Squash, sometimes called squash rackets, is a racket sport played by two (singles) or four players (doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. The objective of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. There are about 20 million people who play squash regularly world-wide in over 185 countries. The governing body of squash, the World Squash Federation (WSF), is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the sport will be included in the Olympic Games, starting with the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) organizes the pro tour.
The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania.
Volleyball is a popular sport in the United States with both male and female participants of all ages. Almost all high schools and colleges in the United States have female volleyball teams, and most regions of the country have developmental programs for girls of all ages as well. While many areas of the country are forming male teams and development programs, there are still fewer opportunities for young male athletes to play volleyball in the United States than for young female athletes. Men's volleyball is a fast-growing sport among high schools, with 36 states having male volleyball programs. Most men's seasons are in the spring while women's seasons take place primarily in the fall; however, there are a few men's teams such as in Wisconsin, Virginia, and New York who play in the fall as well.
Chris Walker is a male squash coach and former professional squash player from England.
The U.S. Open is the most prestigious squash tournament in the United States, and one of the most significant in the world. It is a major international display of supreme talent in the sport, and showcases the top players from around the world.
Sharif Khan is a Pakistani-Canadian retired professional squash player. He is widely considered to be one of the all-time great players of hardball squash. He was the dominant player on the hardball squash circuit throughout the 1970s. Sharif was born in Pakistan, and is the son of the legendary squash player Hashim Khan, who dominated the international squash scene in the 1950s.
Mark Talbott is an American squash coach and former professional squash player. He is known as one of the all-time great players of hardball squash.
Henri Raoul Marie Salaun was an American hardball squash and tennis player. He was "widely considered one of the world’s most influential squash players."
The Drexel Dragons are the athletic teams of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school's athletic program includes eighteen NCAA Division I sports including nine men's and nine women's teams, with most sports teams competing in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). Drexel's athletic department was ranked first in gender equity by U.S. News. The university has demonstrated a high level of student-athlete academic performance, with a 10-year NCAA graduation rate of 91% compared to a national average of 85%.
The Tournament of Champions is an annual international squash championship held in New York City. In recent years, the event has been held at Grand Central Terminal, in a specially-constructed four-walled glass court in the Vanderbilt Hall.
John G. Nimick is an American squash player and tournament organizer. He was one of the leading hardball squash players in the United States in the 1980s. Following his retirement as a professional player, he has become a central figure in the development of professional squash in the United States.
Ralph Eliot Howe III is an American hardball squash player. He was one of the leading squash players in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.
Susan Diana Barham Noel-Powell was an English squash and tennis player. Noel was taught to play squash and tennis by her father Evan Noel, a successful racquets player.
Amanda Sobhy is an American squash player. A five-time national champion, she was the first U.S.-born player to reach the top five in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world rankings. She reached a career-high world ranking of No. 3 in October 2021 after reaching the semi-finals of the 2021 British Open and the 2021 CIB Egyptian Open, and winning the 2021 Oracle Netsuite Open.
G. (George) Diehl Mateer II was an American hardball squash player and tennis player. He was one of the leading squash players in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. He is the only amateur player to have won two US Open squash titles. He also won three U.S. National Singles titles between 1954 and 1960 and a record eleven U.S. National Doubles titles between 1949 and 1966. He was runner-up at the US national doubles championship on nine further occasions. Diehl also won two intercollegiate titles. He did not compete in the two other years that the intercollegiates were held due to a conflict.
Paul Assaiante is currently the Men’s Squash and Tennis coach at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, professional speaker and author. Two-time Olympic Coach-of-the-Year, World Championship Coach and the “winningest coach in college sports history”, Assaiante has motivated top athletes from around the world. His core belief is the need to embrace our fears in order to remove the obstacles to our success. He captures this concept in his book, Run to the Roar: Coaching to Overcome Fear, a visionary reflection on leadership and mentoring from one of America’s most successful coaches.
Squash Doubles is a variant of the racket sport squash played by four people in two-person teams. Doubles squash was first played at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia in 1907. Today there are four major doubles organizations overseeing the sport in North America and more than 15,000 players: Squash Canada, U.S. Squash, the ISDA and the WDSA. The four groups organize and oversee the management of all aspects of doubles including junior and adult play from beginner to elite professional competition. In addition, the four organizations collaborate in efforts to grow and promote the game.
Todd Harrity is a retired American professional squash player who reached a career-high PSA ranking of World No. 34 in February 2022. He is a three-time National Champion, winning in 2015, 2016 and 2019. In 2018, he came out as gay, announcing it on Twitter, thus becoming the first openly gay professional male squash player in the world. At the time he was ranked No. 1 in the United States out of all male squash players.
Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club is a tennis and squash club in Dublin, Ireland, with indoor swimming, gymnasium, padel and clubhouse facilities. Established in 1877, Fitzwilliam is one of the oldest tennis clubs in the world.
Anil Nayar is a former squash player originally from India. He was the first Indian player to win the Drysdale Cup tournament in London 1965. He was also a men’s national champion twice in the U.S., in 1969 and 1970, twice in Canada, once in Mexico and eight times in India.
