“Be bold and swing for the fences” – How Squash Australia is adapting to meet modern opportunities and challenges

Story by: World Squash Federation

Few nations have a deeper connection to squash than Australia. For years, Australian athletes dominated the sport, fuelled by a combination of factors including a huge player base and world class coaching environment at the Australian Institute of Sport.

In more recent times, however, squash in Australia has faced a number of challenges, like many other sports, most notably the competition for people’s time and attention, and continuing access and regeneration of facilities.

When Robert Donaghue joined Squash Australia as CEO in 2021, it was with the mandate to address this. In the five years since, there has been a renewed sense of optimism as creative strategies have begun to take effect at both the grassroots and elite level.

“We operate in one of the most competitive sporting markets in the world, and like most sports, we compete for peoples limited time and attention,” Donaghue, who joined Squash Australia after successful tenures in basketball, rugby union and water polo, explains.

He adds that supporting the grassroots game to reverse this trend has been a crucial tenet of Squash Australia’s strategy, alongside increasing exposure to the sport and creating high-performance opportunities for Australia’s athletes.

After the nadir of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are promising signs, with innovative solutions pointing to tangible growth in uptake amongst both children and adults.

Perhaps the biggest success has been Squash Stars, a dynamic programme that is designed to spark a lifelong passion for squash amongst children by focusing on play, exploration, and enjoyment rather than traditional drills. 

Since its introduction to Sporting Schools - an Australian Government initiative designed to help schools to increase children's participation in sport - in 2023, Squash Stars has been a resounding success. Squash is now played in more schools in Australia than ever before and programmes are being run in every state and territory in the country.

"We want children to fall in love with squash at school and then make the decision to go to the next step of the programme in a squash club,” Donaghue says.

"We have seen more kids in school play squash through Squash Stars than we have seen in the last seven or eight years. There has been a concerted effort to really drive squash into schools as a first phase in engaging new participants to the sport. 

“We have also been working with our State & Territories on structuring the sport to be more efficient, effective, collective, and collaborative in the way we deliver squash.”

The collaborative approach is seen elsewhere in Squash Australia’s strategy. Just as partnering with schools is driving participation amongst children, Squash Australia is hoping to achieve similar results amongst the wider public after partnering with Access Courts last October.

Access Courts has developed a new generation of modular squash courts designed to remove traditional barriers of cost and infrastructure. Engineered for flexibility, speed of installation, and affordability, these courts can be placed in virtually any location including parks and public spaces, schools, gyms, hotels and multi-sport facilities.

On his hopes for Access Courts in Australia, Donaghue says that they will serve as a crucial alternative pathway into the sport to replace the courts closed due to the property boom of the last 10-15 years.

"It is very difficult in the current climate to build a six or eight-court traditional centre, so it is difficult to demonstrate demand,” he explains. “What the Access Courts have done is give us a low-cost option that is scalable. 

"It will allow the sport to become more visible and accessible and gain exposure from people walking past and seeing it. It also provides an opportunity to use existing indoor and outdoor spaces like public parks and warehouses, where we can build demand and hopefully continue growing the sport into more locations.”

The third pillar for Squash Australia revolves around increasing the profile of the sport at the elite level and increasing opportunities for the next generation of athletes.

Central to this has been the return of some of squash’s biggest events to Australia. In 2023, Australia hosted the World Squash Junior Championships for the first time in 28 years and later this year will host the World Squash Masters Championships for the first time since 2001.

On the professional level, the Australian Open was upgraded from a PSA Bronze level event in 2024 to a Gold in 2025, increasing prize money by 129 percent and attracting some of the world’s best players to Brisbane, where the 2032 Olympic Games will take place.

“Hosting World Championships and reinvigorating the Australian Open to one of the top tournaments in the world is a really important part of our strategy,” Donaghue says.

“It’s another great opportunity for us to bring the best squash players in the world to Australia. 

"For our players, it's massive as they can play against the world's best and then experience the different ways of playing squash and for players visiting it’ll show what we have to offer here.”

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some to come this far to Australia, and what better way for a kid to come for the World Juniors or as a player coming to the World Master’s Championships."

"We have been presented with a really unique opportunity and has allowed us to approach things differently. We have had the mentality of ‘no regrets’ and to ‘be bold and swing for the fences’.

"We've had really successful events over a period of time that have set usup as a destination for squash moving forward." 

Donaghue, who last year renewed his contract with Squash Australia and will remain in post until after squash’s Olympic debut at LA28, hopes that these successes will lead to sustained growth for squash in Australia.

“I think if you're in these leadership roles in sports, you want to leave a legacy for the time, however short or long it is in the sport.”

"I would like to think when I finish in the sport, that we'll be able to look back on the work we have done as having reinvigorated the squash community here in Australia and set the sport up for long-term, sustainable success."

From introducing children to the sport through Squash Stars, to opening up new spaces to play via Access Courts, Squash Australia is focused on making squash more accessible, visible and exciting for all Australians. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, club, player or fan, there are more ways than ever to get involved. Discover programs, pathways and upcoming events, or find a place to play near you at squashaus.com.au. 

Be a part of the biggest Squash events on Australian soil in 2026. Find out more about the Australian Open from March 10-15 in Brisbane and the World Squash Masters Championships from 30 August to 6th September in Perth.