While everyone’s focus may well be on the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Britain’s number one squash player Gina Kennedy has her sights set on the 2028 Games.
That is because squash will feature for the first time at an Olympic Games in 2028 in Los Angeles, which for Gina may feel like a home Games having studied in the United States at Harvard University. Having seen her sport overlooked for numerous Olympics, the 27-year-old admitted she was shocked when the announcement was made last year.
“It came as a shock,” Gina told Fen Regis Trophies. “Because we have been disappointed for so many years, we didn’t have much hope of squash getting in for 2028.
“When the news broke, I was just so excited, as well as a little bit nervous! This is going to be my one shot to become an Olympian.”
Starting on the Track
Growing up in Beckenham, a town in Greater London, Gina dreamed of standing at the top of the podium and winning Olympic gold. Her bedroom was adorned with Olympic curtains and bedsheets.
Squash, however, was not the sport that she, nor her friends and family, saw her competing in.
“I was running competitively as my main sport,” said Gina. “At 12 or 13, I was ranked number one in England for the 1200m…I had the fastest time in the country.
“I was probably naturally better at running than I was squash.”
Heralded as one of the country’s most promising middle-distance runners, Gina struggled with the pressure of expectancy and would find solace on the squash court.
“I couldn’t deal with the nerves of running,” Gina explained. “I was quite good from a young age, always winning races by quite a long margin.
“From the age of nine to 12ish, I was struggling mentally with the pressure, which is crazy, because I was so young…but I never found that pressure with squash.”
Finding Squash
Gina discovered squash at the age of nine through a friend, whose father was the manager of The Parklangley Club. The now-Squash star played tennis at the club when her friend’s father encouraged her to give the sport a try.
“He (her friend’s father) wanted his daughter to play squash,” she said. “She wouldn’t play without a friend, so he approached my parents and asked if I would give squash a try.
“So, I did, and I was still doing all the sports at this time. I played squash once or twice a week and I always really enjoyed it.
“I kept loving it, developed a big passion for it and started to play some tournaments where I did well, so I eventually gave up the other sports.”
The Coach
When Gina decided to take squash more seriously at the age of 12, she began being coached by Ben Ford, a former world top 100 player. 15 years later, Ben is still in Gina’s corner, and she puts the stability of having the same coach down as a big reason for her success.
“He’s been my sole coach for 15 years,” said Gina. “It is unique in squash where lots of players, particularly as they start on the pro tour, chop and change coaches to get the results they are looking for.
“Ben is like family to me now…we have so much trust in each other. I was able to get to the top five in the world this year, and I wouldn’t have been able to get there without him.”
Commonwealth Gold
As Gina says, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles is likely to be her “one shot at becoming an Olympian”, but she has already experienced winning gold at a major multi-sport event. In 2022, in front of a home crowd in Birmingham, Gina defeated Canada’s Hollie Naughton to win the women’s singles event at the Commonwealth Games.
Gina, who says her Commonwealth gold is her proudest achievement so far, still has goosebumps when she thinks about it.
“When I first graduated (in 2020), because I didn’t want to do any tournaments whilst I was at college, my ranking was down at 180 in the world.
“I had my sights set on the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where I knew only three English players would be selected to play.
“My initial goal was to get into the top 30 in the world because there were quite a few top English players at the time. Once I started on the circuit, I had a rapid rise and I was able to get a true sense of my level, as I wasn’t able to play much beforehand.
“I rose into the top 10 within nine months or so and my goal shifted from just getting into the team to winning that gold.
“It was the best two weeks of my life, from just being in the village and around Team England and then coming away with a gold medal at home…I still get goosebumps when I think about it.”
Realising a Childhood Dream
At the time, Gina believed that may well be the pinnacle of what she could hope to achieve as a squash player. While retaining her Commonwealth gold and becoming world champion is very much on her bucket list, nothing comes close to the Olympics for Gina.
“I had my Olympic curtains and Olympic bedsheets when I was growing up,” she recalled. I dreamed about this kind of stuff.
“For 15 years, I’ve been thinking that I wasn’t going to be an Olympian, while there are so many other things I want to achieve, like the Commonwealth Games and World Championships.
“But now, there is an Olympics on the horizon, and that’s just incredible…just to be able to say you’re an Olympian is something so few athletes can say.
“It would be an absolute dream come true in so many ways.”
Gina will undoubtedly be following events in Paris with great interest, excited that this will be the final Olympic Games before she can go for gold herself in 2028.
By Aaron Gratton
