Australian juniors gain valuable experience at World Squash Junior Championships

Australia’s rising squash stars have wrapped up a valuable campaign at the 2026 World Squash Junior Championships in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, with the girls team securing another quarter-final finish and the boys ending their tournament with a strong victory.

The Australian girls finished eighth overall, marking the fourth time in the past five World Squash Junior Team Championships they have reached the quarter-final stage. The consistent results underline the strength of Australia’s emerging female talent.

After progressing to the quarter-finals, the Australians were defeated by eventual champions Egypt before facing India and host nation Canada in the 5-8 classification matches.

While both ties ended in 2-0 defeats, the Australians continued to challenge some of the tournament’s strongest teams, with Sarbani Maitra and Tina Ma each taking games from highly credentialed opponents in the final playoff against Canada.

The boys concluded their campaign in 15th place, finishing on a high with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Ireland in the final playoff match.

Following narrow losses to Kuwait and Germany in the 9-16 classification rounds, Australia bounced back in impressive fashion. Kasper Cheung pushed Ireland’s top player to five games after leading two games to love, before Henry Kross delivered a composed victory at No.3 to level the tie. Stanley Chung then sealed the win, showing great resilience to claim a four-game victory in the deciding match.

The championships also highlighted the exciting future of Australian junior squash, with seven of the eight team members eligible to return for at least one more World Squash Junior Championships.

The boys squad will return entirely intact next year, with all four players eligible for selection again and set to benefit from the experience gained against some of the world's leading junior nations.

The tournament also marked the conclusion of Joanne Joseph’s outstanding World Junior career. Competing at her third and final championships, Joseph produced one of Australia's strongest individual performances in recent years, advancing to the Round of 32 before adding several more victories in the playoff rounds.

As captain, she also led the Australian girls to another quarter-final appearance, capping off an impressive junior career representing Australia on the international stage.

With a young squad gaining invaluable experience throughout the championships, Australia will look to build on this year's performances as the nation's emerging players continue their development towards the 2027 World Squash Junior Championships.