In Squash - The Podcast

Squash Player Magazine Editor in Chief Nathan Clarke jumps back onto the pod to recap the World Championships and set the stage for the iconic British Open which kicks off in a few days time. We also talk about the new Squash Player Magazine podcast which was launched just a few weeks back. Great chat.

For 26 years, Steve Lawton held down the fort as the head squash professional at the Vancouver Racquet Club. With over 30 years of experience playing at the highest level in Canada during an era where we had several players in the top 30 in the world, Steve brought to Canada a style of squash that had rarely been seen on Canadian courts, both in terms of squash flare and banter with the officials and his opposition. A true legend of the game, he’s recorded big wins against top tour players at the World Team Championships and even took a game off former world #6 Jonah Barrington at the Canadian Open. In this episode, Steve and I take a deep dive into his incredible journey in squash—from his playing days to his enduring legacy in Canadian squash

Here's Johnny!! Back just in time to recap the season just ahead of the World Championships in a few weeks' time. Johnny's going to be at the World's in Chicago on the mic for SquashTV, and he's got his thoughts on how it's going to play for both the men and women.

At the age of 21 Mostafa Asal reached world number one for the first time, and he made it to the promised land once again a few months ago, recently retaining that top spot in a winner take all type final at El Ghuna earlier this April. In the aftermath of that win though, a youtube video titled "Mostafa Asal Cheating Analysis" was released highlighting 4 or 5 areas in Asal's game that they allege prove he is cheating. The video could have been an objective piece that identifies and discusses the leg trips, aggressive swings, and taking space issues, but instead the video is injected with troubling hateful language and doesn't raise any questions, only pointing fingers solely at Asal. Mostafa provides his thoughts on the video and how he's handling the upshot of it all. We also discuss the high stakes face-off with Ali Farag at El Ghouna, how he adjusted to life and squash in Pontefract, his relationship with coach James Willstrop, his brother Marwan and much more.

University of Pennsylvania men's team won its first ever Potter Cup in 2024, and proved they weren't a one hit wonder by winning it again in 2025. Head coach Gilly Lane talks about this year's win, winning two in a row, this year's team, the 7 seniors who will be moving on, College Squash individual champion Salman Khalil, and what it's going to take to make it a three-peat.

Parlaying a playing career which saw him reach world #1 in 2004 into an incredibly successful coaching career is not something you see very often, and the more of John White we see, the better it is for squash. John White ranks up there with the most exciting players in the history of our sport, and now he's developed a highly successful College Squash program at Drexel University from the ground up. John talks about Drexel's 2024/25 season which saw both men's and women's teams finish in the top 10, the tragic passing of former Drexel captain Filip Krueger, the National Squash League and the Philadelphia Lightning, and some nuggets from his days on tour.

Jamie Maddox is one of the most prolific content creators in squash today. For over a decade, Squash Stories has been the go-to online squash community, bringing players and fans together to discuss everything from the pro game and officiating to squash history, lore, and even the occasional laugh—all with squash as the backdrop. In this episode, Jamie and I discuss the evolution of Squash Stories, Mostafa Asal’s return to world #1, the state of the pro game, the progress in officiating, and much more.

Squash Egypt has its first ever female President, Amna Eltarabolsy; former world junior runner up and world junior teams champion. She's been a member of Squash Egypt's board for several years, and now she's ready to take Egypt to yet another level. Amna lays out her vision, Squash Egypt's success at growing the game, its unparalleled junior program, LA 28, and much more.

Karim Darwish was one of the Egyptian greats, along with Ahmad Barada, Amr Shabana, Rami Ashour and Mohammed El Shorbagi, who laid the groundwork for Egypt's complete domination of the pro game. Darwish reached world #1 in 2009 and was part of 2 World Championship winning teams in 2009 and 2011. Karim's post playing career has been nothing less than impressive as well. He's the man behind the Wadi Degla Squash Academy, with 9 branches and counting, and over 2000 juniors across Egypt. Darwish also served as VP of the World Squash Federation and was part of the historic story behind squash's long awaited acceptance as an Olympic sport for LA 28. We take deep dives on all of this and so much more.

Not many can lay claim to being inducted into both the Canadian and US Squash Halls of Fame, but Gary Waite might be the one and only. 4 Time Canadian National Champion, World #1 Hardball singles and doubles, and as high as 12 on the pro softball tour, Gary Waite's eclectic squash accolades are unparalleled. Gary takes us back to the Sarnia wolf pack that laid the groundwork, memories and rivalries throughout the years in Canada, Canada's second place finish at the 1997 World Teams, his hardball days, his vision to bring hardball doubles into the mainstream of racket sports, Harrow Squash, Jack Fairs and much more.

The National Squash League launched in 2024 as a pro squash league unlike anything we've seen before. The brainchild of several young US squash brains including Timmy Brownell and Spencer Lovejoy, have come up with a concept that includes a match with 3 periods and a potential shoot out to determine the winning team. The Philadelphia Lightning are one of several expansion teams to join the NSL, and B.G. Lemmon and the rest of the ownership team in Philadelphia can't wait for the season to commence. Draft day, much like most professional sports, brings with it great anticipation as the list of players available includes none other than Mostafa Asal, Mohammed El Shorbagy and the Colombian Cannonball Miguel Rodriquez just to name a few. B.G. and I talk about all of this and more on Ep. 351

Miles Jenkins has been working with Joel Makin for the last 12 years; former college teammates at the University of Birmingham which was the beginning of the supremely successful player/coach partnership that we see today. Miles talks about those early beginnings with Joel, the evolution of Joel's game and the skillset which has him at #5 in the world, what is required to gatecrash Asal, Elias and Farag, and a deep dive into Miles' coaching philosophy. Many thanks to our sponsors Open Squash and Squashify.

Calgary's Bow Valley Athletic Club will host the Airsprint Private Aviation Canadian Men's Open in week's time and the Bow Valley brain trust, CEO Dean Brown and Darren Thompson, talk about the event, last year's epic final, this year's draw, the growth of BVAC since it reopened during Covid, and much more.

It's been an eclectic season for Canadian #2 and Pan Am Championships gold medalist Nicole Bunyan. We talk about her season which is about to get underway again and includes the Pan Am Champs, World Team Champs, PSA and of course Squash TV duties. Speaking of which, Nicole breaks down all of the finals day TOC drama both for the men and the women. And of course, she lays out a few things we ought to consider as regards our own game's as well as we flesh out some of her recent Squashletic content. Great chat!

2 PSA titles, top 10 status, 2nd place in the World Teams, and his third appearance on the pod! It's been a solid season for Marwan ElShorbagy, and he looks to build on this in 2025. We talk about his two wins, how competitive the top 20 is right now, playing for England, thoughts on playing a final in the first round of an event, and much more. Great chat as always.

Going undefeated at the World Teams including wins over England's Nathan Lake and a huge win over Ivan Perez to lay the groundwork for Canada's 11th place Playoff win over Spain definitely turned some heads and has some thinking the Canadian men might be back on track. Salah and I talk about the World Teams and Canada's best performance since 2009. We also look back a bit to his backstory which saw his family move from Egypt to Canada during his junior days with some encouragement from Canadian squash icon Gary Waite. Great chat with Canadian National Team # 2 Salah Eltorgman.

The first half of the 2024/25 PSA saw Hannah Craig make a name for herself, winning in Paraguay and moving well inside the world's top 100. 2024 ended with Ireland's long awaited return to the World Team Championships where Ireland placed a respectable 15th and Hannah won 4 of 6 matches. We talk about all of the above, along with her incredible years playing for Mike Way and the Harvard Crimson and most importantly her Canada/Calgary connection. Great fun, great chat!!

Canada's 11th place finish at this year's World Team Championship was the country's best since 2009, and Graeme Schnell's performance in the playoff v. Spain for that 11th place finish gave Canada the win. Graeme and I talk about Canada's performance at the World's, why things could bode well for Canada going forward, how he's managed to play his best squash in his mid to late 30s, the Calgary squash hotbed, and much more.

Finals day at the World Team Championships saw one of the most dramatic yet unexpected matches to kick off the men's final when Curtis Malik was only a few points away from giving England a 1-0 lead. Mazen Hesham's arsenal proved to be a bit too lethal in the end, but Malik put forth an incredible battle for 5 tremendous games. Curtis and I talk about his tremendous results at the World Teams which saw him go unbeaten until the final, the match v. Mazen, coach Crawford's decision to have lead off proceedings in the final, and much more.

At 35 years old, Nicolas Mueller is still playing top 20 squash, and has proven so this season with some very strong results, including a quarter final appearance in Qatar in October. Nicolas and I talk about Switzerland's 3rd place finish at the World Team Championships in Hong Kong last week, the promise that the team shows going forward, his passion for the game and dream to represent Switzerland in the LA 28 Olympics, and much more.