Squash riding Olympic wave as stars return to London for Classic
The world’s best players are at Alexandra Palace this week as it stages the annual London Squash Classic.
A packed house at the historic venue has been watching the sport’s leading names battle it out as squash is enjoying unprecedented momentum ahead of a long-awaited Olympic debut at the LA 2028 Games.
London’s Georgina Kennedy, who made history at the 2022 Commonwealth Games by becoming the first Englishwoman to win a singles squash gold medal, is among those taking on the very best squash talent.
Kennedy, the highest-ranked British player on the women’s tour, is seeded sixth and could meet the likes of USA’s world No4 Olivia Weaver, Egypt’s precocious talent Amina Orfi and Malaysia’s defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam.
On the men’s side, Welsh world No4 Joel Makin is the highest-ranked Brit and will face opposition from men’s reigning champion Paul Coll, Peruvian top seed Diego Elias and English brothers Mohamed and Marwan ElShorbagy.
Most of the world’s top 20 players entered at Ally Pally, with 19 nationalities represented and many of the stars competing this week eyeing a place in the sport’s history books at LA28.
Squash’s Olympic Boom
At the Olympics, the squash competition will unfold at the Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios.
Situated on the Courthouse Square backlot – recognisable to film fans worldwide for its starring role in the Back to the Future trilogy – the location offers an iconic stage for squash players to become the sport’s first ever Olympic gold medallists.
That Olympic debut will come during a period of momentum for the professional game. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) reports that record prize money exceeding $12.5m was on offer during the 2024-25 season, with that number set to scale significantly ahead of LA28.
The highest-earning men and women on the tour, Mostafa Asal and Nouran Gohar, earned an almost identical amount of prize money, a rarity in professional sports where male athletes typically earn more than their female counterparts.
The push for equality in squash was solidified in 2015, when the PSA merged with the Women’s Squash Association (WSA) to create a unified tour governed by a single body with the aim of ensuring athletes compete on equal terms.
Every major event now offers identical prize money, while the male and female athletes are given equal visibility and prestige on the tour.
Since then, squash has enjoyed year-on-year growth and attracted a multicultural and diverse fanbase – the London Classic, for example, will be shown by more than 15 broadcasters across the world.
With a growing tour, increasing fanbase and the lure of Hollywood on the horizon, squash is looking to claim its place on the world stage, starting with the London Classic.
Rowena Samarasinhe is Founder of GENSport, an advisor to the PSA and a member of Sports Business Syndicate. Visit sportsbusinesssyndicate.com