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Time waits for no man, apart from the never-ending knock-ups in squash By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor At long last, the PSA are planning to reduce the length of pre-match knock-ups. A trial will be held in the forthcoming World Series Finals taking place on stage at Dubai Opera House. And I hope all [...]

Squash and academia partnerships in the UK By ROSANNA RADLINSKA – Squash Mad Columnist   As a parent of a sixth form student/squash player, I feel it is the right time to explore the opportunities of combining squash and studies in the UK. I have had a look at the University of the West of England and the Elite [...]

Former star is on the ball, growing the game in India By ALAN THATCHER Squash in India is being given a massive injection of energy thanks to the efforts of former professional Ritwik Bhattacharya. The staging of the $50,000 Men’s CCI International at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai was the most ambitious project [...]

Join the fight to save the healthiest of all sports By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor It was wonderful to see Britain’s national newspapers present the health benefits of playing squash and racketball in their coverage of a recent survey published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Regularly playing squash and racketball could help [...]

Packed venues bring top-class squash to new levels of drama By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor The successful delivery of the US Open, with the jumbotron screen above the glass court inside the Drexel University sports arena, the San Francisco Bay Bridge towering over the court at the NetSuite Open, and the spectacular renaissance of [...]

Squash’s video output dwarfs racquetball efforts in the USA By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor My friend Freddy Ramirez writes a terrifically engaging racquetball blog called Restrung Magazine. We have been communicating online for some years and frequently discuss ways in which racquetball (or racketball) can find some harmony with squash to produce some mutually [...]

Racketball: a (very) brief history; and why WSF should think again By DAVID IRESON – Squash Mad Correspondent in Aberdeen   The passage of time allows a great deal of opportunity for reflection and review of past events, to scrutinise their efficacy as carriers of both positive and negative actions and impacts on our daily [...]

Clubs, coaches, players and racket manufacturers all refuse to play ball with name change By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor As we warned the other day, attempts are being made to officially rebrand racketball as Squash 57. The news was officially announced today by the World Squash Federation to a chorus of disbelief and derision [...]

Stand by for a racketball revolution as new name is about to be announced By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor News reaches Squash Mad HQ from our outer space branch office that a decision has been reached for a new name for racketball.  Please bear in mind that not a single racketball (or racquetball) player asked for [...]

WSF to investigate claims that winning juniors are 20 years old By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor The World Squash Federation are investigating claims that Pakistan fielded two over-age players while winning the recent World Junior Team Championship in Poland. Israr Ahmed, who beat Egypt’s number one Saadeldin Abouaish in straight games in the final, is [...]

Squash can be proud of booming PSA Tour says Alex Gough By NATHAN CLARKE   In the wake of yesterday’s confirmation from the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) that squash will not feature in the 2020 Olympic Games, Professional Squash Association (PSA) Chief Executive Alex Gough has reiterated his belief that the future of squash is [...]

Few, if any benefits would accrue from a place at the tainted top table COMMENT: By A Squash Professional   On the eve of the 2016 Olympic Games, with the event already mired in the usual allegations of crime, corruption and drug-related controversy, a former professional squash player, now a leading coach, debates whether squash needs [...]

As top golfers avoid Rio, Olympic ideals come under the microscope By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor James Willstrop wrote another impassioned plea for squash to be included in the Olympic Games after Rory McIlroy became the latest golfer to announce that he would not be competing in the Rio Games next month. Willstrop’s Blog, [...]

Top seed Charles Sharpes loses bitter battle on racket-throwing conduct stroke By ALAN THATCHER    Top seed and reigning champion Charles Sharpes crashed out of the Select Gaming PSA M10 Kent Open after a dramatic and often physical contest with Welsh No.2 Joel Makin. This bitter, ugly clash ended with Sharpes receiving a conduct stroke [...]

Fan’s eye view of a top-class tournament  By JAMES ROBERTS – Squash Mad Correspondent   Squash enthusiast James Roberts has worked tirelessly to promote World Squash Day in the past two years. Here he writes about a day trip to London to begin work on WSD 2016 with a trip to the Canary Wharf Classic [...]