The inaugural World Premier Squash (WPS) league will launch in August, introducing a new global competition that combines elite professional players with an open qualification pathway using artificial intelligence.
Backed by the Professional Squash Association (PSA) and technology company League Sports Co. (LSC), the league will feature 24 players, including reserves.
Eight places will be filled by established professional players, while the remaining 16 spots will be available to players worldwide through an AI-based qualification process, regardless of their world ranking or professional status.
Players seeking qualification will upload videos of themselves completing a series of squash challenges through the Future of Sports Platform (FSP).
The performances will be analysed using AI against predetermined performance metrics to create a global leaderboard, with the highest-ranked players progressing into the league. Organisers say the system removes the need for ranking points, agents or geographical qualification and is designed to identify talent outside the traditional professional pathway.
Former world No. 10 Saurav Ghosal has been appointed Sports Commissioner for the competition. His role includes overseeing the sporting framework, competition format, player qualification pathway and officiating standards.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Ghosal described the project as “a ‘seismic shift’ in squash” and credited the PSA for supporting a different model for the sport. He said the league aims to expand opportunities beyond established professionals.
“Anyone, anywhere can upload their playing videos on the app and submit them for consideration,” he said. “There are certain AI parameters which are attached to specific challenges,” with performances assessed to produce a worldwide leaderboard.
Ghosal says the concept was intended to uncover players who might otherwise never reach the professional circuit.
“The best squash players in the world came through communities, clubs and courts far from the spotlight,” he said.
“World Premier Squash honours that by using AI-enabled challenges on the FSP platform to connect every corner of the global squash family, and giving the sport’s next great player, wherever they are, a genuine path to the top.”
The league is being introduced ahead of squash’s Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games and is intended to complement, rather than replace, the existing PSA Tour.
Organisers say WPS will combine traditional professional competition with a broader participation model aimed at increasing global engagement and identifying new talent through technology.
LSC has drawn on its experience with sports properties such as the World Bowling League, which features high-profile investors like the four-time World Series winner Mookie Betts and Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli, and E1 Team Blue Rising in the E1 series, is applying the same forward-thinking model to squash.