Interviews

MTF volunteers hand out aid parcels in homeland where she received death threats By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Life, in many ways, has turned full circle for Maria Toorpakai, the Pakistani squash player who suffered death threats from the Taliban as a teenager. As a child, she grew up in the tribal South [...]

‘People will be more keen to play than ever once normal life returns’  By GEOFF BEW – Squash Mad Correspondent The PSA World Tour is unlikely to resume this season due to the coronavirus, says one of the world’s top players. Saurav Ghosal believes it would be optimistic to think tournaments could be up and [...]

‘After my injury I’m a master at being OK with not being able to play squash’ By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Amanda Sobhy, the US No.1 and world No.8, is keeping busy staying fit and living life to the max during the global lockdown caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Her sunny personality, and [...]

Fatigue and injuries traced to dental braces By GEOFF BEW – Squash Mad Health and Nutrition Correspondent After suffering 15 calf injuries over a two-year period, many people had written off Mathieu Castagnet and were urging him to quit the sport. But the Frenchman, who was six in the world in 2016, thrives on proving [...]

Wild card Richie has a hunger for success By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Richie Fallows, the rising squash star from Stratford, aims to serve up a real treat for his army of fans in the St. James’s Place Canary Wharf Classic on Sunday. He warmed up for the event by playing doubles – [...]

‘After a year of rehab, I needed two operations on a prolapsed disc’ INTERVIEW by ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Joe Lee is ready to put his body on the line again in full-time professional squash after suffering a serious back injury. After two operations to cure a prolapsed disc, he is prepared to [...]

Big Interview: 11 Points with Tom Ford By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor THIS YEAR’S Wild Card Challenge in the St. James’s Place Canary Wharf Classic features two extremely talented English players, Tom Ford and Joe Lee, who have returned to action after extended absences caused by injuries. Here, Tom reveals the physical and [...]

‘If pros wore them, club players would follow’ By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Leading coach Phil Rushworth, British Nationals Over-35 runner-up and the man who drove Daryl Selby to hospital after his eye injury in Nottingham last week, is supporting the campaign to debate eye protection in the game. Rushworth, Head Coach at [...]

‘Any one of 10 players could win it’ says flying Scot By DANIEL REES – Squash Mad Correspondent Scotland’s No.1 squash player Greg Lobban believes there are as many 10 competitors who are in the mix to win the AJ Bell British National Championships in Nottingham next week. The 27-year-old from Inverness, who will be [...]

‘Joel’s physically strong but I’m the opposite – I’ve  got to rely on my racket’ By DONNA HELMER – Squash Mad Correspondent England’s James Willstrop is savouring the chance to defend his crown when the AJ Bell British National Championships return to Nottingham next week from 13-16th February. The former world No.1, who will be [...]

Super Swede with 53 national titles and 124 caps By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Sweden’s greatest squash ambassador, Fredrik Johnson, has begun his sixth decade of playing the game competitively. Starting in the late 1970s, he recently competed in a national league match for his home-town club Linköping and beat an opponent who [...]

‘My injury hasn’t fully healed but I’m trying to maintain my form’ By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent Four-time World Champion Nour El Sherbini will return to her favourite city when the Egyptian competes for the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions title in New York’s Grand Central Terminal next week. The Egyptian is aiming [...]

Reigning champion faces a busy schedule in 2020 By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent World No.1 Ali Farag will look to make a winning start to the second half of the 2019-20 PSA World Tour season when he returns to New York’s Grand Central Terminal to defend his J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions title, [...]

‘I’m still a bit stiff but playing will help me start moving better’ By JEROME ELHAIK – Squash Mad Correspondent With a successful comeback to the court, and plans in place to represent his country and return to the PSA World Tour, Grégory Gaultier can at last afford himself the luxury of looking forward in [...]

‘Our stars are dotted all over the world but we are all working towards doing well at the 2022 Comm Games’ By ROD BANNISTER – Squash Mad Correspondent It’s a time of change for squash in Australia, with Lachlan Johnson moving in as the new High Performance Manager. Here he answers a few questions from [...]