In Squash - The Podcast

Chris Walker reached the world's top 5, the World Open semi, the British Open final, and has the honor of being Jahangir Khan's final professional scalp. In part 1 of this two part chat, Chris provides all of us plenty of food for thought through some incredible anecdotes, insight and inspiration from his playing days.

Women's squash has a new world #1, Nouran Gohar, and her journey was not as straightforward as you may think. Yes, she's a two-time world junior champ. Yes, Nouran had immediate success upon turning pro winning the Hong Kong Open shortly after her second world junior title, but getting to the top of the professional mountain meant overcoming a few twists, turns and obstacles along the way. Nouran talks about her journey to #1 in a very enjoyable and insightful chat.

Having spent more than 12 unforgettable years immersed in Korea's nascent squash scene and development, I owe University of Toronto Varsity Squash coach Sean Oh a tremendous debt of gratitude for having indulged me on this episode. Korean squash's development since 1988 has been nothing less than impressive, albeit there have been growing pains along the way as one might expect. Sean helps me relive several great memories during my time there, but more importantly he breaks down the impressive growth of the game in this country, what makes Korean squash unique and what their future holds.

University of Pennsylvania and Squash Canada standout James Flynn performed at perhaps his highest level to date in 2019/20 with a win over Victor Crouin in the US collegiate individual event and stretching Sam Todd to 5 games in the Dutch Junior Open quarter final. James is proud of the way last season turned out, but he's under no illusions that he and his Penn teammates will be back on court soon. This fun chat looks at all of the above, his take on the current College Squash Association situation, and also James' vision on life after college squash.

A level-headed, straight-shooter with plenty of squash in his veins, Richard Millman provides a much needed dose of reality in this episode which delivers plenty of food for thought. Richard and I discuss the difficult road ahead for squash, particularly in terms of the pro game, normalcy at the club level, and the US varsity squash scene which has taken a bit of a hit recently. Richard is also an investor in iMask, and we discuss its merits as the best safety option for preventing the spread of covid whilst on the court. And, on October 10th it's World Squash Day, and Richard gives us a nice thumbnail of how we can get involved.

At her highest ever world ranking of 16, Nele is coming off of a fantastic 2019/20 season which saw her reach the quarters of the British Open and the final of the Detroit Classic among other promising results. Nele is in a great frame of mind right now and this comes out in a really fun chat about her squash past and present.

The String Doctor Jon Sharpe leaves no stone unturned in this must- listen episode for all squash players on all things stringing. Jon earned the moniker for a reason: he knows his stuff and he's put in his time. If you're like me and you think you need more stringing knowledge, or even if you geek out on strings, you'll definitely find what you're looking for here. John takes us through the fundamentals, his latest review on the best playing strings out there, popular misconceptions on stringing and much more.

PSA CEO Alex Gough and his team have had their hands full trying to piece together everything that Covid-19 has thrown their way. Well, there may be light at the end of the tunnel, but that doesn't mean things will be back to normal anytime soon. In a very informative and candid conversation, Alex lays out all of the key variables required to get pro squash back up and running, including a potential date and location for long-awaited return. Although nothing is etched in stone, this is good news. Alex also provides a look into the various scenarios in terms of how and where we could be seeing more pro squash in the future, and what will need to take place in order for that to happen. I also took the opportunity to ask Alex for a few anecdotes from his glory days as a player which saw him reach top 5 in the world in 1998.

World Open finalist and semi-finalist in two of the past three World Opens just goes to show that Marwan El Shorbagy is on the cusp of taking his game to the highest level of all. He's reached #3 in the world, and now he's back to near his best form after going through a very difficult period in his career. Marwan looks back at his 2011/12 years where he parlayed a World Junior Championship into immediate professional success. What's it like to play your brother on the biggest stage in squash's most prestigious events? Marwan lays it out and he takes us into the unfounded doping allegations that derailed his squash in 2018 for several months. We also chop it up on how 2019/20 saw him bounce back in a major way, and he also pays tribute to Raneem El Weleily.

The Show Court (theshowcourt.com), provides fresh squash every other Friday, and the stories it's produced till now provide us with the type of squash writing that the squash world hasn't seen. The brainchild behind this, Alix Williams. Alix has only been playing squash for a few years, but she's all in now and her love and commitment to the game shine threw via the superb stories she's pieced together on The Show Court. Alix gives us a look into what she loves about the game, her squash journey and how this passion has manifested itself in fresh new squash on Fridays.

James Willstrop has provided the squash world with some of the most sublime performances, breathtaking exchanges and mind-blowing displays of shot making since he turned pro almost 20 years ago. His accomplishments speak for themselves: former world number 1, 3X and reigning British National Champion, winner of dozens of major PSA events. James is a role model for all of us in terms of the way he plays the game and his on court temperament and demeanor. James and I talk at length about his career, his influences, his fantastic book "Shot and a Ghost", and the vegan lifestyle.

2019/2020 PSA Female Challenger Series Player of the Year and winner of 3 or her last 4 challenger series events, last season generated some very positive momentum for Danielle. We talk about her Challenger series success and the value of the PSA challenger series events. We also discuss what she needs to do to make deeper runs in the PSA's major events. During this down time, Danielle's been enjoying the great outdoors that life in the Alberta Rockies provides, and she gives great insight on how to negotiate with various species of indigenous bears.

Raneem El Weleily shocked the squash world on June 25th by announcing her retirement from the game while sitting atop the PSA world rankings. Jenny Duncalf speaks about Raneem's incredible career looking back to her world jr. champion days, her early years on tour, Jenny's personal head to head with Raneem, the rivalry with Nicol David, and what makes Raneem such a majestic player and person who always gave back off the court.

SquashSkills "A Bronx Tale" gave the squash world a fantastic look into what can happen when you truly give back to the game. Bryan Patterson has been doing that for many years and then some. In case you didn't know, dare I say, there's a backstory to all of this though -- his playing career, which is equally as heartwarming and impressive. The anecdotes abound in this incredible chat with Bryan which covers his competitive years, his relationship with Jonah Barrington, the unprecedented Patrick squash shoe deal, and how he made his way across the pond. And of course, there's a fair bit of Bronx Tale in this as well.

The most dominant player of his generation, current world #1 Mohamed El Shorbagy has done it all, and he's got his sites firmly set on solidifying his hold on the #1 ranking when pro squash resumes. Mohamed describes his early struggles with motivation to train during the Covid-lockdown, losing the #1 spot and then regaining it at the end of the 2020 campaign, his battles with Rami Ashour, playing his brother Marwan in the 2017 World Open final and so much more.

"The man behind the scenes" is his moniker. Director of Events for the PSA Tim Garner had a very good pro career and then went the entrepreneurship route which saw him co-found Eventis (behind the Canary Wharf Classic and the English Open) , the British Squash Professional Association and several other ventures. Now, I dare say he's now working behind the scenes on what could be his most challenging task to date -- getting the pro tour back on its feet again.

Host of the Around the Court Podcast, the Peter Nicol Squash Academy Director of Squash, Reigning and 8 x Irish National Champion Arthur Gaskin is producing squash at the highest level across the spectrum. Arthur and I look back at his early days, his first Irish National Championship, Irish legends of the game, the podcast game, coaching during this pandemic and much more.

Always enjoy having friend of the podcast Rob Dinerman on to talk squash. Prolific squash historian, particularly with respect to stateside varsity, pro doubles and hardball squash history, Rob discusses the latest on Brown University's varsity squash situation in the aftermath of being 1 of 11 programs cut by the university. Rob's knowledge of the varsity and hardball games are unparalleled, and it was a pleasure to hear him break down both in terms of last season and what he expects going forward. Rob also proves very insightful on how things have played out for US squash thus far during unfortunate Covid -19 circumstances.

Reigning World Open Champion Tarek Momen wasn't going to let anything stop him from hoisting the 2019 World Open Championship; not poor form, plantar fasciitis, or a 1-2 2-6 in the fourth deficit in the third round. He summoned what it took and then some, recovering from that deficit to go on to win his first World title while only dropping 1 game from the quarters on. Tarek opens up about the challenges he faced in the years, months and days leading up to that event. He also gives some candid thoughts on the covid-19 situation and his beef with recent officiating changes. Oh, and did I mention he and his wife Raneem El Welily are now in the Guinness Book of World Records?

He's a two time British National finalists, European individual winner, and the world 45plus masters twice over, and did I mention a coaching sensation? Nick Taylor provides food for thought for days on topics ranging from squash under our challenging pandemic circumstances, coaching juniors, the state of the game in North America and much more. The Nick Taylor Squash Academy opened its doors recently, and Nick gives some honest perspective on gently resuming our squash lives on court. I took the opportunity to dive into Nick's professional memories a bit, and what he came up with were two tremendous anecdotes that are further proof why Nick is at the top of the coaching game. Apologies for the occasional lag in the audio :) .