Interviews

Australia’s Donna Urquhart is pumped to start 2014 off on a high, after a rocky time last year due to ankle surgery. She’s looking towards her qualifying match against Annie Au on Saturday with determination, knowing it could lead to another chance in the spotlight of center stage at the Tournament of Champions. Kristi Maroc [...]

I would love an all-Penang World final with Nicol David – 11 Points with Low Wee Wern By ALEX WAN – Squash Mad Malaysian Correspondent So, Penang will host the Women’s World Squash Championships. But while everyone was busy swarming around Nicol David, our Malaysian correspondent Alex Wan managed to persuade Low Wee Wern (world number six [...]

Swimming in the North sea, doubles practice and shopping in America… 11 points with Cameron Pilley By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor Australian number one Cameron Pilley is gearing up for a busy year, with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow a main target. Pilley, currently ranked 18 in the world, will be leading Team [...]

While a fourth World Championship title in 2014 would be a dream come true for Sheffield’s world number one Nick Matthew, he explains to Phil Harrison that his main priority lies elsewhere By PHIL HARRISON – Courtesy of the Yorkshire Evening Post (26/12/13) NICK MATTHEW freely admits he achieved more in 2013 than he had [...]

Merging governing bodies, working in journalism and wearing compression stockings…11 points with Nick Matthew By MICHAEL CATLING – Squash Mad Reporter Less than six months ago, Nick Matthew was sitting at home contemplating his future after falling out of the love with the game. A final loss at the World Series Finals, punctuated by semi-final [...]

Three years on, David Pearson reveals all about his departure as England coach  Interview by MIKE DALE – Squash Mad Columnist Another big-name has joined the squashmad.com stable, and we could hardly have found a more authoritative or respected figure in the game. David Pearson has coached an array of world champions, including the current [...]

From securing sponsorship to building legacies…11 points with tournament promoter Ashraf Hanafi By WOLFGANG DENK – Squash Mad Contributor ASHRAF HANAFI is the promoter of the first major squash tournament to take place in Egypt since the recent unrest. During a successful delivery of the Banque Misr Sky Open in New Cairo, he took time [...]

11 POINTS WITH SAM CORNETT 1: First of all, you must have been pleased to hear that moves were being made to rescue the Women’s World Open in Egypt in December, before it all fell through. A: We won’t be having the World Champs in December, and yes, this is very disappointing. I am hopeful [...]

By AHMED SERAG – Courtesy of the Cairo Post While a lot of Egyptians may not know her, she is well known to all Squash fans. Nour El Sherbini entered history after she became sport’s youngest ever world champion at the age of 13, after winning the women’s title in the World Junior Squash Championships [...]

By MIKE DALE As men’s squash gathers its breath after a staggeringly successful World Championship in Manchester, the women’s tour remains in a state of agonising stasis. The intense drama of last Sunday’s men’s final capped a sensational week of shocks, injuries, great matches, compelling stories, a book launch and even a new baby – [...]

German squash star Simon Rosner has had to make a heartbreaking decision and trade in his favourite pink shirt for a new clothing range this season. Here, in an interview with ALAN THATCHER, he reveals his love of tournament hotels that allow him to indulge in one of his favourite hobbies, ironing.    1: How [...]

    ow many hours do you spend training a week? About four hours a day, six days a week. This has altered over the years: I think when you’re younger you do a few stupid things which, these days, the body wouldn’t be able to cope with. Training smart not hard, with lots of [...]

11 POINTS WITH WOLFGANG DENK Owner of Courtwall Innovations 1: How long have you been involved in squash, and what attracted you to the sport in the first place? I started to play squash in 1985 when the first courts were built in Austria, after retiring from a semi-professional career in handball. I liked the [...]

SQUASH MAD EXCLUSIVE: By MIKE DALE Former US Open champion Simon Parke is still a busy man on court British legend Simon Parke may have retired from the PSA Tour seven years ago, but his renowned energy levels are not waning yet. Still playing in seven leagues across the UK and Europe, he’s also coaching [...]

By BOB HANSCOM Do you know who Mark Hayden is? How about Glo Cosmetics? How about Harrow Sports? An alumni of the University of California at Berkeley, Mark Hayden received a B.A. degree in Computer Science there. Mark is the CEO of both Glo Cosmetics and Harrow Sports. He’s the guy who put up the $35,000 for this year’s Glo Greewich Open. Glo [...]