Squash faces ‘formidable’ competition from cricket in race for Olympic berth: WSF president Wooldridge

Wooldridge hopes to see the inclusion of squash at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as it is in the running alongside eight other sports for a berth at the LA Games.

World Squash Federation President Zena Wooldridge at the inaugural ceremony of the Squash World Cup in Chennai.

Squash and its Olympic dream are perhaps a tale as old as time. The sport has come close to finding a place in the Summer Games on many occasions, but the dream is yet to be realised.  

Speaking on the sidelines of the Squash World Cup in Chennai, Zena Wooldridge, the current president of the World Squash Federation, says, “Squash has not done anything wrong to not get the go ahead. I think we had some of the best bids and presentations.”  

Wooldridge hopes to see the inclusion of squash at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as it is in the running alongside eight other sports for a berth at the LA Games.  

But Wooldridge and WSF might face tough competition from cricket.  

“India is such a massive attraction to any country, even the USA where they don’t necessarily play cricket, the attraction of the Indian market is something that is irresistible. So, we know that cricket is going to be a formidable competitor in that race,” Wooldridge acknowledges.  

To put her words in perspective, the 2022 T20 World Cup saw 6.58 billion viewers tuning in for the ICC’s official video content.  

But the WSF has not given up hope.   

“Having squash won’t cost them anything in terms of courts because the sport will provide the glass courts and spectacular arenas, or we’ll put it into a theatre. So, the infrastructure is already there. I think we’ve got lots of allies in the US and they’re influential allies. And so, you know, I think we still stand quite a good chance,” Wooldridge says.