The Long Road to the 2026 World Squash Masters Championships

More than 900 players from 55 nations have travelled to Perth for the 2026 World Squash Masters Championships, but few have taken a journey quite like the Petts family.

Driving for eight days and more than 3,000km across Australia to compete in this year’s event, Scott, his wife Lauren and their two children, 15-year-old Lily and 6-year-old Reggie, set off together on an adventure of a lifetime.

Leaving on Wednesday 19 August, the family made the decision to drive from their home in Wodonga, Victoria, to Perth, covering 3,404km across the country with their car, caravan and a collection of squash rackets – a distance roughly equivalent to travelling from San Francisco to New York.

Scott said: “We drove over eight days across the country as a family and lived out of a very small caravan. It was a tremendous trip across the country, but we always knew that if we were travelling here, we had to make it a holiday.

“And just because we have arrived in Perth doesn’t mean the journey is over. We still have plenty more of Western Australia to see before we eventually head home, so there are thousands more kilometres of the journey ahead of us. But this is why we bought the van.

“We wanted to travel, and when we found out that the tournament was going to be in Perth, we saw an opportunity to have a once-in-a-lifetime trip across the country and we took it.”

Lauren, Scott’s wife, continued: “We could have flown across in four hours, but this has allowed us to do so much as a family, and it has also been beneficial for Scott.

“With all the pressures that come with the World Masters, and that he has put on himself, the drive and the journey have given him a chance to relax and not think too much about squash.

“It has also been great because the kids have loved the entire experience, and it has been an amazing trip. Yes, we have done a lot of driving, but we have seen so much along the way.”

Scott continued: “We’ve been able to see so many iconic Australian sights along the way. That’s made the drive completely worthwhile and given us the freedom to travel without having every part of the journey planned.”

As part of their journey across the Nullarbor, the family visited a number of iconic Australian locations, including the Bunda Cliffs, Eucla and Wave Rock, as well as spotting whales along the Great Australian Bight.

Scott and his son Reggie at Waverock
For Scott, his visit to Wave Rock was particularly significant, as he arrived almost 40 years after a childhood family trip was unexpectedly cut short.

Scott said: “There’s something special about retracing parts of a trip I did with my parents almost 40 years ago. Back then we were meant to visit Wave Rock but never made it.

“Nearly 40 years later, I finally got there, but this time with my own family.”

With these memories captured on Scott’s social media account, Road to World Masters 2026, the family have also been able to document their journey. He continued: “Throughout the trip, we have been using our Instagram page as a way to capture and journal each day.

“Some days the posts have been about squash, but for the most part they have been about journaling our journey. It is so helpful because when we sit down in the evening, we can have a good recap, and at times we completely forget that we have done certain things.”

Lauren added: “We often have looked back and said, ‘Oh, we did that today, oh yes, I remember doing that’, so it has been great to remember the trip and document our travels.”

And despite the miles covered across Australia, Scott was still able to find some time to get on the squash court in Kalgoorlie to practise, a very different setting to his home court at Wodonga Squash Club.

Heading to this year’s World Masters, it could have been easy for Scott to make the trip alone to compete in the Men’s 45+ draw, but explained that it would have meant far less to do it without his family.

He said: “The atmosphere at the World Squash Masters Championships has been incredible, and I thought of doing it a few times before.

“Everyone I have met, played and interacted with has been brilliant, and having the chance to play at these centres, as well as the glass court, is really special.

“However, this adventure with my family has always come first and the tournament has almost become secondary. The event and the timing of it gave us the opportunity to do a trip of this size, and we have made so many memories along the way.

“I am very fortunate that my family are so supportive of me and my squash. Doing this without them simply wouldn’t have meant the same.”