Interviews

11 Points With Ashraf Hanafi: ‘Our target is to be the biggest squash club in the world’ By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor The Black Ball Sporting Club in New Cairo has enjoyed an outstanding first year of operations, staging two major professional tournaments and laying the foundations for future growth by implementing one [...]

World Junior Champion not surprised at her senior success because of her hard work By ALEX WAN – Squash Mad Asian Bureau Editor It has taken her five attempts and three finals to get there, but after playing second fiddle for two consecutive times, Hania El Hammamy can now proudly claim her title of World [...]

‘The whole week in Nantes was amazing’ Interview by JEROME ELHAIK – Squash Mad Correspondent A few months after les Bleues clinched their first ever European Team Championship, French women’s squash had another major success last weekend: carried by an ecstatic crowd, Camille Serme won the open de France at the Château des Ducs de [...]

‘Our goal is to build 100 of these centers’ Interview by ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor) The Manhattan Community Squash Center is planning to open its doors at the end of this month. With a number of New York squash clubs closing in the past decade or more, this is a much-needed addition to the [...]

Part 1: Meet Jon Sharpe, coach, captain, dad and top stringer  By ROSANNA RADLINSKA-TYMA – Squash Mad Correspondent Following the excellent article by Joe Magor in 2013 about Greg Gaultier’s rackets, and how softly they were strung, I came up with the idea to write something about stringing in general as it is very important [...]

Wael El Hindi and an international support team give Abou the edge  By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Mohamed Abouelghar came very close to a surprise win over Karim Abdel Gawad in the recent PSA World Series Finals in Cairo. It was a quality performance from the 25-year-old, showing just how much he has [...]

France holds special memories for Marksman James Interview by Jérôme Elhaïk – Squash Mad Correspondent After having had a tough run (with two five-game matches), James Willstrop could only keep up with Grégoire Marche for one game in the 5R Montpellier Métropole Open final last Sunday. Nevertheless, the tall Englishman was able to display his [...]

‘Being in the history books is an amazing feeling after a lifetime of training and travelling’ Interview by SEAN REUTHE Ahead of next week’s Allam British Open, Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez says that he is heading to Hull with the aim of retaining the title he won in stunning fashion 12 months ago. The 2019 edition [...]

‘I grew up watching the great legends of the game at the Pyramids’ INTERVIEW by ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Tarek Momen, runner-up at Canary Wharf last season, is back this year aiming to go one better. In this insightful interview, he talks revealingly about his amazing Egyptian rivals, his delight at another major [...]

From best of seven to best of three, Willstrop loves innovation at Canary Wharf By ALAN THATCHER  James Willstrop is one of the most experienced players on the PSA World Tour. At 35, he has travelled round the world many times and amassed an incredible knowledge of the game. While admitting to being something of [...]

‘The reason I became a squash player was because of Canary Wharf’ By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Two of England’s rising stars, Josh Masters and Richie Fallows, will clash in the Wildcard Challenge at the 2019 Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Squash Classic next week. The prize for the winner is a place [...]

‘There is no stopping the future of squash’ says American number one By SEAN REUTHE  United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy believes there is no stopping the future of squash ahead of the 2018-2019 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family, which will offer the sport’s first $1 million prize purse when it takes place [...]

11 Points with Amanda Sobhy: ‘Being out injured gave me the chance to rebuild my game and come back hungry to improve’ Interview by ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor On the eve of the Tournament of Champions, US No.1 Amanda Sobhy has announced a switch to Head Rackets. In a no-strings-attached interview, Amanda explains [...]

‘We need more tournaments with unique venues like this’ By SEAN REUTHE Two-time J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions winner Nour El Sherbini says that she is looking forward to appearing at one of the most unique locations on the PSA Tour as she begins her title defence later this week at New York’s Grand Central [...]

‘Making my comeback after injury at Grand Central was an emotional rollercoaster’ By SEAN REUTHE  United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy will return to New York’s Grand Central Terminal next week as she competes for the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, PSA Platinum title – and the 25-year-old says she’s back at full fitness as she [...]