Young Stars Headline Squash Australia’s 2022 World Junior Championships Squad

Up-and-coming athletes Sophie Fadaely and Hannah Slyth cannot wait to make their World Junior Squash Championships debuts.

Taking place in Nancy, France the tournament will take place between 11-21 August.

Stellar performances in the Australian Junior Open as well as at PSA tournaments taking place around Australia cemented Fadaely and Slyth’s selection into the Australian squad.

Slyth's performance at the Kalgoorlie PSA Golden Open earlier this year, saw her defeat the number 1 seed, giving her some of the best memories of the early stages of her professional career.

Fadaely also believes the PSA she's been part of has been beneficial to improving her game.

"It's definitely a step up and playing against people from around the world who are at a bit of a higher level," she said. "I think that's how you improve your game and get it to the next level."

The cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 World Junior Championships resulted in both athletes unsure and wary of the potential abilities of international opponents.

It's created an eagerness amongst the team to see how they compare against the rest of the world's top junior squash players.

"At the moment we don't know who the top players are just because there hasn’t been World Juniors for so long but I’d like to learn how their games are different or how they are better so you can improve your game," said Fadaely.

However, both Fadaely and Slyth are optimistic heading into the World Junior Championships, eager to learn the styles and games of the top players.

Slyth, in particular, is keen to learn from the Egyptians, who have dominated the event since the mid-1990's winning 14 men's titles and 13 women's titles.

"They got a different style of play so to learn from them is something I'm looking forward to as well as having new experiences," she said. 

"I'm really grateful to be part of the team and when I found out I was pretty excited.

"I've only ever played one tournament outside of Australia so to see all these other players from other countries playing will be pretty cool," she added.