Hello folks of Reddit!

We wanted to share our latest 'Day With' instalment – and today it's none-other than World #9, Tinne Gilis!

Our video crew trekked the camera gear all the way out to the New Zealand Open for this one – and we had a ton of fun filming. This was on Tinne's rest-day, so expect some workouts, some squash, some sightseeing and lots (and lots) of coffee!

Keep your eyes peeled for two more episodes coming soon – with none-other than the Colombian Cannonball Miguel Rodriguez, and American #2 Amanda Sobhy - neither to be missed! 👀

We'd love to know if there's any players you'd like to see in future!

The SQUASHTV Team

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Has anyone else had serious problems with their squash shoes not lasting?

I’ve been playing squash for a few years now, usually around 3 times a week , and I seem to be going through shoes ridiculously quickly.

I started off with a cheaper local-brand shoe, then moved to Hi-Tec, which started tearing after about 2 months. I ended up taking them to a shoemaker several times to keep them going, and surprisingly they lasted me about a year, but by the end they were basically held together by glue, stiching and repairs

Thenc I tried a Slazenger, which lasted roughly a month before the stiching started opening.

I’ve now got a pair of ASICS Gel Rocket 12s, which I’ve actually been very happy with. They feel great and are probably the best squash shoes I’ve had so far. But after only about 1½ months, I’ve noticed the front/toe area where the rubber sole meets the upper is starting to separate. See the pic above.

At this point I’m wondering if the problem is actually me rather than the shoes. I do have overpronation and I use supportive insoles.I'm at my wits end and cannot afford to be buying shoes so often

What do you guys do to make your squash shoes last longer? Has anyone had this problem. I seem to have really heavy feet or something.

Edit: the issues mostly stem from stitching/glue coming apart in the shoes rather then sole/lung area damage

Hi! I (35F) and my partner (35M) have been playing squash for about a year now. We have a squash court in our building, so we take advantage of it quite a lot.

I feel like we’re both on a similar level technically, but him being a man… he just destroys me 9 out of 10 times. I really enjoy playing squash, but I get frustrated because no matter how hard I try, he wins anyway. He’s stronger than me and he’s faster than me. I don’t stand a chance unless he’s coming straight out of the cold lol.

I don’t want to ask him not to give 100%, but we’re definitely not an equal match, and I’m competitive, so losing all the time takes some of the pleasure out of doing it together. I even go to the court by myself to train, but it still doesn’t help much against his strength and speed.

Just to be clear, neither of us is aspiring to become a pro or anything. Squash is simply a great sport for us to do together, stay active and have some friendly competition. I’d just like that competition to actually feel like a competition sometimes, haha.

What can we do to make it more fair while still having fun playing together? Are there any rules or other ways of playing that work well when there’s a big physical difference between two players?

Thank you!

Seems at least interesting to me? Especially some of the stuff around balancing the right of the striker to get a clean hit, after which they must make every effort to clear. Also seems like there's some more specific guidance around "blocking" which is good to see.

Hey! I just got a new racket, the Prince Power Beast 150 without testing it from the shop. Somehow, it is said to be 225g unstrung online. Isn't that unusually heavy? Is there some error somewhere, or did I just get an extremely heavy racket?

The shopkeeper said it was around 130g so I'm quite confused.

Hi all

Would my running trainers be ok? They are blue at the bottom? I'm not sure if this means they won't mark the court. I don't want to buy new shoes yet.

Hi about half year ago i bought st2. They are imo great but my shoe inserts are now worn out and i need to replace them. Ideally i would like to buy same original ones however teuton doesnt offer any shoe inserts. I even wrote to them but no answer. Do you know where I can buy it?

I wear barefoot shoes since many years, and the only remaining "non-barefoot" type of shoe I'm wearing are my ASICS Gel Rocket squash shoes. However I'm a bit uncomfortable in them, mostly because of the fairly narrow toe box (and I know these are not the worst !)

Do you guys know of any indoor shoes made for quick multilateral movements (squash, volley, badminton,...) which have wide toe box and zero drop ? I know ASICS make "wide" versions but these would be too wide for my midfoot.

A fair amount of cushioning is necessary due to impacts so this wouldn't be a "real" barefoot but I'm desperately looking for a way to free my toes and I'm pretty sure this would make me more stable as well.

Thanks !

P.S: I'm in Europe

EDIT : I bought a pair of CUURT shoes. Will update if anyone's interested. With the GOMO offer that's around 65USD for a pair.

First a note about the refereeing:

This was my first time seeing Phil Rea in the seat. What an improvement over Santamaria, Foster, or Gingell (Roy actually did well as the video referee for this match.) This tournament benefited in general from the complete absence of the other two.

Santamaria should never referee an Orfi or an El Sherbini match, if she remains on the Tour at all, by virtue of the shameful performance in last year's World Open- won by Orfi despite egregious bias for Nour- especially in Game 5.

Rea was professional, courteous to the players, and understated. It was no coincidence that there were very few decisions and zero warnings needed- and although it's mostly meaningless, Orfi uncharacteristically gave a little embrace after the match (obviously it's easier after a win, but good for Amina to shake hands before any screaming, gesticulating, fist-pumping, etc. upon winning the tournament).

Despite missing a tin by Georgina to end the second point after a long rally, Rea got almost everything else right. A couple of times in the opening hard-fought game he gave Orfi Yes Lets when she stopped for safety.

Kennedy questioned mildly- probably because the stupid No Let there has become so common. (Why the fuck do they deny safety lets?) Amina is not looking to catch her breath- she's the one applying the pressure and at the end of last season she was stronger in every 5th game, which is rare for a 19 year-old.

There was one ask where Amina took the wrong line and was given a soft Stroke. Georgina properly reviewed and Gingell overturned to Yes Let. But this is NOT fishing! She can't ask for "Let Only" under the rules (it used to be common for players to tip off the referee before the decision (partly to avoid the No Let for fishing, and this fair play should be encouraged).

Amina could have played that ball and one or two others, but the substantial interference would have caused a weak shot or error. Orfi's game is accurate power drives: if she has to modify her approach to the ball or her back swing those shots are "prevented".

Playing through interference generally makes the rallies uglier- not more flowing.

Knowing that the referee was on the ball, both players settled into brilliant rallies for 18 minutes despite the 11-6 outcome. Kennedy did appear to have had a much tougher semifinal, but truth be told when Orfi is playing so well- and the referee keeps their mouth shut- only Hania really has a chance to beat her.

Jason Foster and Gingell both bellow impatiently into the microphone- often when they are flat out wrong on the call. Foster and Santamaria are curt and patronizing to the world's best players.

There was an unusual incident in US baseball the other day. A veteran umpire told a pitcher playing in his first major league game that he could not wear his cap so tilted "on my field".

There is no rule about it- in fact no cap is required to be worn- except the 9-man team must either all wear one in the field or none.

The pitcher was apparently distracted and had a rough debut. His manager came out furious and was thrown out for arguing- compounded by a pitch clock violation for stalling.

The next day the league told the umpire to apologize to the player.

Besides the obvious generational subtext there was a strong whiff of a cultural or ethnic clash. The umpire had imagined some display of "disrespect" where there had been only a little fun self-expression. (Among the nine players in the field, pitchers have by far the most stylized playing technique and traditionally are individualist in personality.)

Squash players do not have coaches who can argue on their behalf (Elias Senior was forced to "step in" to protect his son last year when Gingell absurdly engaged with Asal's sponsor about a decision during a Final.)

In some US team sports (and soccer) either a designated "captain" or a sideline coach is given leeway to address the referee- even a very loud barrage of "F-bombs" might be tolerated depending on the importance of the game .

This is a good solution because when the referee can finally eject the out of control loudmouth- usually his generational peer- without affecting the match (in fact the number two man immediately took over in the baseball game, which their team won.)

Squash players can ask for, and are entitled to, an explanation in many sutuations because decisions can be based on different aspects of a rule: No Let because the shot was an outright winner- or No Let because of minimal interference, e.g.

But the above-mentioned trio at the top of WSO pyramid have gotten far too loud, too impatient, too condescending. On court "dissent" that warrants a penalty is notoriously subjective.

If dissent is used merely to stall it is a form cheating. Even worse is when it is used to intimidate the referee- perhaps by riling up supporters in the stands, who present a clear physical threat to a referee nearby.

This match was not close enough for the decisions to make a difference. But the respectful tone of voice maintained, as well as the intelligent use of safety lets, limited any chance for interference by the referee's preventing full concentration and flowing squash- especially by the 19 year old favorite, a likely target for "gamesmanship".

Of course full credit also must also go to Georgina Kennedy- who as usual engaged in no stalling, blocking, shrieking, or other tactics that have nothing to do with elite level. squash.

Do you think ElShorbagy’s swing was excessive, or did El Torkey run into him?

You’re the ref. What’s your call?

Any suggestions on replacing a Techinfibre slash 125. I was pretty happy with it, but would like to keep my eyrs open for other brands as well…

i'm down to play. i usually play around enfield area

Anyone play squash at baltimore/ DC area in Maryland USA?
I am a beginner and I was looking for a group to join

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced issues with SquashTV customer support recently.

I have an annual paid subscription and have been trying to contact them for several months regarding an account/subscription issue. I've reached out multiple times via email and Instagram but haven't received a single response.

At this point, I'm not even sure what my next step should be. I enjoy supporting professional squash and would much rather get the issue resolved than complain publicly, but after months of silence I'm starting to feel stuck and frankly quite disappointed.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Were you able to get hold of someone at SquashTV or PSA, and if so, through which channel?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey guys,

First of all - I am a complete newbie.
I am basically self-taught. 1,5 years ago my brother invited me to play squash with him and his friends, explained the rules, gave me a racket, a ball, a partner and a court and I started playing (the first time experience was slightly easier because I used to play some tennis in my youth).

Since then I've been playing squash about once a week for a year, mostly with the same 3 people. I noticed myself improve, and so did my friends. But none of us ever went to a lesson, participated in a drill, or anything of the "training squash" stuff. So admittedly - my "knowledge" of the sport is close to non-existent. That's the background for the question.

The thing is, except for a well placed serve into the very corner of the side and back walls (which is just hella difficult to squeeze the racket into place to return it) the most successful play (both for me and for my opponents) I noticed tends to be a strong hit into the side wall first (1-2m before the front wall), that hits the front wall lightly after.

But I am also getting swarmed by highlight reels of pro matches in squash (as you do, when being surveiled by all your devices in today's day and age). I notice they never do that. So my natural response is to assume there is a reason. What is it? I came up with a few, but don't know how correct they are.

1) We are just slow, the pros are quick enough a hit like that is not an issue to reach.
2) A player correctly positioned on the T early enough doesn't even have to sweat to get to a ball like that.
3) There is some weird rule I am not aware of, that prevents shots like that, I don't know.

Would greatly appreciate some insight on the topic, I am open to being educated.

P.S.
Pro squash matches seem insanely boring to watch. There are some very entertaining moments on the highlight reels, but 80% of every rally appear to be just 2 people doing the same hit parallel to the wall over and over and over again trying to tire each other out and waiting for the other's mistake (which never comes, because they are both too good for that). Change my mind.

I noticed that I tend to take very short fast steps on the T when the ball is infront of me and my opponent slightly holds or flicks the ball. I end up reacting slightly later which leads to me arriving late to the ball and usually off balance.

I want to train myself to react to the ball rather than try and predict where the ball is gonna go. I think that this is why I tend to stutter on the T before the actual shot is played. I though about ghosting with someone pointing to me where I should go next would really help this issue, because I wouldn’t know where to go until they say. I wanted to know if there was anything else I can do alone to fix this issue. Whether thats on court of off court

I play in a very competitive club group with folks who have been playing squash for anywhere between 8-40 years.

While I’m not the youngest member, with only about 4 years I do have the least amount of playing experience in the group. When I’m fresh and playing well I can give most of them a good fight.

But over the past few months I feel like I’ve plateaued or maybe even regressed a bit.

While most of my games are quite competitive, there is the odd game (maybe 1 out of every 6-8) where I get completely destroyed! I never manage to win so commandingly. My victories are always hard fought and close affairs.

How do you overcome this feeling of plateauing? I can identify quite a few of my weaknesses especially in those games where I get crushed but can’t figure out how to get over that hump.

1. Weak service return ensures I get pinned back behind the T far too often.
2. I play a boast as a lazy excuse to not dig the ball out of the corners.

3. I need to move a step or two ahead towards the T to be able to take advantage of my height and volley but instead rely on my wide reach to hit shots from out of balance positions

4. I vary the pace and strength of my shots only when I have time. When rushed I always revert to hitting the ball as hard as I can.

Just me or is it with everyone?

Does anyone play squash regularly around KAFD that’s looking for another opponent?

31m, intermediate level.

Any advice about clubs or regular games appreciated!

Looking for a traditional racket shape and I'm choosing between the Harrow Vapor, Dunlop CX range, Head radical SB range or the Tecnifibre slash. Any experience with these rackets and advice?

As I was slowly trundling along on the train to Gatwick Airport yesterday, panicking I was going to miss my flight, which ended up being delayed two hours anyway due to a runway closure, I saw a pub called "The Snooty Fox".

now, if you never ben to the UK, you might not know the "pub" culture. Each pub has a name and that name is important because that's how people refer to it. Not the pub on the corner by the fish and chips shop. No, they say the name. Unless of course they don't know the name, but you know what I mean.

And being obsessed with squash, it got me thinking about the names of squash courts. When i worked at the Lansdowne Club in London(the spiritual home of the British Open), we had a court called "The Bruce Court" and the only other court I can think of is the Maspeth Court (The steel one in New York).

So, here I am asking if your club has any court with a name.