WJC Profile: Thomas Scott

If the sport has a ball, there’s a fair chance Thomas Scott has given it a go.

Golf, cricket, softball, hockey, tennis, the 17-year-old Sydney-sider has tried them all. And the winner is squash.

“It’s so fast paced and intricate,” he says. “I tend to think that tennis is like checkers and squash is like chess, in terms of there’s more dimensions to it. I love that intricacy. That’s what drew me to squash and hockey as my favourite two sports to play.

“In the last six months I’ve focused exclusively on squash, I train twice a day. That’s when I decided 100 per cent to commit, so I had to sacrifice the others so I had the time to train.”

Born in England, but with an Australian mum, Thomas and his family relocated to Sydney less than four years ago.
Raised in Beaconsfield, just outside London, he lived right beside a squash centre.

“Neighbours of ours used to play and I was really good mates with them, so one day I went along to train. None of them play anymore,” Thomas says.

Indeed, a candid Thomas admits his mates back in England are probably surprised to see how far his squash has progressed. 

Thomas admits he used to “get by with reasonable athleticism and hand-eye coordination”, but it was only after moving to Australia that he started to take things more seriously and focus more attention on his training.

That led to challenges of its own, with Thomas having to learn how to manage his physical workload. 

“I had a lot of growth-related injuries to my knees and last year I also had a stress fracture in my lower back which put me back by a few months. I had some pressure through the disc in my lower back, so I had a six-month period pretty much off last year.”

“It was super tough when I couldn’t do anything. Then all I could do for a long time was swimming and cycling … and I can’t really stand the monotonous nature of those.”

Exposure to the British and Australian styles of squash, Thomas says, has been an advantage. He says playing in England was far more attacking, while Australia’s style has enhanced his defensive capabilities.

“When I arrived over here, I had the advantage of being able to attack better, now I’ve been able to adapt to the defensive attritional style I think that’s perfect.”

Having previously made the semi-finals of the Junior French Open when he was living in England, last year Thomas won the Under 17s Australian Open.

The Carlingford High School student makes it very clear where his allegiances lie as he prepares to represent Australia for the first time at the 2023 WSF World Junior Championships in Melbourne.

“I’m super excited to represent Australia, some of my family is going down to watch, which gets me extra fired up,” he says.
“I feel like I’ve adapted pretty well to Australia, especially the laid back nature was perfect for me. I feel much more welcomed over here.

“To be honest, just making this team is the most exciting achievement I’ve had. Coming back from injury, making the age group above, I was super happy with that.

“I definitely want a career in squash, top 50 in the world, I feel like that would be a huge achievement.”

2023 WSF World Junior Championships
18-29 July | Melbourne Sports Centres VIC
Australian Squad
Men: Harvey Allan (VIC), Dylan Classen (WA), Oscar Curtis (WA), Connor Hayes (VIC), Ken Lamb (NSW), Thomas Scott (NSW)
Women: Erin Classen* (WA), Shona Coxedge (QLD), Amelie Guziak* (VIC), Madison Lyon* (QLD), Courtney Scholtz (VIC), Hannah Slyth* (WA)
* denotes competing in women’s team event
Coaches: Cassie Thomas, Stewart Boswell, Jenny Duncalf