The decline of squash in Britain begins with the grassroots. Photo: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
On May 18 in Cairo, squash became the new world champion. Diego Elias is a 27-year-old Peruvian, the first South American to win the title.
But where were the British? True, the El Shorbagy brothers — Mohamed and Marwan, born in Alexandria, but playing under the English flag — met each other in the third round. Otherwise there was little to celebrate.
A new world order has emerged in sport that used to revolve around the Commonwealth Games. Former giants such as Pakistan, Australia and Canada have dropped out of the picture entirely, leaving Cairo as the undisputed headquarters. In last week's draw, 11 of the 16 quarter-finalists were Egyptian.
How do we explain this shift? In the UK, the decline in popularity of squash can be traced back to the grassroots level. Covid has dealt a huge blow to attendance numbers, but even before the pandemic, entertainment venues were quietly converting courts into spas or fitness studios.
Meanwhile, padel and pickleball were emerging as attractive new racquet sports. Next to these young starlets, squash began to resemble Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard: an aging diva hiding in a dilapidated mansion.
«People love novelty,» said Nick Matthew, a former world number one from Sheffield. . “Wait a minute, you have a squash court. Next up are 24 people doing a Zumba standing on your head lesson.
Former world number one Nick Matthew fears that squash is going out of fashion. Photo: Paul Cooper for Telegraph
Matthew is now 43 years old and has reached the peak of his popularity. the early 2010s is an era when four of the top 10 men were English. Women's talent hasn't touched as deeply, but we still had Laura Massaro winning the World Championship in 2013.
There are fewer choices these days. Yes, the El Shorbagy brothers are ranked 7th and 9th, with London's Gina Kennedy coming in at a respectable 6th. But even Chris Robertson, performance director at England Squash, admits that “we were a failure. Succession planning is not the easiest task.”
So far everything is so gloomy. But wait a minute, because there is an upside to the new world order. It's not just Latinos who are discovering squash. Last week's World Championships also featured a rare semi-finalist from the United States. Olivia Weaver became only the second American to reach this stage after her training partner Amanda Sobha in 2021.
As Drive to Survive has shown, U.S. interest can change the sport. In the case of squash, that means super-rich philanthropists such as Mark Walter, the billionaire Chelsea investor who bought a stake in the Professional Squash Association last year. This means receiving athletic scholarships to Ivy League universities, a life-changing privilege that padel and pickleball players can only dream of (and which Gina Kennedy took advantage of while attending Harvard).
First and foremost, that means a spot at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. After decades of misses and misses, squash's promotion to the Games was a huge deal. As Robertson says: “The Olympics will be the perfect incentive. If the player base doesn't respond to this opportunity, to this challenge, it never will.”
To this end, England Squash is expanding its coaching network. Interviews continue to replace long-time national team coach David Campion, with Matthew helping out when his commitments to his young family allow. And Rob Owen — a former world No. 19 who has made a second career as a professional player — has been appointed as an «Olympic program consultant.»
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