Spotlight Professional Squash in the US

Grinham Valedictorian
Rachael Grinham takes five-game final over Natalie Grainger at Vassar College Class of 1932
By Vidya Rajan

Since 2004, Australia’s Rachael Grinham (above) has dominated her Vassar finals opponent, American Natalie Grainger. In their nine meetings, Grinham has won them all and has only been taken to five games once (2006 US Open). The only other player to hold a perfect record over Grainger is Nicol David at 5-0.
Since 2004, Australia’s Rachael Grinham (above) has dominated her Vassar finals opponent, American Natalie Grainger. In their nine meetings, Grinham has won them all and has only been taken to five games once (2006 US Open). The only other player to hold a perfect record over Grainger is Nicol David at 5-0.

From October 1-6, Vassar College (Poughkeepskie, NY) hosted the seventh annual Vassar College Class of 1932 Squash Open at Vassar’s recently refurbished courts in Kenyon Hall. With a prize fund of $35,000, the tournament was raised, for the first time, to silver level status on the WISPA tour.

The qualifying rounds saw no upsets, with Amelia Pittock of Australia, Tara Mullins of Canada, Laura Hill of England, and Lauren Siddall of England advancing to the main draw. However, all of the unseeded players, apart from Line Hansen of Denmark, were ousted by the first round.

In the quarterfinals, each of the top four seeds won in straight games, a sure indication of the high caliber of play. First seed and World No. 3 Rachael Grinham beat Rebecca Chiu of Malaysia by mixing the pace and perfectly timing her winners. Second seed, reigning Pan-American champion and World No. 5, Natalie Grainger, saw a decisive victory over seven-time US champion Latasha Khan. Third seed Jenny Duncalf and fourth seed Shelley Kitchen played solid squash to prevail over Hansen and Kasey Brown respectively.

The real fun began in the semifinals. In the bottom half of the draw, Grainger emerged victorious in a 33-minute steamrolling of Kitchen. Grainger adhered to a clear and simple plan, playing long drop shots to the front left corner to lure Kitchen forward and then sending the ball to the back right corner. A successful execution of this plan led Grainger to her 32nd appearance in a WISPA final.

The other semifinal, between Grinham and Duncalf, lasted nearly twice as long as the Grainger-Kitchen match. The third seeded Duncalf, from Harrogate in Yorkshire, played perfect drop shots and forced weak returns from Grinham to clinch the first game 9-4. Grinham, however, fought back during the second game, starting with some hard-hitting but soon changing the pace and playing calculated drops. The two players traded off points as the crowd watched in suspense, finally reaching 6-6. However, Duncalf began to tire and Grinham took the opportunity to win the game 9-6.

Grainger-V341-088The third game saw long rallies, but Grinham was in her element as she played beautiful lobs to which Duncalf had no answer. The last game was over quickly, a 9-1 victory to an aggressive Grinham with a tired but valiant Duncalf.

The final between Grinham and Grainger was not one to be missed. Both players had won the title before and were so close in the rankings that the outcome of the match was a literal toss-up. In the opener, Grainger was unsuccessful in trying to employ the tactics she had used against Kitchen as Grinham countered her drops with deep lobs and good length. Grinham went on to win five points in a row, closing out that game at 9-7.

The second game went back and forth between the two players as each won multiple points in a row. The crowd watched with baited breath as the two battled it out first at 3-3 and soon at 8-8. Grinham eventually won the game 10-8.

With Grinham up by two games, a chance of victory may have seemed bleak to Grainger supporters. But Grainger proved her resilience by confidently winning the next two games 9-6 and 9-1 using powerful volleys and deep lobs of her own to send Grinham stretching to the back corners just to retrieve her shots. Though Grinham fought, Grainger pushed her advantage to tie the match at 2-2.

Having won the last two games, Grainger entered the fifth with a psychological advantage. But Grinham was steadfast in her defense, catching Grainger unawares to jump to a 6-2 advantage. Grainger, feeling the effects, regained her serve to tie the score at 6-6 before Grinham hit a cross-court backhand and another of her famous lobs to jump to match point. At 8-6, the match came to an ironically abrupt end when Grainger’s volley came back to hit her. Grinham had won her 26th WISPA title in a 72-minute final that was described as the best that Vassar had ever seen.

Former College Players Impressive in the Berkshire Open

The 2007 Berkshire Open at Williams College saw an explosion of former collegiate players in the professional squash scene. Although defending champion and World No. 20 Cameron Pilley retained the title, the pros and fans alike were impressed by the young players fresh out of US college squash.

(L-R) Cameron Pilley, Rob Abel of True North, Renan Levigne and Zafi Levy.
(L-R) Cameron Pilley, Rob Abel of True North, Renan Levigne and Zafi Levy.

The ability of the recent college graduates to excel on the pro circuit was undeniable—Ryan Donegan and Gilly Lane from Dartmouth and University of Pennsylvania, respectively, put up a good show in the qualifiers, while Siddharth Suchde, a former Harvard squash captain, managed to give the defending champion (Pilley) a scare in an epic match. Julian Illingworth, the four-time Yale all-American, pulled a massive upset by demolishing once World No. 5 Alex Gough, while Yasser El Halaby, a four-time national champion from Princeton University, also impressed by reaching the semis, only to be beaten by Pilley.

Donegan and Lane gave the fans a taste of the quality of ex-college squash players in the qualifiers. Even though both players failed to advance too far in the tournament, they left a lasting impression. El Halaby, who is arguably one of the most successful college squash players ever, did not disappoint either. He was the crowd favorite in the tournament due to his explosive playing style. But it was Suchde and Illingworth who stole the show in the tournament with two heart-stopping matches.

The match between Suchde and Pilley was nothing short of a breathtaking spectacle. Suchde, currently ranked No. 246 in the world (though there is little doubt that his ranking will climb out of triple digits before too long), battled hard and managed to fluster the defending champion with his smooth, textbook-perfect squash. The match was one of those monster five setters, riddled with excruciatingly long rallies. It was an exemplary display of shot making and resilience as Suchde came back from two sets down and nearly stole the match from Pilley in the fifth. But Pilley’s experience saved him that day, but it’s only a matter of time before this Economics major from Harvard will start beating the top players in the world.

The quarterfinal between Illingworth and Gough was almost a mirror image of the one between Suchde and Pilley, but it came with a winning story—for Illingworth. The two players couldn’t have been more different. Gough, the veteran on the circuit, has seen and done it all. Illingworth is fresh out of Yale where he had an outstanding squash career. The packed crowd in the Simon Squash Center was enthralled as it witnessed an epic battle between experience and enthusiasm. Gough, the more cerebral player, used the anticipation he gained from fifteen years on the pro circuit to win the grueling rallies while Illingworth used his unnatural endurance and physical fitness to get the better of Gough in the adrenaline-charged match. Illingworth ultimately claimed the victory, while Gough pondered whether it’s time he should retire from pro squash.

The influx of collegiate players can only benefit the pro circuit. The players are young, enthusiastic and well-educated. Squash can definitely stand out as a sport with professional players blessed with brains and brawn.

Kitchen Holds Off Khan to Win Berkshire Open

(L-R) Zafi Levy,  Latasha Khan, Winner Shelley Kitchen and True North’s Rob Abel.
(L-R) Zafi Levy, Latasha Khan, Winner Shelley Kitchen and True North’s Rob Abel.

Viewers witnessed an impressive display of skill and athleticism during the fourth annual Berkshire Open, held the week of October 9th. From Sharon Wee, the defending champion of the Berkshire Open, to Latasha Khan, a seven-time US Champion, to Shelley Kitchen, who is ranked No. 11 on the WISPA professional circuit, the tournament had a plethora of talented players.

In the opening round, Khan trounced Tina Rix in three games for a final score of 9-0, 9-3, 9-1. She then went on to defeat Alana Miller, whom she had lost to this past summer at the Pan American Games in three games, with a score of 9-2, 9-1, 9-7.

Khan said of the match, “It was colder and as a result she just made a lot of mistakes. In the end, I was just a little quicker onto the ball than she was.”

In the most surprising match of the Berkshire Open, Khan upset the World No. 18 Wee, in the semifinals. Wee confidently took the first game (9-5) and had a strong lead of 6-2 in the second when the momentum of the match shifted entirely in Khan’s favor in part thanks to Khan’s powerful drives. Surprisingly, Wee was unable to gain even a point in the last two games.

Wee said, “I hope things will get better from here. I just turned 30, so it has to get better! Life starts at 30!”

In the final, Khan would face Kitchen who had defeated all of her opponents in just three games. Kitchen adeptly took out Frania Gillen-Buchert in the first round, with a score of 9-1, 9-2, 9-2. She then defeated Amelia Pittock in the quarterfinals 9-7, 9-2, 9-1, before facing off against her fellow New Zealander and No. 4 seed, Louise Crome, with Kitchen taking care of business, 9-6, 10-8, 9-4.

And the final proved to be more of the same as Kitchen defeated Khan with no more than five unforced errors throughout the entire match. At the start of the match, Khan took the lead with a 3-1 score, but Kitchen rapidly recovered and held onto the lead for the rest of the game for a score of 9-4. Kitchen picked up the pace in the second game, grabbing the first three points and then another two to take the score to 5-0. Kitchen’s strong volleys and Khan’s unforced errors quickly secured the game for Kitchen, 9-1, and Kitchen held strong in the third game to close out the match, 9-2.

The tournament was sponsored by True North Financial and Sabre Yachts and was hosted at the Simon Squash Center at Williams College.

Tuominen Sweeps Exhausted Boswell for First Detroit Title
By A.J. Hakim, Motor City Challenge Daily reporter

The third time’s the charm. And so it was for Finland’s Olli Tuominen, whose third visit to the Birmingham Athletic Club brought him the title in the 2007 Motor City Challenge presented by Suburban Infiniti. Tuominen, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, overcame Aussie Stewart Boswell 11-7, 11-6, 11-2, in the finals to win this year’s eight-man invitational event.

After a finals appearance in 2004 and quarterfinal loss in 2005, Tuominen’s 2007 run included wins over five-seed Ong Beng Hee (11-3, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8) and top seed John White (9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6) before his quick disposal of an exhausted Boswell. For his efforts, Tuominen was rewarded with a new Rolex watch, courtesy of Greenstone’s Fine Jewelry, and a $5,000 check.

Olli Tuominen
Olli Tuominen

“It’s a very, very nice watch,” said Tuominen of his big payday. “I’m just happy to have played so well that I could win the entire tournament. To win against a couple of these guys . . . is a big thing.”

Boswell was evidently tired from his semifinal victory the night before—a grueling two-hour marathon over two-seed Wael El-Hindi (12-10, 12-14 (2-4), 7-11, 11-3, 11-9). But the No. 3 seed—who also bested sixth-seeded Graham Ryding (11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4) in the quarters—made no excuses for his uncharacteristic play, crediting Tuominen’s talents instead.

“I was tired in today’s match, but Olli had a tough match yesterday as well,” said Boswell. “I don’t think you can really use that as an excuse. He was just too sharp, really.”

Boswell started off strong, striking the ball at the board and hitting it dead. With a series of precise nicks, he built a quick 5-0 lead in game one. Two points later, however, Tuominen made a bushel of impossible retrieves during a marathon rally. Though the point ended in a let, it seemed to seal Boswell’s demise. From that point on, the tireless Tuominen won 11 of the next 12 rallies, reversing Boswell’s momentum.

“We played a couple of rallies and had a huge one where it ended in a let,” Boswell said of the crucial seventh point. “I thought I had about four winners, but he just kept rallying them all back. It’s tough when you’re feeling tired and someone keeps getting every ball back.”

Into the second and third games, Tuominen never faltered, playing accurate volleys, returning every ball, and taking advantage of his exhausted opponent.

“Today, Stewart was a bit tired from yesterday,” said Tuominen. “He wasn’t moving too well, especially in the last two games. I put a little pressure on him, and he really couldn’t move to the front.”

“I felt really sore this morning, and quite tired actually,” added the Flying Finn, who had survived a five-game semi as well the night before. “So I was really happy that he couldn’t push back that much because it would’ve been a struggle for me as well to survive and recover.”

The Motor City tournament is a favorite of players on the circuit, as they enjoy the BAC’s friendly confines and the hospitality of club families who put them up for the week. In addition to providing great squash, the players bring instruction to area kids at a Deroy Foundation-funded juniors clinic. And the tourney gives local charities a real shot in the arm. This year, the MCC raised a healthy $12,000 for the American Cancer Society’s breast cancer awareness drive.