There is an age-old debate about Squash, and Tennis, on which is better to play and in terms of competition – well the Professional Squash Association produced a remarkable case for Squash.
Both racquet sports can be played in singles and doubles categories. But Squash is truly a sport that gives you that all-around workout.
Even though there have been a few Squash court closures, still the sport is growing in popularity overseas in countries like Australia, Egypt, and Jamaica with grassroots developments, also Nigeria’s premier Squash tournaments.
More recent champions of the sport
Now, with Tennis, it has its glamour and high prize money tournaments, but from a British perspective in the 50 years, there has only been one prolific champion – Andy Murray.
Compared to Squash, the UK has produced two world no.1s – Nick Matthew and Laura Massaro; both have won titles domestically and abroad, even defeating multiple Squash champions. Also, James Wilstrop, the 2018 Commonwealth Games Squash champion.
Checkout this infographic comparing the two racquet sports:
Squash and Tennis comparison (Photo credit: Professional Squash Association)
Top 5 reasons to play Squash over Tennis
However, there are other reasons why Squash is better:
- Affordable – The cost of playing Squash at your local leisure centre is quite reasonable to playing Tennis.
- Community is driven – There have been a number of great initiatives to develop the sport in the local community; the most notable one is the PSA Squash Foundation – which helps global squash prgorammes.
- Celebs love Squash – This infographic courtesy of our friends at East Coast Academy illustrates the celebs from the world of screen and even other sports who love Squash:
- Emerging talent – In recent years there more emerging talent in Squash, the most notable are the Egyptian Squash Team and the Jamaican Squash Team. Even though these countries have been involved in Squash for decades, now they are both on the rise.
- Recognised as a healthy sport – Just last year Squash was recognised as one of the healthiest sports to enhance life by sports researchers from top universities in Europe and Asia.
Serving in Squash & Tennis comparison
Despite, the above five reasons why Squash is better than Tennis when it comes to serving in a game – Squash is a lot easier.
When you perform a serve in Tennis at the beginning of a game, it is the hardest component, that a new player will encounter.
According to an LTA Tennis coach, beyond the mechanics of a good serve, poor service is often easily attacked by the opposing player, putting the server at a disadvantage. A good first serve can deliver an “ace” when the opposing player is unable to make contact with the ball. Tennis players get a second serve when the first one is out of play, which emphasizes the fact that even experienced players struggle to keep up a high first service percentage.
Compared to Squash serve it is mellow, also the power squash serves are not the norm.
Highly skilled players use surprise elements in their serve by varying the spot to which they direct their serve. Unlike tennis, squash players rarely rely on service points or aces to win crucial points. An ace is harder to achieve in squash since the back wall often puts the ball back in play.
Winner: Squash is the best
Overall, Squash is far more fun and interesting than Tennis based on the current successes of players from the UK and even Squash players, who are doing well against the odds.
All, we need now is for Squash to get inclusion in the Olympics Games – which will add to the marketability of the sport.
Not too bash Tennis, as a middle-class sport; but with all the major developments and new innovations in Squash, it doesn’t take a genius to see a strong emerging trend of people taking up Squash plus with outdoor public courts could see the sport overtake Tennis as the most popular racquet sport.
