World number 133 Youssef calls time on pro career after tough life alone in London
Popular young Essex player Youssef Abdalla has announced he is retiring from the professional game at the age of 20. His parents moved to Abu Dhabi 12 months ago and Youssef has found it a massive struggle to compete on the PSA circuit without their support.
The talented London-based player, currently ranked 133 in the world, has now joined his family in Abu Dhabi and will return to education while pursuing a career in finance.
He told SquashMad today: “It has been an incredibly tough decision to make but it is almost impossible to do it alone without the support of a family around you. They provided  the emotional and financial support that I needed and I found that I couldn’t do it without them.Going training all day, coming back knackered them having to cook was no fun.”
We will be running a full interview with Youssef next week where he talks about the heartbreak of having to give up his sporting dream, the trials and tribulations of being alone in London without his family and what life is like in the Arab state.
As someone who has watched Youssef develop into an amazingly talented and exciting squash player, I am deeply saddened that it hasn’t worked out for this likable young man. Few players have trained as hard and been filled with such passion for squash. We wish him well in the future and hold hope that he is not lost to the sport forever.