In the inaugural issue of Sports Illustrated in August 1954, a small column called “Pat on the Back” ran in the front of the magazine. It was meant, they said, as “a salute from the editors to men and women of all ages who have fairly earned the good...
Above: Amanda Sobhy (r) clinched the National Singles title in her first career match against two-time finalist Reeham Sedky. by Chris McClintick March 10 is a date that will always have some negative association for Amanda Sobhy. It was on March 10, 2017, that the then twenty-three-year-old ruptured her Achilles tendon...
by Chris McClintick Chris Hanson entered the 2017 S.L. Green National Singles fully fit for the first time in nearly a year. He considered himself lucky even to be at the tournament. The 2015-2016 season was the Dartmouth graduate’s most successful season on the PSA tour. It was his third season...
Above: At just fifteen years old, Marina Stefanoni is already ranked No. 77 in the world professionally. by Chris McClintick Five past champions picked up another national title at the sixty-third National Juniors, four of which came in new age divisions. The girls’ U19 draw saw four 2017 World Juniors teammates—Marina Stefanoni,...
By Jay D. Prince (From Squash Magazine, May 2005) Let’s say you’re born with athletic genes to English parents and you live in the western United States. As you’re growing up, your interests draw you to two sports that most would consider to be relatively obscure—unless you actually lived in...
by James Zug A quarter century ago, the men’s hardball and softball tours merged. On January 1, 1993 the World Professional Squash Association and the International Squash Players Association ceased to exist, replaced by the new Professional Squash Association. The PSA became the sole global association for men’s pro squash. Without...
By Jay D. Prince If last year was a year of firsts for the U.S. Squash Championships, the taste was so good that having seconds at the McArthur Squash Center at Boar’s Head Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia, was well worth the one year wait. At the 2015 U.S. Squash Championships,...
By James Zug It was a storybook ending to a rollicking ten-day celebration of squash excellence: Nour El Tayeb and Ali Farag, a married couple, each triumphed to win the 2017 U.S. Open presented by Macquarie Investment Management. It was almost unique in the annals of sports. The most celebrated example...
By James Zug Photography by Michael T. Bello/mtbello.com It was a Sunday in the winter. Chris Brownell was giving squash lessons. She taught all afternoon, working with youngsters, teenagers, adults. She wore a black shirt and black shorts and a big white watch on her freckled wrist. She was encouraging and...
By James Zug The 2017 Qatar Classic was one of the most special tournament in pro squash history. This was not by accident. Since 1992, the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, in the Al Dafna district of Doha, has hosted a major men’s squash tournament. It was called the Qatar...