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...
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 In December 2017, SquashBusters and Moses Brown School officially opened a remarkable squash facility in Providence, RI. More than 19,000 square feet, the Gorgi Family Squash & Education Center is a twelve-court facility, with eleven singles courts and one hardball doubles court built by CourtTech. In addition,...
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 James Zug When to Jump: If the Job You Have Isn’t the Life You Want By Mike Lewis (New York: Henry Holt, 2018) When we last visited with Mike Lewis with the article “Have Racquet, Will Travel” in our February 2016 issue, Lewis was wrapping up his squash career, having reached a...
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...

A Look Back: April 2018

by James Zug Twenty Years Ago in Squash Magazine Ivy Pochoda, in a feature written and photographed by Beth Rasin, graced the cover for capturing the national intercollegiate individual title her senior year. After graduating from Harvard in 1998, Pochoda turned pro and moved to London and then Amsterdam. Reaching world...
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...

Squash in Saudi

In January 2018 the Saudi PSA Women’s Squash Masters was held in Riyadh. The historic $165,000 tournament was the first-ever professional sporting event for women in Saudi Arabia. Nour El Sherbini captured the inaugural event, beating Raneem El Welily a month after losing to her in the finals of...