When you think of Wales in terms of sports, there is one sport that the wonderful place is renowned for Rugby; however recent accomplishments in Squash are showing that the country could be soon on a revival.
Tesni Evans (Photo credit: Rhyl Journal)
Following the strong performance of Tesni Evans at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and winning the British National Squash Open, there is no doubt she is flying the flag for Welsh Squash at major international tournaments and progressing into the top 10 of the PSA ladies rankings.
However, Squash in Wales has always been popular when it comes to major competition in the sport; it’s just not publicised.
A multi-talented sports star from Cardiff
One of the first ever Squash players to come from Wales was Audrey Bates, in fact, she was actually a well-known competitor in other racquet sports table tennis and tennis; in addition to lacrosse.
The Cardiff native took part in British Open Squash Championships between 1947 and 1965 as a seeded player. Her allies in Squash at the time were, Rachel Byrne and G W James, together along with Audrey; these three women were the Squash representatives who flew the flag for Wales from the late 1940s through to the 1960s.
Christina Rees (below) is another Squash legend that represented Wales in the sport, oddly enough she championed the sport into the Olympics at the UK parliament session.
Christina Rees MP
Throughout the years there were other Squash players to come out of Wales such as Alex Gough, Peter Creed, David Evans, Emyr Evans, Sam Fenwick, Alex Gough, Gavin Jones, Joel Makin and Rob Sutherland.
Success at the Commonwealth Games
In the history of Squash at the Commonwealth Games, Wales is in the top 8 nations to have achieved medals in the event.
The first was Alex Gough, who took bronze at the inaugural event in 1988, this feat was achieved again by Tesni Evans in the 2018 games in Australia.
Alex Gough (credit: Squash Info)
Squash, the new Welsh favourite alongside Rugby and Football
Rugby was the only sport that Wales were seen the masters and supreme legends off.
However, this all changed when the national football side made it into the UEFA Euro 2016 finals in France – now could Squash become the third favourite sport of the Welsh? It could do because of the success of Tesni and not forgetting her brother Emyr.
Looking at the Squash development initiatives in Wales, there is a considerable number of Squash clubs in the country, aligned with the backing of Squash Wales, the governing the Squash and the educational schemes to develop coaches to teach at grassroots development of the sport; will ensure the sport will grow and produce many talented players.
Could this be the catalyst for future success in international competition? Well, adding this to the success of Tesni Evans, shows that Squash can become a major force and build the legacy set by Audrey Bates, Rachel Byrne and G W James.
Final Thoughts
The success of Tesni Evans will inspire young children from Wales to take up the sport.
Furthermore, most of the Squash venues could capitalise on this too with a rollout of more grassroots programmes with support from the governing bodies and even school sports partnerships apart of it too, with the concept of tasters at local schools.
To conclude, Wales has a strong legacy in Squash starting with three women who took part in British tournaments and won bronze at the Commonwealth Games; this is the foundation on which most Squash winning countries are built and the next generation to be motivated by the role models who have come before them.
