global scale. Kevin Klipstein has led this charge for the past 20 years, and this December marks his 20 year anniversary as CEO and President of US Squash. Kevin talks about his squash backstory and how he eventually took over as US Squash CEO. We also look at two major moments that he and US Squash contributed to, LA 28 and the Specter Center (US National Team Training Center). We also talk growing the game, Team US and his expectation and much more. Great chat with the CEO. In terms of growing the game, check out the great stuff going on at Open Squash, www.opensquash.org

Episode 295 Kevin Klipstein - US Squash President And CEO

Fresh off the biggest win of her career at the London Squash Classic and her highest ever world ranking of 13, Sivasangari Subramanium is making serious inroads towards the very top of the game. Wins over world #1 Nour El Sherbini and World #2 Hania El Hammamy will no doubt give her that self-belief that perhaps has eluded her in the past. As many of you know, in June 2022 Siva was involved in a serious car accident that sidelined her for seven months, but as we talk about on the pod that time rehabbing also allowed her to reevaluate things and she's come back playing the best squash of her career. We talk about all of this on EP. 296 Also, don't forget to keep up with how to grow the game at www.opensquash.org

Episode 296 Sivasangari Subramanium

Fresh off a magnificent runner up result at the German Open a few weeks back, Dimitri Steinmann is into the 2nd round at El Ghouna where he finds himself playing some of the best squash of his career. It's been a bit of personal battle for Dimitri though. Last October's US Open saw Dimitri get hit with an 8 week suspension for an incident during his match with Timmy Brownell. Dimitri talks about his current form, the unfortunate incident against Timmy in terms of what he learned and how he hopes to grow from the experience. We also talk about LA 28 and how he hopes to carry on the Olympic tradition for the Steinmann family. Great catching up with Dimitri and also great being a part of the Open Squash family where growing the game is the vision. Check out Open Squash at www.opensquash.org

Episode 297 Dimitri Steinmann

Luke Butterworth, for such a young man, has a coaching resume that is highly impressive. After a few years on the PSA tour, Luke has poured all his energy into the coaching game which sees him now as the US Junior National Team Head Coach. His coaching philosophy is something all coaches should aspire to, and Luke breaks all of that down along with his backstory and his early coaching influences, how his coaching has evolved over the years, and a great breakdown of the current US Junior national team. Also, please check out the great sponsor of this pod, www.opensquash.org, as they have several amazing summer camps on offer if you're in and around NYC.

Episode 298  Luke Butterworth

Another fantastic chat with Jesse Englebrecht who has fast become squash's resident mental game guru. We recently witnessed Siva Subramanium's unbelievable performance at the London Squash Classic and Jesse was in her corner preaching, mildly, the mental practices that they've been working on for the past little while. We talk about all of that plus I attempt to deep dive on squash and mental game, and Jesse obliges big time with some real, practical knowledge that you won't want to miss. Check out all the great stuff Jesse is doing with respect to the mental game at https://sportmind.io/ and also as we're all into making squash more accessible and affordable for everyone, check out the great things going on at Open Squash, www.opensquash.org

Episode 299 Jesse Engelbrecht- SportMind

Peter Genever was recently appointed Head Coach of Hong Kong's National Squash Team. This is a new challenge, a challenge that he's no doubt ready for after guiding Malaysia for 7 glorious years. Peter describes the new challenges the lie ahead in HK,and we look back at how he landed here, as a sought after and highly respected national team head coach after what he deemed an unfulfilled playing career. Peter leaves us with some very insightful thoughts on Egypt's dominance in the game and compares what they're doing to a traditional, perhaps outdated approach to coaching and playing the game.

Episode 169 Peter Genever

In Squash is a squash podcast that we've all been waiting for. Interviews and conversations with world class players, coaches, squash media, referees, and enthusiasts like myself, and anyone else who is a friend of the game. Enjoy the squash podcast.

Gerry Gibson

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