Canadian Nationals 2025 Recap

It's been so busy recently, that I've missed a couple of tournament recaps (St Louis 15K, where I lost in the 1/4s in 5, and then Squash on Fire Open Bronze where I won my first match in 5, then lost in the 2nd round).

I've barely had more than a few days at home in a row between tournaments!

I always look forward to playing Canadian Nationals. The vibe can be difficult to deal with (it's a quiet intensity), but I enjoy having the support of my parents and other Victorian's/BC players who have come to play or spectate.

The last few years I have lost out in the finals (2022, 2023, and 2024), and coming into the second half of this season, I put Nationals on my list as my main priority. I knew if I won nationals, not only would I be pleased with the result and achievement, but that it would be confirmation that I'm playing and performing at a high level.

There are a few elements that are slightly different than playing PSA:

• dealing with the pressure of playing in front of a "home crowd" that only sees you play once a year

• managing your social time (there are people you want to see, but you need to prioritize your time so that you will feel your best)

• being at "home" but having people cheer for your opponent

• pressures of seeding/rivalry of national team

I've struggled with some of these in past years, but this year I felt quite a bit calmer about all the off-the-court issues. I felt focused the entire time, and did my best not to get distracted (which at times was difficult, because of the junior national event that was running at the same time!).

Early Setbacks

I had some surprises leading up to the start of the tournament which worried me. I arrived on Monday afternoon, in time to play an exhibition match against Nikki Todd that evening. I felt good in the first game and was moving really well- especially considering how much Nikki likes to attack short, and on the glass court! However, early in the second game I felt an odd twinge in my left quad/TFL. It wasn't a sharp pain, but felt like a spasm. I pulled back a bit (which was disappointing, because it was a fun match!), and decided I needed to take it a bit easy the next day as well. Sure enough, 48 hours helped it calm down quite a bit- especially with the help of our national team physio, Dr. Tim Marshall.

On Wednesday, I was walking into Tim's office, and I sprained my ankle. Yup- I was holding the door open to let my mom go through and I misstepped on an uneven bit of concrete. My ankle rolled out to the side, which caused the muscles on the inside of my ankle to co-contract to stop it. I've had issues with this part of my ankle in the past (my posterior tibialis), so I took this as a sign that it was probably a problem waiting to rear its ugly head.

In order to manage this, I iced the inside of my ankle to reduce swelling, and applied Ibuprofen Gel. For those of you that are not familiar with Ibuprofen gel, I am sorry! You can't get it in the US or Canada, and I discovered it when I was in the UK for a tournament. It's good stuff- 10% (compared to Voltaren which is 1.1%, which is the closest thing we have over here), and helps reduce inflammation and swelling. I prefer to use this to the oral ibuprofen because it directly targets the area and doesn't mess up my stomach.

On the day of my match, Tim came to the courts to treat me and also applied some taping to my ankle for a bit of extra support. Thanks to his help and some adrenaline, I was able to get through my matches without any pain, and most importantly- without it getting worse throughout the event.

Quarters & Semis

To be honest, I wasn't happy with my performances in my quarterfinal and semi final. I won both of them in 3, but I felt jumpy and reactive the whole time. It wasn't particularly enjoyable, and I knew this level of squash wouldn't be enough to win me the title.

In some ways, not playing well leading up to the final was a bit of a blessing in disguise. It took the pressure off of the result, and helped me realize that I just wanted to have a good performance in the final. As my coach Graeme put it, it was like I had been playing with a handbrake on. That's not fun, is it? It's also not how you want to feel in a final- especially Nationals!

This is the time to enjoy being on court and competing- getting to put yourself to the test on this stage with all to play for.

I'll write another post about my pre-match prep on Finals day, but all I'll say for now is that I feel like I did as good a job as possible of getting myself into the optimal mental and physical state to perform and respond to challenges.

The Final

I played Zeina Zein in the final. She is the #1 at Princeton University, and the current intercollegiate individual champion. Before going to Princeton, she won a couple of PSA events, so she is certainly no slouch! I knew it would be a tough, competitive match.

I played well in the first, and narrowly won 11-9. I proceeded to lose the 2nd 11-4, giving her way too many volley opportunities on her backhand. I stepped my game up, and narrowly lost the 3rd 11-9. My coach, Mike, reassured me I was playing well and not to get down about that game- and encouraged me to attack more. I took on Mike's advice and attacked more, winning the fourth game 11-9.

Going into the fifth I felt physically fresh (partly due to my good fitness level, and partly because I wasn't wasting too much energy on nerves & tension), and was spot on with my tactics. I have learned in my last few events that the start in the 5th is absolutely crucial. You have to be positive and hard to beat at the beginning of the fifth.

I gathered a sizeable lead, and went up 9-2. At this moment, I started to think a little about the result and claiming the championship. For anyone that's been a mere couple of points from closing out a close match- you know this is a loss of focus. This slight drift caused me to lose a couple of points, and Zeina was making herself hard to beat. I knew if the scoreline got to 9-6, she would get confident again, and I would likely get a bit edgy, no longer having the momentum and having everything to "lose".

I managed to string together a couple of hard fought, scrappy rallies, and got myself over the finish line, 11-5. Unfortunately, the match ended on a no-let (which was more of a stroke, I think), and was a bit anti-climactic. It would have been nice to finish on a deserved winning shot or forced error! Nevertheless, the rest of the match was extremely high quality, fair, and hard fought between both of us, and all credit to Zeina for her part in making it such an enjoyable match.

Thank Yous

I can't write this recap without addressing all of the people who have helped me along this journey and capture this title: Graeme Williams, Clinton Leeuw, Amr Khalifa & Open Squash, Tim Marshall, Alex Morales, Harrow Sports, Control the T Sports, Richardson Wealth Management, Squash Canada. Oh, and I guess my parents, too!!

Next up --> World Championships in Chicago