In squash - The Podcast

2023/24 was sneaky good! She reached a career high of 5 and winning both the Manchester and German Open titles, reached the World Tour final and had some confidence boosting wins over top 5 players. She'd also love to cap all of that off with her maiden British National title, and that event kicks off next week. Gina and I look back at last season, the ups and downs, her tribute to the recently retired Nour El Tayeb, the difficulties she's had staying healthy and of course her thoughts on the British Nationals. Great chat and a big shout out to our mutual sponsor, Open Squash, www.opensquash.org

Chris Gordon has been among the very best American pros since turning pro over 20 years ago. Clearly, he's been there, done that, including reaching as high as 44 in the world in 2013. Chris is well respected for his squash insight as is evident through regular squash tv commentating appearances for stateside PSA events, and he took the mic again for the recent World Junior Championships in Houston. Chris and I recap the event which turned out to be the most exciting WJC in recent memory. Many thanks to our sponsor, Sunrise Courts who are working towards growing the game. Check them out at www.sunrise-courts.com

Former world #3 Simon Rosner's PSA career may be over, but he's definitely not retired from the game. Simon is the head coach of the German junior men's and women's teams who competed for the past two weeks in the World Junior Championship in Houston. Simon talks about their performance and what needs to be done to make progress going forward. We also talk about the talk of the town, the Korean Junior boys, with his illustrious career and the work he has done over the past few years with up and coming Swiss talent Dimitri Steinmann. Great chat!! Check out our sponsor www.opensquash.org, where growing the game is the be all end all.

During this year's British Open the Squash Summit brought together people looking to grow the game from around the world. Damian Burgess took part in the event and provides a great recap on each of the key sessions including squash in the Olympics, challenges with regards to growing the sport, and Rob Owen's session on Independent squash minds and his thoughts on such topics as coaching standardization and gambling in the pro game. Speaking of growing the game, don't forget to check out Open Squash and everything that they are doing in this regard at www.opensquash.org

Amanda Sobhy had been in the form of her career in December 2023, reaching the final of the Hong Kong Open after taking out world #1 Nour El Sherbini in straight games. Game 1 of the final saw her go down with a ruptured right achilles; she ruptured her left achilles in 2017. Well, she's on her way back and with any luck we will see her on court again soon. Amanda talks about the misfortune in HK and her form leading up to that event, her rehab, her thoughts on the how things played out on the ladies tour this past season, and much more. Check our our great sponsor Open Squash at www.opensquash.org

Board member and Founder of Open Squash James Green caught my attention with a blog post on the PSA's Mostafa Asal Raging Bull documentary which he posted recently. The Asal Doc is relatively dated, but it's still well worth watching and or revisiting. James talks about his squash backstory, Open Squash, and we deep dive into the Asal documentary. Great chat. Check out open squash at www.opensquash.org and check out the Asal Raging Bull documentary via this link here: https://youtu.be/I-EvRC0gi2c?si=keatl_9IrunaBGCH

2023/24 saw Joel Makin finish in impressive fashion, playing in my opinion the best squash of his career. He's back to world #9 after finishing 2024 with a flurry; a win in Manchester and of course an extremely impressive British Open with wins over Tarek Momen, Yousef Ibrahim and the 2024 World champion Diego Elias. Joel and I talk about having to overcome injury woes earlier this season to finding the best version of himself when it mattered at the business end of 2024. We also deep dive on his epic battles with Yousef Ibrahim, Mostafa Asal, his win in Manchester and of course his epic British Open. Check out the pod's awesome sponsors, Open Squash at www.opensquash.org and Sunrise Courts at www.sunrise-courts.com

Ong Beng Hee is moving on from his role as US National Team Head Coach to start another chapter in his post playing career in Beijing China where he'll be heading up the Dream Squash Academy. Beng Hee is pleased with what the US National Team accomplished under his watch, namely the women's incredible runner up finish in the 2022 World Women's Team Championship and seeing the team gel as a unit at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia. Beng Hee takes a deep dive into his tenure with US Squash and then we flesh out the amazing challenge that lies ahead in Beijing with the Dream Squash Academy in Beijing. Many thanks to the sponsors of this podcast, www.opensquash.org and www.sunrise-courts.com

Fresh off British Open commentating duties, former world #4 and Squash and SquashTV legend Paul Johnson returns to the pod to talk about the incredible end to the 2023/24 season which saw dramatic results in both the World Championships and the British Open. PJ breaks it all down and we also talk a bit about the JB PJ Squash camps which are fast approaching. Check out the great sponsors of this pod, Open Squash and Sunrise Courts at www.opensquash.org and www.sunrise-courts.com

2023/24 did not begin on the right foot for Nouran Gohar, having to withdraw from the US Open in October with a serious plantar fascia tear and thus unable to compete until the new year. Well, she ultimately wound up finding the best form of her career once all was said and done. She couldn't have written the script any better, winning her first World Championship and 2nd British Open titles. Nouran talks about the tumultuous start to the season and ultimately how she found this season ending impeccable form on ep. 306. Check our sponsors www.opensquash.org and www.sunrise-courts.com