All posts by Alan Thatcher

WSF and PSA join forces to promote World Squash Day as the game gears up for a massive relaunch By JAMES ROBERTS – Squash Mad Correspondent As squash courts reopen in many countries following the COVID-19 lockdown, the sport will be relaunched in dramatic style when World Squash Day (WSD) takes place on Saturday October [...]

‘I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid’ says new No.1 Nouran Gohar By ALAN THATCHER and SEAN REUTHE  Egypt’s Nouran Gohar is the new women’s World No.1 for the first time following the retirement of Raneem El Welily. El Welily had topped the rankings for 19 months, while Gohar had sat at [...]

‘Mall setting will help to promote squash in Finland’ By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor As the squash world tiptoes towards an emergence from the coronavirus lockdown, the Finnish Squash Federation are busy planning the 2021 European Team Championships. Main matches will be played on a glass court which will be set up inside [...]

‘I’m looking forward to seeing my family again … and getting back on court’ By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Squash-loving student nurse Hannah Gingell sang her heart out on BBC2’s new Gareth Malone series The Choir: Singing For Britain. Hannah, 20, works at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge and in this week’s [...]

‘Starting a family with Tarek is a priority for us’ By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor World number one Raneem El Welily, one of the most talented and successful players in the history of squash, today announced her immediate retirement from the game. The 31-year-old Egyptian, who is married to current men’s world champion [...]

Squash clubs stay shut as French reopen, but Culture Secretary hints at mid-July date By ALAN THATCHER and JAMES ROBERTS  England Squash’s hopes of being able to give the green light to clubs to reopen were dashed by the government today. Pubs can reopen on July 4, as can museums and cinemas, but facilities listed [...]

Daniel picks Ali Farag and Anthony Joshua as his top role models By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Squash has a new superstar … and he’s just 10 years old. Daniel Tiwana has amazed viewers with his own lockdown training video on YouTube. More than that, he has captivated the squash community with his [...]

Nick and Daryl discuss lockdown issues and how squash can grow when courts are open again By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Nick Matthew and Daryl Selby have enjoyed a few words on court down the years, both in jest and during the heat of battle. Now they are entertaining the squash community with [...]

  Instead of awards, Herts help out with vital PPE equipment By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor It’s always good to hear about squash players going the extra mile to help their local communities during the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s a real pleasure to receive some news from Paul Main about an extra-special initiative taking [...]

Epic Canary Wharf final was the last men’s match before the lockdown By ALAN THATCHER and SEAN REUTHE Egyptian pair Mohamed ElShorbagy and Nour El Sherbini have been crowned the 2019-20 PSA Players of the Year after being chosen by a combination of votes from both the PSA Awards Committee and fans on the PSA [...]

UK Racketball launch development project with England Squash By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Mark Fuller, founder of UK Racketball, has wide ranging plans to increase the numbers of people playing the game once squash clubs are fully open for business following the Coronavirus lockdown. He is partnering with England Squash to produce a [...]

Three Aussie events called off By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor The Professional Squash Association (PSA) have extended the suspension of the World Tour because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. After yesterday’s report that the Oracle NetSuite Open in San Francisco had been cancelled, the PSA today confirmed that all World Tour, Challenger Tour, [...]

San Francisco is off as a handful of events tiptoe back on to the calendar By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor The 2020 Oracle NetSuite Open is the latest major tournament to be cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The PSA confirmed today that the event in San Francisco, originally scheduled for September 22-28, [...]

SEA chief Tim Wyant paints a mural of a multi-coloured future for squash By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor As the Covid-19 headlines give way to news of Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the world, squash can add discussions about racial equality to the debates about the safe reopening of our courts. At the professional [...]

Qualifying ages held as World Masters heads to 33-court Hasta La Vista in Poland By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor The 2020 World Masters, scheduled to take place in August this year, has been moved back 12 months and will now take place at the world’s biggest squash club in 2021. The World Squash [...]