Outdoor courts and influencers — a whole new ballgame for squash

Times

23-05-2025

In the Eighties and Nineties it was often the squash court where business was done. Such was the racket sport's prominence among the elite that Gordon Gekko, in the 1987 filmWall Street, used his prowess on the court to slap down a young stockbroker hoping to rise up the ranks.
But the number of people playing squash has since dropped.
Participation is down 10 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, with the growth of so-called 'trendy' racket sports such as padel and pickleball partly to blame.
But squashis planning a resurgence, with sports organisations seeking promotion from social media influencers and a plan to build outdoor courts.
'Outdoor courts really could be the future,' said Mark Williams, chief executive of England Squash, the sport's governing body. 'There's no reason you can't play outdoors in England, we just don't have those facilities.'
The UK has only a handful of outdoor facilities. These are perspex or fenced mini-courts aimed at schoolchildren.
Instead, a new outdoor court prototype, recently unveiled in Chicago, is the big hope. Developed by a Dutch engineer, the modular court has glass walls, a steel frame and a rubber floor that drains rainwater easily.
It is also soundproof, unlike padel, which has residents living near courts comparing the sound of the ball hitting the racket to gunshots.
Williams said plush outdoor courts could also help address squash's 'image problem'. Some of the UK's estimated 3,500 courts are set in the basements of 'tired' leisure facilities built in the 1970s and 1980s.
By comparison many of the UK's 900 padel courts are set in more salubrious locations from the Hurlingham Club in Fulham to Queen's Club in West Kensington.
Mike Dale, a journalist specialising in padel and squash, said: 'Padel is very on trend. Lots of celebrities are playing, the padel club is a place to see and be seen.
'Look at Padium in Canary Wharf. You've got a nine-court padel club in the middle of skyscrapers in plum bankers territory. Fifty years ago that would have been a squash club.
'I think squash has a massive opportunity to rise on wings of padel and pickleball. Their growth doesn't have to be at the detriment of squash.'
The actress Emma Watson, the Princess of Wales and the rapper Stormzy have all been seen playing padel, and squash is hoping to capitalise from celebrity enthusiasts in a similar way.
Williams said: 'If we are able to have a few celebrities and social media influencers playing squash and talking about squash in a positive light that will be really good for us.
'If David Beckham wants to play squash we can make that happen next time he is in the UK for sure.'
He added: 'Martin Freeman used to be a good squash player but the celebrities tend to play it on the quiet.'
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Authorities also hope the decision to include squash in the Olympic Games for the first time in 2028 will boost participation, especially if a Briton brings home gold from Los Angeles. England Squash's youth engagement programmes such as 'Squash from the Mosque' are also seeking to attract a new audience to the sport.
However, others are more sceptical about the longevity of padel's popularity.
'Padel will go through the same curve as squash is going through at the moment,' said Markus Gaebel, an expert in squash facilities. 'The trend will be combining facilities with padel, squash and pickleball because they all help each other.'
For Gaebel there is no doubt which sport is the most challenging: 'Those who want to be more athletic are squash players. Squash is a physical type of chess.'