Women in Squash: Perspectives from the SSSAS Squash Team

Squash typically does not receive much attention in the sports world. Many people do not even know that SSSAS has a squash team. Right before our first match against Episcopal High School, Georgia Neaderland and I found out that neither our scores nor the scores of our opponents would count when we played a boy due to squash being a gender separated sport. As the only two girls on the team, this news was quite disappointing, unmotivating, and frustrating. 

I recently interviewed Georgia and former SSSAS squash player, Allison O’Connor, about their experiences of being a girl on a male dominated team. My first question was asking why they chose to play squash. Georgia responded that she played in the Middle School and wanted to do so again. It was the first sport that she ever really felt connected to and thoroughly enjoyed. Allison responded by stating that she needed a sports credit, and that by playing squash it would be a fun way for her to do so. Allison had never played squash before, so this was a totally new experience for her. She plays tennis, and thought that the two sports were similar. 

I then quickly segued into asking questions about each of the player’s experiences of being on the team. I asked about their experiences of playing a girl versus playing a boy, and whether or not they act or acted differently around their male opponent versus their female opponent. Georgia responded by saying that she enjoys playing girls more than playing boys. She couldn’t really touch on what it is like to play a girl in a match, considering we haven’t played one this season. She continued by explaining that she feels more stressed when playing against a boy. Georgia continued on by adding that when we play together during practice we are both rooting for and encouraging each other, yet the same can’t quite be said when she is playing a boy. During practice when Georgia plays a boy she mentioned that she feels the boys on the team are pitying her in a way. She stated that they “almost feel bad for me a little” and that during matches she feels that her male opponents in a way “have to go easy” on her, which she does not feel is fair. Allison began by saying that she actually found it quite fun. The team mostly consisted of individuals in her grade, the class of 2025, so she knew most of her teammates already. She mentioned that her coach frequently checked in with her, to make sure she was okay considering she was the only girl on the team. Allison mentioned that she does act differently around boys versus girls, yet she can’t make that comparison on the squash team due to being the only girl on it at the time. Allison never had the opportunity to play another girl, due to the gender divide in squash as in most sports and the fact that she was the only girl on the team. She does believe however that playing a girl would “be more fun” and the two could have an increased conversation-like interaction. 

I then asked whether either player had ever felt hesitant or nervous to play a boy during a match. Georgia responded that she was nervous before our first match against Episcopal, but that she thinks those were more first match of the season jitters. Allison replied that she did feel hesitant when she played boys during different matches. She stated that most of her opponents were upperclassmen, so as a freshman at the time she felt somewhat nervous. 

I then had two specific questions for Georgia regarding circumstances related to this year’s team. The first was asking about her reaction when we both found out that neither our scores nor the scores of our opponent would count when we played a boy. She responded by saying that she felt disappointed and wondered whether there was even any point in playing in matches. She added that her perspective has now changed, and although it is still disappointing that her score won’t count, she now sees matches as a way to improve her play and squash skills. 

The final question I asked Georgia was about whether or not she feels left out being one of two girls on the squash team. She responded by saying that she does occasionally feel left out especially when all the boys on the team stand around in a circle chatting or getting themselves ready right before a match. She continued that she keeps to herself more than normal when around the other boys on our team.  Georgia added that if she played different individuals and more people on our team during practice, then she could make it into the top 9, because she would be consistently improving her play.

I also had a specific and final question for Allison regarding whether or not she ever felt left out when she was the only girl on the squash team. She responded that she did feel left out. She stated that “though I was with a bunch of my friends there still was like the gender boundary.” She talked about how she would feel singled out in a way during matches at the very beginning when players were being introduced to their opponents. As the only person wearing a green jersey she felt like “all their eyes were on me.” At the end of the interview Allison added that she has had a lot of fun playing, and that she hopes more girls will join the squash team in the future, which is something we all hope and agree on.