Nation's Top Junior Squash Players Crowned
Published Thu 01 Oct 2026
National squash champions across five age divisions were crowned at the 2026 Australian Junior Championships (AJC) in Devonport, Tasmania.
Over 170 of Australia's top squash talent took part in the AJC individual tournament across 27-30 September with titles awards for boys and girls across U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19 age groups.
2026 Australian Junior Open U19 Girls champion Joanne Joseph (VIC) defeated No.1 seed Sarbani Maitra (QLD) 3-1 with an impressive performance on court to win her first ever AJC title.
“Going into it, I wanted to just remain calm. It’s my last ever AJC so I wanted to go into it with a positive mindset. I surprised myself with how focused I was in the first game," Joseph said.
“I’m glad I held my nerve and got through the tough moments. I’m over the moon. I can’t believe I’ve finally got an AJC title."
The title caps off an incredible season for Joseph, starting with the 2026 Australia Junior Open title, runner-up at the 2026 Oceania Junior Championships and place 26th overall at the 2026 World Squash Junior Championships in Canada.
“I’m so grateful for all the wins I’ve had. It’s been an amazing season. I didn’t play AJC last year because I was focusing on year 12, so going into this new year, I was determined to do my best," she said.
No.1 U19 Boys seed Kasper Cheung (NSW) upgraded his 2025 AJC U17 Boys title to the next level and became the 2026 AJC U19 Boys champion yesterday, overcoming fellow statesman Ethan Middleton (NSW) in an epic 3-2 battle.
“It’s definitely been a good year results wise. There was a patch where some of the squash I was playing wasn’t the best but results wise, I’m definitely satisfied with it.”
Cheung is already looking ahead to competing professionally across the country and training full-time on the Gold Coast. Cheung will look to line up against top Aussies Greg Lobban and Joseph White, who'd be top contenders to head to the LA2028 Olympic Games for Australia.
“It’s very exciting for the whole sport and for the country as well. With Greg [Lobban] coming in and he possibly can be the first Aussie Olympian for squash. It’s definitely inspires us young players a bit more to work hard and try to go for it for the next one.”
The event has been proudly supported by the Tasmanian Government and Devonport City Council, the Mayor of Devonport, Alison Jarman, said the council has enjoyed sponsoring this event.
“It’s absolutely wonderful. It’s hugely important for us to know that we’re nurturing young talent. To see people of this age group having an opportunity to be a part of this tournament and see not only be competitive side, but see the volunteers and all the work that goes into these wonderful things," Jarman said.
“The beauty about us [Devonport community] is that we’re really into sport. We’ve had some wonderful international tournaments in the senior level with squash, and to have young people coming through on both levels of playing squash here at this age group, it’s just wonderful to see.”
The tournament continues with the 2026 Australian Junior Championships Teams event, where players compete for their state for ultimate glory, from 1-3 October.
