WJC Profile | Courtney Scholtz

Victorian Courtney Scholtz is no stranger to international youth squash competitions, representing Australia at last year’s World Junior Championships, and the up-and-coming player is now preparing to take on the world once again. 

Born in South Africa, Courtney first found her love for the sport after moving to Australia 12 years ago, with her parents encouraging her to pick up a racquet.  

“I started when I was five when we moved here from South Africa and my parents joined the local club,” Courtney explains. “They used to play when they were in University.

“I started playing Saturday morning juniors and one of the coaches took me on one-on-one and introduced me to tournaments when I was eight.”

Before dedicating her time to Squash, Courtney shared “I played basketball for about seven years, however, when I turned 15 I decided I committed 100% of my efforts to Squash.”

Since her decision, Courtney has trained at Lilydale Squash Club in Victoria with coach Raj Nanda for the past four years.

After an exciting 2023, Courtney said “My biggest achievement so far has been being selected to play for Australia at World Junior Championships last year and now again this year. As well as my second place finish in the 2023 Australian Junior Championships.” 

“To me it means everything to play for my country, it is my proudest achievement.” 

Looking ahead to this year’s edition of the World Junior Championships held in Houston, Texas, Courtney said “My key goal is to play at the best of my ability in Texas at the WJC.

“I’m really not too sure what the future of Squash will look like for me as I’m working to join the Army after competing at World Juniors for a new challenge, so I am excited to do my best at this competition.”