New Zealand squash pro, Paul Coll has moved up a spot to a joint career-high world No.5 ranking after the PSA Men’s World Rankings for October were released this morning.

Coll, 27, made a winning start to the 2019/20 season last month as he defeated Welshman Joel Makin to capture the Open de France, Nantes 2019, his 14th PSA trophy.

The Greymouth player, known on tour as ‘Superman’ for his incredible feats of athleticism, rose one spot ahead of Germany’s Simon Rösner, who drops down to No.6.

Squash NZ is calling for expressions of interests for 2019/2020 National Junior Squad Lead Coach positions.

We are looking for coaches to create a high-performance environment that is cohesive, inclusive, supports growth and produces athletes capable of learning and succeeding on the world stage as per the goals of the high-performance mission.

Coaches must demonstrate alignment to Squash New Zealand’s coaching attributes, core beliefs and the values of Haeta Poiatu.

New Zealand’s Paul Coll is the Open de France, Nantes 2019 champion after getting the better of Wales’ Joel Makin in the final at the Chateau des ducs de Bretagne.

The Kiwi ran out the winner in straight games, but it took over 70 minutes in typical ‘Superman’ fashion. In part, that came down to a mammoth first game, which lasted over 26 minutes. Coll took it on a tie-break to take the momentum into the rest of the match.

The second saw the World No.6 dominate his Welsh counterpart, restricting the ‘Golden Tiger’ to just three points, as he doubled his lead in the match. He then went out into a big lead in the fourth, holding a 9-4 advantage.

World Squash Day returns on Saturday October 12th with ambitious plans to attract one million new players to the game over the next decade.

The theme for 2019 is for every club on the planet to open their doors and hold a free taster session called The Big Hit.

Measles Outbreak in Auckland - Junior Nationals 2019

From 1 January 2019 to 2 September 2019 there have been 963 confirmed cases of measles notified across New Zealand. 804 of these confirmed cases are in the Auckland region. Measles is highly contagious. Cases of measles are expected to rise in the foreseeable future, particularly in Auckland. Those not immunised against measles are at risk of contracting and spreading measles to others, particularly when gathering indoors, and/or for sports events, where athletes are in close contact with others, such as inside Squash Courts.

SNZ requests that anyone who is not yet immunised does not attend the forthcoming 2019 Junior National Championships unless they receive an MMR vaccination at least 2 weeks prior to the event i.e. by 19th September 2019.

The New Zealand Junior Nationals entries are now open!

Enter here: https://squashnz.formstack.com/forms/nz_juniornationals_entryform

Big Title For Campbell Grayson

New Zealand men’s squash No.2 Campbell Grayson has won the biggest title of his career with victory in the Houston Open in Texas today.

 The 33-year-old from Auckland beat top seed and world No.20 Ryan Cuskelly (Australia) in five games in the semifinals and then won the title in four games over Scotsman, Alan Clyne in the final.

A successful end to the individual part of the tournament for a number of New Zealand players with four out of five victories to win their sections of the tournament.

 Gabe Yam scored another good win. This time over Sharif Hamzar (Pakistan) 6-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-9 in 36 minutes to win the Plate.

 It took Elijah Thomas over an hour to win yesterday and today his match lasted one hour and three minutes as he defeated Myles McIntrye (United States) 8-11, 14-12, 10-12, 11-2, 11-4 to win his section. 

Do you want to Manager the NZ Masters team in Timaru in October.

There's a trans-Tasman series against the Aussies and the NZ Champs as well. 

Check the description in the document attached.

It's Action Time At World Juniors with a busy schedule on the cards for Kiwi players.

Washington Welcomes WSF Men's World Team Championship Nations

Defending champions Egypt are likely to be favourites for the 2019 WSF Men's World Team Squash Championship title in December when the USA hosts the biennial World Squash Federation event for the first time in its 52-year history in Washington DC.

23 nations will compete in the 26th edition of the championship which will be held, under the auspices of US Squash, at Squash On Fire, the new state-of-the-art membership-free eight-court facility in the U.S. capital from 15-21 December.

Junior Team Ready For World Champs

The New Zealand junior squash team departs shortly to compete in the 2019 WSF World Junior Squash Championships at Kuala Lumpur, July 30 – 9 August.

We'll give you ways on how to send your support to the team on our SquashNZ  facebook site and other ways of contacting the team as they go up against the best in the world. 

Masters Team Confirmed For Australian Test Series

The New Zealand Masters team has been confirmed for the Test series with Australia in Timaru in October, followed by the NZ Masters tournament starting all at the Timaru Squash Club.

The team is made up of a core of previous representatives and a few first timers too, who continue to play at the highest level in their respective age groups.

Coll And King Win Barfoot And Thompson National Champs Again

Paul Coll and Joelle King continued their domination of New Zealand Squash after winning their respective national titles for yet another year

For King it was her eighth national title as she defeated second seed Amanda Landers-Murphy from Rotorua 11-2, 11-4, 11-6, not that she knew how many titles she had won.

Title For Kiwi Squash Pro In Build Up To National Champs

A standout win for Wellington squash pro, Evan Williams at the US$11,000 Southern PSA Challenger Tournament in Invercargill with a straight game victory over the top seed.

Inspirenet PSA Challenger Wrap-up

Two tough finals, but no titles for New Zealanders at the Inspirenet PSA Squash Classic Challenger tournaments at Palmerston North’s SquashGym over the weekend,

In the US$5,5000 women’s draw, Waikato’s Emma Millar did almost everything possible to win her final against top seed and world 90, Win Li Lai (Malaysia)

The match taking 42 minutes for Lai to win 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8 after a good forehand volley winner to move to match point and then an error from Millar to seal the title.

It was the first career title for the Malaysian and leaves Millar still aiming for her first PSA tournament title.

On her way to the final Millar aged 27 and ranked 135 had two good victories over Kiwi rivals with success over Abbie Palmer and Kaitlyn Watts.

In the men’s US$11,000 draw Kiwi No.3 Evan Williams once again showed his consistency to make his way through a draw, but found himself beaten for a title; his sixth final since the beginning of 2018.

On this occasion Williams, the tournament second seed ranked 104 in the world was defeated by top seed Rex Hedrick (Australia) with a ranking of 68.

Hedrick won the entertaining final in Palmerston North in 60 minutes 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-7 with Williams, a member of the 2018 Commonwealth Games team coming incredibly close to taking the third game in particularly. However a couple of tight shots went the way of the Aussie at vital stages to help him win the game and then eventually take the match.   The next tournament is the ILT and Community Trust Southern Open 19-23 June US$11,000 men’s Challenger tournament.

First up loss for King

A difficult loss for Kiwi squash player, Joelle King in the first game of the PSA World Tour Finals in Cairo, Egypt.

King seeded fifth for the top-eight player tournament was defeated in 55 minutes by the fourth seed, Camille Serme from France in a match which had both players fighting for every shot.

The Waikato 30-year-old took the first game against Serme 14-12 in a game which took a staggering 20 minutes, however in the second it was the Frenchwoman who showed resolve to win 12-10.

In the best-of-three game tournament for Pool play the final game had a great start for the Kiwi who initially led 4-0. However Serme didn’t just gain one point back, she produced several deep shots to move ahead 5-4, then 6-4 before King even got a look in.

A let call in favour of the Kiwi followed by some more focussed play had King force her way back and then start stretching the lead until she eventually had a match point at 10-8. But it was not to be as Serme won three points in a row and then the winning point pushing King into the backhand corner and the error. The overall score 14-12, 10-12, 10-12 to Serme. King’s next Pool match will tomorrow (Tuesday) morning against feisty Welshwoman, Tesni Evans the eighth seed. Men’s tournament fifth seed, Paul Coll faces fourth seed Karim Abdel Gawad (Egypt) in his first match tomorrow morning at approximately 5.30am NZT. They are 2-2 in head-to-head contests.

NZ AIMS Games 2019

Registration is OPEN for the sixteenth Anchor AIMS Games International Sporting Championships - set to take place in Tauranga, New Zealand from 9 – 12 September 2019

Barfoot & Thompson NZ Nationals - Entries close Monday 3rd June!!!

Barfoot and Thompson Senior Nationals (28th - 30th June) is open to all grades and is held at the National Squash Centre, Auckland. Entries close on Monday 4th June!

After an exceptional 2018/2019 season we are pleased to announce that Joelle King (WR 4) and Paul Coll (WR 7) will be returning to play the New Zealand Senior Nationals. Joelle will be returning after the World Series final in Dubai which features the top 8 players. Paul is also on his way to gaining a spot in this series.

Our Senior Nationals also features 2018 Gold Medallist Amanda Landers-Murphy and New Zealand Number 2 and Commonwealth games representative; Campbell Grayson.

To best accommodate our players the date of the Senior Nationals has changed to the 28th – 30th June

We look forward to showcasing our commonwealth games champions at the National Squash Centre where they will be playing against our established and emerging professionals.

Coll Beaten In Five Games In British Open Semis

So close, but so far for Kiwi squash pro, Paul Coll in the semifinals of the British Squash Open against world No.1 Ali Farag of Egypt.

Strong New Zealand team selected for World Junior Champs

A strong New Zealand junior squash team has been selected to compete in the 2019 WSF World Junior Squash Championships at Kuala Lumpur, July 30 – 9 August this year.

Paul Coll Makes British Open Semis But King Falls In Quarters

A win and a loss for the two Kiwis in the quarter-finals of the prestigious British Squash Open in Hull this morning.

Two Kiwis In British Open Quarter-finals

Two New Zealand players have confirmed their places in the quarter-finals of the prestigious British Squash Open after wins this morning.

Good Start For Coll And King At British Open

A mixed day for the three New Zealand players competing in the second round of the British Squash Open in Hull.

Win And A Loss In First Round Of British Open

A win and a loss for New Zealand players on day one of the British Squash Open in Hull.

Kiwi Squash Player Wins Manchester Open Title

A top win for Kiwi squash pro, Joelle King as she dismantled her Welsh opponent, world No.9 Tesni Evans in the final of the inaugural PSA Manchester Open this morning.

Joelle King Into Manchester Open Final

New Zealand’s world No.5 Joelle King has booked her place in the final of the inaugural Manchester Open after she defeated American, Amanda Sobhy in straight-games at the British National Squash Centre.

Wilson Confirmed As Coach

Former professional Glen Wilson has been appointed the Squash NZ 2019 World Men’s team coach and National HP Squad coach.

AON New Zealand Junior Open Success

A successful couple of weeks for Belmont Park’s Gabe Yam who won his third title, this time the AON New Zealand Junior Squash Open at the Devoy Squash and Fitness Centre in Tauranga

Joelle King Into Semis At Manchester Open

Another satisfying win has seen Kiwi squash pro, Joelle King progress to the semifinals at the PSA Silver Manchester Open.

Kiwi Takes Irish Open Squash Title

New Zealand men’s squash No.2 Campbell Grayson has won the PSA Challenger tournament, the Irish Squash Open in Dublin.

AON NZ Junior Open Ready to Kick Off

The prestigious AON New Zealand Junior Squash Open takes places over the next three days in Tauranga and it’s bringing close to 200 competitors, coaches and officials to the city.

More Wins For Kiwi Squash Duo

More wins for Kiwi squash duo as the build up to next month’s prestigious British Open continues.

Both Kiwi No.2 ranked players, Amanda Landers-Murphy and Campbell Grayson have reached the semifinals of their respective draws at the PSA Challenger tournament, the Irish Squash Open in Dublin.

Rotorua’s Landers-Murphy beat Enora Villard of France 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 in her quarter-final and will now take on Nele Gilles of Belgium who is known very well to New Zealand audiences having played an exhibition series around the country over the summer.

Giles is ranked 29th in the world while Landers-Murphy is 41st. They have played on three previous occasion with the Belgian leading 2-1 in head-to-heads. Their last match was two years ago at the same tournament and a five set win to Giles.

Auckland’s Grayson accounted for England’s Richie Fallows in his quarter-final 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6 and will now play either a Czech or an Egyptian for a place in the final.

King And Coll Beaten In Egypt By World's Best

A tough day for Kiwi squash players Joelle King and Paul Coll at the PSA Platinum tournament at El Gouna, Egypt.

Kiwis Win in Australia

The rising stars of New Zealand squash have shown further improvement over their rivals in Australia by winning three titles at the Australian Open Junior Championships at Thornleigh, New South Wales today.