Manchester is hosting a huge sporting event this weekend - and I got to play one of the pros

Yahoo

04-04-2025

'Do you play much squash?'
'Er about once a week, recreationally,' I mumble, sweaty palms gripping my racket.
I'm going on court with Jasmine Hutton, one of England's top female squash players, ranked 18th in the world. We're at the National Squash Centre in the heart of Manchester's Sporty City, tucked between the Etihad Stadium and the Co-op Live.
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This week it's hosting the Manchester Open which will see the world's best squash players compete to win the PSA Squash Tour Bronze-level event. The tournament got underway on April 2, with the semi-finals and finals taking place this weekend.
Defending champion and England No.1 Georgina Kennedy is hoping to retain her title while on the men's side Egypt's Aly Abou Eleinen, who ranks 13th in the world, is the top of the men's draw.
Egypt's Salma Hany, women's world No.13, aforementioned England's Jasmine Hutton, Mexico's Leonel Cardenas (men's world No. 16) and England's George Parker (men's world No.45) are among the 48 players battling it out for a place in the final.
There's even been some home-grown talent taking part, with Manchester's own Finnlay Withington (a wildcard entry) and Saran Nghiem playing in round one on Wednesday, although they both lost their games.
But what about my wildcard entry (of sorts)? Well, fortunately for ticket-holders I didn't secure a place in the tournament, although Jazz certainly put me through my paces.
We were playing on the Squash Centre's permanent glass court (which anyone can book to use), where the games of the early rounds of the tournament took place ahead of the quarter finals, held in a second purpose-built glass court at the indoor athletics arena.
It's a completely different experience to your standard leisure centre squash court - it's a bit like being in a huge goldfish bowl - and the ball is white instead of black.
After checking out my racket (it has excellent strings, apparently), Jazz soon had me darting around the court, lunging, jumping and stretching to hit the ball.
While I puffed and panted, she managed to make the whole thing look effortless, although I did manage to gain a few points off her. I may have hit the ball out of the court several times too with my enthusiastic shots - look, it's not my fault it doesn't have a ceiling.
By the end of it I was exhausted, but with a big grin on my face; it was incredible to play a professional player and get a flavour of what it's like to play in the tournament. however, I think I'll stick to the relaxed pace of my local squash club.
Like any sport, squash is played at all levels and there's hundreds of recreational players all over Greater Manchester. Inclusivity is a key part of the spart and during the open, the PSA Foundation has been running activities alongside the tournament to introduce the sport to kids across the North West.
Using interactive squash courts, squash nets and more, local volunteers, coaches and schools have helped get kids involved in the sport.
Even if you don't play squash yourself, it's still a thrilling sport to watch - in fact it's incredibly spectator-friendly thanks to that glass court. The small space heightens the drama, with the players constantly circling each other with the occasional collision.
As well as world-class sport, fans can tuck into tasty pizza from Lancashire-based Killa Carbs, fresh coffee from Manchester-based Worker Bee Coffee and freshly baked goods from Le Ble. There's also a bar on site, because playing (and watching) squash is thirsty work.
There are still a few tickets available for the semifinals and finals, which can be bought here.
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