‘Squash is exploding,’ and for the first time, D.C. is the center of the squash world
Normally bustling with recreational players, Squash on Fire in D.C.'s West End is playing host to the Men’s World Squash Team Championship this week, marking the first time the biennial tournament, which began in 1967, has been held in the United States. It’s an important milestone, organizers say, in the continued effort to grow the sport in a country where it has long been considered a game for country-club elites and in Team USA’s quest to narrow the gap between it and the world’s best.
So named because it was built atop the renovated West End fire station, Squash on Fire, whose logo features a Dalmatian holding a racket, has made squash more accessible to thousands of would-be new players since it opened in 2017. Philippe Lanier, a principal for EastBanc, the prominent development firm founded by his father, Anthony Lanier, that built the 19,700-square-foot facility, said the vision for its membership-free model was inspired by watching his younger sister, Camille, compete in squash tournaments all over the world. Compared with countries such as Germany and Egypt, the United States’ squash infrastructure was lacking.
“The American system, historically, was built in squash clubs that were part of a larger facility that had a paywall,” Lanier said. “That contributed to this aura of elitism. Whoever had access to the courts and loved it would carry it forward. It was very important to us that this was public."
More than 7,000 people have opened accounts at Squash on Fire in the two years since the facility opened, according to Lanier. The active base is more than 1,500, and roughly 200 new players come through the doors every month. Packages for novices, which include a clinic and two play credits, start at $39, while 45 minutes on one of the building’s eight courts can be reserved for $20 during off-peak hours.
“It shows the strength of the no-barrier model,” said Lanier, who hopes Squash on Fire’s success convinces others to develop similar facilities across the country. Exposure from tournaments such as this one, which was awarded to D.C. in 2017and runs through Saturday, and the U.S. championships, which were held here in March, will only help.
“It’s great for the game,” said Team USA men’s coach Paul Assaiante, who has led Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., to 17 national titles. “Squash in the United States is exploding. Participation in junior squash in the last decade is up 500 percent. For a long time, this game seemed very insular, but now we have urban squash programs all around the country and opportunities for kids that they didn’t have before."
Team USA’s Andrew Douglas, who grew up in New York City, a relative hotbed for the sport, has witnessed squash’s growth firsthand. The 21-year-old is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania and plans to turn pro after he graduates.
“The college game has grown a lot,” said Douglas, who earned the United States’ only victory in its 2-1 loss to Switzerland in pool play Wednesday. “It’s become a lot harder to get into school with squash because there are so many more players. There are so many more kids at junior tournaments than when I first started, and you’ve got kids taking it really seriously at a really young age.”
This past weekend, roughly 750 players representing 44 counties competed in the U.S. Junior Open squash championships in Boston. Squash in the United States has also experienced an infusion of international talent, most noticeably at the collegiate level.
“Squash in other countries is a lot more of a blue-collar sport,” Assaiante said. “The infusion of internationals is creating a less insular dynamic, and squash is becoming more of an everyman’s game, like tennis.”
“Almost everyone I play in college is international,” Douglas said. “A lot of international pros are coming here to coach. With that comes growth."
Todd Harrity, the top-ranked American squash player in the world at No. 55 in the latest Pro Squash Association World Tour rankings, started playing the sport as a 5-year-old when his parents were casual players at a club outside Philadelphia. He has been encouraged by the growth of the sport through such means as the Squash Education Alliance, which leads youth programs in 23 cities.
“Anything to make it more accessible to everyone,” Harrity, 29, said after losing in four games to Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann. “Events being televised does a lot for the exposure of the game, and then more clubs like this being built that offer squash to anybody that wants to come and play.
We haven’t had too much of that before. … I definitely feel the gap is narrowing and the United States is slowly becoming a force on the professional squash scene. Obviously, it’s going to take time, but I think the energy and enthusiasm around squash is growing, and we’ll get there eventually.”
Team USA failed to advance to the 12-team knockout stage of the 23-team tournament, which is being streamed on Facebook for the first time. A few dozen spectators were on hand for the start of the United States’ Wednesday afternoon match against Switzerland, which took place on the glass showcase court adjacent to the facility’s in-house restaurant and bar.
Lanier said there was a large crowd Sunday, which included the United States’s 3-0 loss to Egypt, the defending champions and winners of three of the past four titles, and he expected another strong turnout for Saturday’s finals.
“I would like this event and the things that we’re doing to serve as a spotlight for the sport and how rapidly it’s growing in America,” Lanier said. “Squash has a place on the global stage, and it has a growing audience here. That’s why we’re putting our heart and soul into this because we think it’s worth it and we’re trying to push the whole industry a little bit higher with our efforts.”
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