Only two Egyptians will be able to qualify for the Olympic men’s and women’s competition when the sport makes its debut at Los Angeles 2028, while several mismatches could be in the offing with the inclusion of ‘universality places’ for the singles draws.
Organisers have now confirmed the qualification process, with a minimum of two and a maximum of three nations receiving a quota of two athletes per gender.
USA will receive one competition place per gender as hosts (and could field two according to the qualification system), while eight athletes will qualify based on the PSA world rankings by May 2028.
Egypt is likely to still dominate the world rankings by then, meaning an exceedingly tough route for those outside the top-ranked player by May 2028.
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Interestingly, there will also be a ‘universality place’ on offer for both men and women, which could include players from outside the world’s top 50.
These berths have been designed to promote representation for nations with limited historical Olympic representation and ensure global participation in the sport’s debut. The deadline for submissions is early 2028.
Five athletes per gender will also qualify via their respective Continental Games:
Asian Games (Japan, Sep 19-04 Oct 2026)
African Games (Egypt, Jan 20-07 Feb 2027)
European Games (Turkey, June 2027)
Pan-American Games (Peru, July 16-01 Aug 2027)
Pacific Games (Tahiti, July 24-08 August 2027).
One footnote is that if Continental Games gold medallists are not the highest-ranked athlete from their country on the PSA World Rankings by the end of the qualification period, priority will be given to the winner of the respective Continental Games.
This means that the African Games, especially, will be keenly-contested given the array of top Egyptians in the sport.
There will be one final chance to make 2028 when the remaining competitors of the 16-strong singles field will be decided via a 24-athlete final qualification tournament, to be held June 6-10 2028.
The men’s and women’s draws will comprise the highest-ranked athlete on the PSA world rankings from each of the next 24 nations that have not yet been allocated one of the 15 quota places.
Organisers said that the qualification system was developed “to achieve an optimal balance between inclusion of the best athletes and representation of as many National Olympic Committees (NOCs) as possible across the 16 athletes in each competition.”
World Squash President Zena Wooldridge said: “We are very conscious of the huge suspense and anticipation amongst athletes, coaches and federations regarding squash’s Olympic Qualification System, which reflects the excitement across the whole squash community for the sport’s Olympic debut.
“For many, the Olympic dream will feel one step closer today, as squash stars around the world can begin plotting a course for a place in sporting history in Los Angeles.
“On behalf of World Squash and our PSA colleagues, I would like to express my thanks to our IOC colleagues for their support during this process. We are looking forward to putting squash on sport’s greatest stage.”
World Squash will publish the qualified players on May 22 2028.
The LA 2028 squash tournament will be staged at the Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios.
Squash will be played on a single glass court over 10 days and will be played in the evenings.