by James Zug It is enshrined in our nation’s founding document. The big three: life, liberty and happiness. In the original draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that one of the truths, sacred and undeniable, and one of the rights, inherent and inalienable, was the pursuit of happiness....
By James Zug One million. Never in the century-plus history of professional squash had a single tournament offered a seven-digit prize money purse. In the recent past, there had been a smattering of events that upped earnings to record heights (the 2007 men’s and women’s Kuwait Open totaled $250,000; the 2010...

Scoreboard Watching

by James Zug Team squash is a core element of the game in the U.S. There are thousands of team matches every winter across the country, running from youthful ones—middle school, high school and collegiate team play— to adults in league play and championships like the Howe Cup. In intercollegiate...
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,...
By James Zug Cinematically, racquet sports are mostly used as a metaphor. The scenes reveal a character’s physical prowess and mental strength or a power struggle between protagonists. Or it is simply about making someone seem like a hapless, ham-handed buffoon. This is easy. Actors are almost always awkwardly uncoordinated. They...
By James Zug A flagship squash facility in Baltimore, Meadow Mill Athletic Club is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary this autumn. There will be a week of squash, highlighted by a $5,000 PSA tournament, a junior gold tournament and a fiesta on November 3. That is exactly twenty-five years and a day...
By James Zug After three years in Charlottesville, the National Singles returned to Philadelphia for a large, exciting and record-extending tournament. The 106th annual championships were hosted by Philadelphia Cricket Club (PCC), with many matches also being played at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy down the street. PCC was also a...
by James Zug The eighty-second Monticello Associations U.S. Squash Doubles Championships had a distinctly Rocky Mountain flavor. One hundred and twenty-three teams came to Denver this past March, making it the largest National Doubles ever held west of the Mississippi. The Denver Athletic Club, with its two courts, was the...
By James Zug Jenny Duncalf and Rachael Grinham are two of the greatest squash players of the early twenty-first century and leaders on the professional world tour. As they mature in their careers, they have come to realize that because of that profile, they can have a major impact on...