by James Zug When we emerged from immigration, baggage claim and customs, it was like an explosion. A swarm of people called our names. Signs. Cameras flashed: selfies, a professional photographer snapping from all angles. Greetings, handshakes, hellos. Autographs. It was a damp, chilly afternoon at Boryspil International Airport in Kiev,...

Public Service

 A s you wend your way down Pitt Street on the lower east side of Manhattan, the tangle of bars, bodegas, coffee shops and apartment buildings are interrupted by an ivy-covered, walled oasis. While at first glance Hamilton Fish Park may seem like many of the other 1,800 public...
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...
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,...
Above: (l-r) Ed Garno, the oldest man to ever win the men's open draw at the National Doubles, cracked a cross-court while Steve Scharff, Alex Stait, and Zac Alexander watched in the finals of the men's open draw. by James Zug The 2018 National Doubles came back to the game’s birthplace...
by Dent Wilkens Photography by Michael T. Bello/mtbello.com The dominance of the 2017-2018 Harvard women’s team may best be contextualized by sophomore Amelia Henley’s position on the team. The Englishwoman had a robust squash resume coming into college: she had won the GU19 European Junior Championship and the GU17 British Junior...
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 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...