In squash - The Podcast

PSA Refereeing Director and former England Junior National Coach Lee Drew makes a triumphant return to the podcast. We look back at his tenure at Squash England where he ran England's National Junior Team, and how proud he is of everyone involved after the men's junior team title victory over the summer. Lee also takes a deep dive on PSA officiating, in particular helping us get our heads around l...

Abdullah Al Tamimi reached the last 16 of the 2017 World Championships in Manchester, and a year later reached a career high of 23 in the world. Since then, he's had to overcome a litany of injuries, but what we saw last season and certainly in the first two events of this season bodes very well for a return to his earlier form and then some. Abdullah and I take a look back at the early days where...

Sadly, US Squash has lost two legends of the game, Pete Bostwick and Sam Howe. Rob pays tribute to these two American greats.

To many, England winning the Men's World Junior Team Championships this summer came as a huge surprise. To head coach Josh Taylor, he felt it was there for the taking. What a finale it was to his tenure with Squash England. We talk about the big win and the cast of characters on the team, along with Finnlay Withington's runner up finish in the men's individual and Saran Nghiem's near upset in the...

He rose to the very top of the PSA, world champion, world #1, over 40 PSA titles. Don't look now, he might be doing just the same in the coaching game. He helped Nour El Sherbini secure the PSA Tour Championship at the end of last season, and he's got Mohammed El Shorbagy, winner of the season opening Qatar Classic, playing some of his best squash in years. Gregory talks about his approach to the...

2011 British National Champion, 3 X Commonwealth Games medalist, 2013 World Team Championship winner with England, and a tremendously successful PSA career which saw him win 13 titles and reach world #9, Daryl Selby can retire from the PSA a very happy man. Daryl talks at length about his squash career and the aforementioned accomplishments, including which one he holds dearest. We also get into t...

Saurav Ghosal, at the age of 36, is playing some of the best squash of his PSA career. 2021/22 was one of his best seasons, if not his best, with impressive results throughout the year including a TOC semi final appearance and earning the bronze medal at Commonwealth Games. He's also taken on the role of PSA's Men's President from his predecessor Ali Farag. We flesh out about all of the above and...

Nouran Gohar just completed one of the most impressive season's of squash in recent memory: reaching the final of every PSA event on her 2021/22 calendar, finishing the year as world #1 and earning PSA Player of the Year honors. Nouran is box office each time she steps on the court, and she's a big reason why so many of us can't wait for the start of the 2022/23 season. Nouran looks back on her be...

There's a new podcast in town, 32 episodes deep; The Rally Report. Sean Choi, former Wesleyan University #1 got the podcast ball rolling last November, and he hasn't looked back. It was great to compare notes with Sean in terms of our respective pod experiences, but the squash talk was the highlight. Sean and I fleshed out growing the game, the unique Korean squash scene, squash media and our PSA...

It's that time of year, about a month before most of our squash seasons commence. With that, it goes without saying that we'd ask Gary Nisbet to drop by, and he did so with some pure gold. Gary's been busy this summer putting together a squash training camp with CWG gold medalist Gina Kennedy, and he takes us through that and his thoughts on Gina's unparalleled strength and condition. Gary provide...

When SquashSkills launched 10 years ago, it was a long overdue and much needed resource for the squash world, and I'm not overstating that. Jethro Binns returns to the pod to mark the 10 year anniversary and fleshes out some incredible new SquashSkills resources (including the new SquashSkills Training App) for players of all levels, coaches and squash management. We go well beyond that though, as...

Fresh off her 3rd Canadian National championship in Vancouver, Hollie received the news that she'd been selected, not surprisingly so, to represent Canada at the upcoming Birmingham Commonwealth Games. It may have been a foregone conclusion, but after not having been chosen in 2018, it must have felt great to receive that phone call. Hollie and I talk about winning her third national title, the ex...

At her highest ever world ranking of 43, Nicole Bunyan's 2021/22 campaign is about to come to a glorious ending: representing Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Nicole takes us through a bit of her backstory, and the 2021/22 season which saw her in the main draw of several major tournaments. She also lays out her Squashletic squash fitness app (https://www.nicolebunyan.com/squash...

This episode drops on Canada Day, and Nick Sachvie joins us to celebrate accordingly. The 2X Canadian National Champion received the news a few weeks ago that he'd been chosen to represent Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Only the Canadian women were chosen to take part in 2018 in Australia, so the wait was a long one, but definitely worth it. Nick talks about the Games coming...

Qamar Zaman is one of the all time greats; that's a given. Winner of the 1975 British Open and reaching world #1 in that same year, Zaman was truly the pioneer of shot making squash. He turned the game on its head and his contemporaries had to rethink squash strategy as a result. Not only that, Zaman combined this pioneering shot making with a sense of humor which made him the box office player of...

Delighted to have Joel Makin on the pod for episode 216. 2022 marks his best season to date; winner of the Manchester Open, reaching his highest ever world ranking of 7, and very promising results across the board. Joel discusses his season up until now. There's plenty of squash left in 2022 as well, including two blockbuster events in the British Nationals and the Commonwealth. Joel and I take de...

From one of the best players of his generation to one of the most sought after coaches of the current, Wael El Hindi makes a triumphant debut on the In Squash Podcast. We take a deep dive into the current situation on the pro tour in terms of improvements in adjudicating lets and strokes, the thankless job of officiating, and some of the recent drama in the World Championships and El Guona. Wael a...

David Baillargeon defends his title in Vancouver this week at the 2022 Oxford Properties Canadian Nationals. David is fresh off his first appearance at the World Open where he faced the best shot maker in the world, Mezan Hesham in the first round, and gave him a real run for his money. David and I talk about the significance of the Canadian Nationals, his World Open appearance, the Commonwealth G...

Vancouver Lawn and Tennis is hosting the 2022 Oxford Properties Canadian National Squash Championships, June 1st-5th. Van Lawn and Tennis' Head Squash Professional and good friend Viktor Berg gives us the low down on the event, which is the biggest Canadian Nationals in terms of numbers since the turn of the millennium. I also take the opportunity to look back on Viktor's impressive, eclectic prof...

As humble as they come, and a talent ready to make a move into the top 10, Patrick Rooney's stock has without question risen of late. With a number of big wins and well fought battles against the best of the best, Patrick is on his way to contending in all the major events. Patrick gives an honest appraisal of his game. We also discuss the current squash calendar which is running thick and heavy,...

Thierry Lincou achieved every pro squash player's dream: reaching world #1 and hoisting the PSA World Championship trophy. A tremendous career that saw him play in the Power/Nicol era through to the Ashour/Elshorbagy era, Thierry is now the head coach for the MIT Engineers CSA men's team, and they're fresh off their best ever season. Thierry and I talk about the Engineer's recent season and his pa...

Squash Stories, without question, is the largest, most knowledgeable and most eclectic collection of squash enthusiasts on social media. Jamie Maddox is the mastermind behind it all and it's always insightful and highly entertaining whenever we get the chance to catch up. Jamie and I take a deep dive on the PSA season up until now and on the growth of Squash Stories over the past few years.

The Oxford Properties Canadian Open kicks off on April 11th, and CEO of Calgary's Bow Valley Athletic Club, host club for the event, drops by to to chat about the event. The men's and women's events boast world class talent inclusive of several current and past Canadian national champions. Local interest is there as well in the women's event with reigning Canadian women's national champion Daniell...

John White led the Drexel Dragons men's and women's squash teams to landmark seasons in 2022, with the women reaching the Howe Cup final and the men finishing 7th overall. John looks back at how all of this unfolded, and how he's evolved as a coach since 2007 when he began on the US College squash scene. We also take a trip down memory lane by looking back at his illustrious playing career which s...

Always a great chat, Jon Sharpe, aka the String Doctor, makes a return visit to the pod and I highly recommend taking notes. Jon takes us through what we all need to know when it comes to stringing our rackets, and perhaps most interestingly, how we should prepare ourselves when we visit our local stringer. We also discuss some of the pro player tendencies including whether there's any truth to th...