SPORTS OPINION

“Oh, you play squash? And you’re from Greenwich? Ha, figures,” are real words that have been said to me my whole life.

In the United States, squash has a reputation as an obscure sport that only  the  snobby  elite play. Most Americans automatically associate it with the Ivy League, country clubs, old money, and prep schools.

However, in other countries, such as Egypt, squash is popular and much more accessible than in the U.S.

Egyptian squash is generously funded by the government, which means there are many accessible public courts, which are not hidden away behind country club gates.

Many young children have the opportunity to pick up a racket and try the sport, just as they would soccer or basketball in the United States.

This has led Egypt to become the  world’s undisputed squash powerhouse. With nine players in the top 20 men’s ranking in the Professional  Squash  Association World  Tour—11  if  you  count Mohammed  and  Marwan El Shorbagy, both of  whom  were born in Egypt but now represent England—and ten players in the top 20 women’s rankings, champions are constantly being scouted, trained, and produced.

More important than rankings, however, Egypt has solidified a national squash culture that makes the  sport  easily  accessible  and widely celebrated.

Coaches are widely available, and squash is promoted as a symbol of national pride. Children from any financial background can access it.

In Egypt, squash brings people out of poverty and turns them into national celebrities.

As for the U.S., squash here is stuck  behind  glass  walls—both literally  and  figuratively. Most squash courts are located in wealthy areas, universities, private schools, and country clubs.

Squash is a niche and inaccessible sport for the average American, in the same category as caviar and jacuzzis.

What is the result? Zero American men are ranked in the top 20, let alone the top 30, of the PSA World Tour. Only two American women are ranked in the top 20, and both of them received Ivy League educations.

It is a common viewpoint that since the squash community in the United States mostly consists of rich people, the sport has already gained enough funding for it to flourish. However, this attitude hurts the sport. In Egypt, with its large amounts of government funding, squash is a widespread sport with players who dominate in both the junior  and  professional global stages.

The problem seems like it would be solved by more government funding. However, there is a much more upstream solution that is also gravely needed—a mindset change.

If people stop viewing squash as a privilege that only the rich can enjoy, we could make the changes that would allow the sport to flourish in the United States.

Squash needs to be viewed as a possibility for anyone. Only then can it be proven that squash in the United States deserves as much funding from the government as Egypt has.

Squash has the potential to be for everyone, only if we truly believe that it is possible and work to make that belief a reality.