6 Reasons Why Your Squash Has Plateaued

Squash is pretty hard for nearly everybody who picks up a racket for the first time. It takes a good few tries to get used to the ball, the racquet work, the movement, and even the rules.

However, from my experience as a player, coaching other players, and even just observing newer players, beginners often notice a pretty steep learning curve when they start playing squash more regularly.

You've probably noticed and experienced this yourself.

Improvement is very noticeable and exponential. Players start to figure out how to dig balls out of the back corners, move more efficiently, build rallies, and hit winners.

I think this is one of the reasons why the sport is so addictive for many of us!

However, if you play long enough, it's also very likely that you've hit a bit of a plateau at some point in your time as a player. You might even be experiencing one right now!

Well, there can be a bunch of different reasons why that might be. So, for this article, I decided to go through six of the main reasons why players may begin to see stagnation in their improvement.

Let's dive in...

Just Going Through The Motions

It’s easy to fall into the habit of simply going through the motions during training, drills, and even friendly matches.

You show up, hit some balls, maybe play a few games, and call it a day.

While this might feel productive on the surface, it can very easily lead to stagnation in your game. Practicing without clear intent or purpose is one of the most common reasons players hit a period of stagnation in their squash.

When you step on the court, every shot, every movement, in fact pretty much every decision should serve a purpose.

Ask yourself: what specific aspect of your game are you working on today?

Is it your forehand length? Your ability to volley under pressure? Your court movement?

Perhaps it's a group session and the focus of the training isn't necessarily something you're keen on working on. If this is the case, it's still vital to practice with intent, otherwise, you'll fall into the trap of developing lazy, bad habits and it will seep into your matches too.

Without a focus, it’s all too easy to get caught in the comfort zone of mindlessly rallying or playing the same way you always do. Improvement comes from deliberate practice, actively working on weaknesses, and refining strengths.

This mindset alone can bring a sense of purpose to your time on the court.

It’s also important to maintain a structured approach to your sessions.

Rather than just seeing practice as a block of time to fill, think of it as a series of opportunities to challenge yourself. Even something as simple as imagining match scenarios while you drill can elevate the quality of your training.

For example, when working on length, picture yourself under pressure in an important match and try to hit those targets again and again with the intent of pinning your opponent in the back corner and holding your ground on the T.

Another way to break free from just going through the motions is to mix up your routines a little.

Falling into repetitive patterns can lead to autopilot mode, which won’t push your limits or stimulate your mind!

Try new drills, change up your training partners, or add some competition into your practice by introducing scoring or conditions. Variety keeps things fresh and helps you stay mentally sharp.

Lastly, train with intensity.

This doesn’t mean you need to exhaust yourself every session, but it does mean approaching every practice with focus and energy. Treat every shot as though it matters, because it does!

The more effort you put into your practice, the more likely it is that you’ll see the results translate into your game.

The goal is to make every minute on the court count. Even small shifts in how you approach your practice can help you avoid stagnation and start making progress in your game again.

Overplaying/Burnout

We all know how addictive squash can be.

It's very easy to fall into the trap of training lots, agreeing to play for multiple teams, and/or entering too many tournaments, all in the pursuit of improvement.

But, as you probably know, this can very easily lead to burnout which is completely counterproductive.

When you’re passionate about squash and eager to improve, it’s common to think that more court time automatically leads to better results.

While consistent practice is indeed one of the primary keys to progress, there’s a fine line between productive training and overplaying to the point of burnout.

One of the first signs of overplaying is a decline in performance despite spending more time on court.

You might find yourself feeling sluggish, struggling with timing, making uncharacteristic errors, or finding it difficult to keep your head in the game.

When this happens, it’s often a sign that your body and mind aren’t getting the chance to properly absorb the training you’ve been doing.

Improvement doesn’t just happen on the court, it also happens during rest and recovery when your muscles rebuild and your brain has a moment to reflect and process new skills.

Beyond the physical, burnout can also impact your mentality.

If squash starts to feel more like an obligation than something you genuinely enjoy, this is often a time to think about stepping back for a brief period.

The best players don’t just train hard, they train smart, knowing when to push and when to ease off. Taking a short break or mixing up your routine with lower-intensity sessions can help refresh your motivation and prevent frustration.

The last thing you want to do is lose your love for the sport. This is frighteningly common among sports lovers of pretty much any level.

There are countless tales of professionals from all different sports who put their heart and soul into being the best that they can be and consequently pushing too hard, suffering from burnout, and losing that passion they once had for their hobby.

Balancing intensity with recovery is crucial for long-term growth.

Playing through fatigue or mental exhaustion won’t lead to breakthroughs, it will often only reinforce bad habits and increase the risk of injury.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your game is to step away for a week or two (or longer), recharge, and return with fresh energy and a sharper focus.

Impatience

Seeing noticeable changes in your game takes time.

One of the biggest reasons players hit a plateau isn’t a lack of effort, it’s a lack of patience.

Improvement in squash, like in any skill-based sport, isn’t always linear either.

You might have periods of rapid progress, followed by frustrating stretches where it feels like you’re standing still.

The pitfall that many players fall into is that they expect immediate results and, when they don’t see them, they start questioning their approach, their ability, or even their love for the game, without giving their training a chance to kick in.

Skills need to be reinforced through repetition, especially in squash, and muscle memory from even the most specific, focused training sessions doesn’t develop overnight.

If you’ve been working on something specific, like tightening up your drives or improving your movement, it might take weeks before it starts to feel natural and show up consistently in matches.

You might even get worse before you get better if you're attempting to make a big change to your technique or style.

Expecting instant results will only lead to frustration, and frustration often leads to rushed, unfocused play that reinforces bad habits rather than progress.

A common trap players fall into is abandoning a new technique or approach too soon. If you’re constantly switching between different strategies, coaches, or training methods because you’re not seeing immediate gains, you’re never giving any one thing a real chance to work.

Trust the process.

The best players in the world don’t transform their games overnight, they build improvements layer by layer, sometimes over months or even years.

It's not uncommon to see a player drop slightly in the rankings before making a major jump even further up the rankings a season or so later.

This is usually because they, or their coach, have stripped back an element of their game and started to build it up again from scratch.

Think of it like a long-term investment in yourself!

Another issue impatience can cause is a negative mindset.

If you go into each session expecting to see significant breakthroughs and don’t, it’s easy to become defeatist.

The key is to celebrate progress, no matter how small, and understand that every bit of quality practice adds up over time. Your improvement will compound the longer you stick with it and your growth will eventually be noticeable and maybe even exponential (just like an investment)!

If you’re feeling stuck, remind yourself that improvement is happening, even if you can’t always see it. Squash is a long-term game, and those who stay patient and committed will ultimately make the biggest steps in improving.

Just remember, give your training time and don't beat yourself up if you're not seeing results straight away.

Patience pays off!

Trying To Improve Everything At Once

When you hit a plateau, it’s tempting to think that the solution is to overhaul your entire game and start from scratch.

We've all overthought at some point on our squash journey!

You start working on your drives, your volleys, your deception, your fitness, and your footwork all at once.

On the surface, this might sound like a good thing, however, trying to fix everything at the same time often leads to fixing nothing at all (or maybe the odd thing a bit at a time).

Instead of making meaningful, incremental progress in one specific area of your game, you spread your focus too thin and flat, resulting in slow and frustrating improvements across the board.

Squash is a complex sport, and every aspect of your game is interconnected.

However, that doesn’t mean you need to work on everything at once. If you’re focusing on improving your drop shots and their accuracy, but at the same time making major adjustments to your movement, there's a chance that you'll start to get overwhelmed, frustrated, and even confused.

And that's only two different aspects of your game.

Your brain and body can only absorb so much at one time, and overloading yourself with too many adjustments makes it harder for any of them to stick.

A far better approach is to focus on one or two key areas and make sure that they both complement each other.

Pick something specific, like making your length more consistent, then you can perhaps make small adjustments to your positioning to help you find the right angles to hit those targets. Those two skills are intertwined and linked.

Practicing your length hitting while just throwing in random volleys and drops will shift your focus from one thing to three different things.

By honing in on just a couple of related aspects, you’ll see tangible improvements much faster than if you were trying to change five different things at once. Once one improvement starts to feel natural, you can shift your focus to the next.

Also, remember, there's a difference between playing friendlies and full-court conditioned games to practice your overall gameplay, and, actively trying to improve on every single aspect of your game all at once.

Your brain just isn't wired to do that (unless you're some kind of superhuman).

Similar to the impatience section covered above, another issue with trying to improve everything at once is that it often leads to frustration.

If you’re making changes in multiple areas, it can feel like you’re constantly making mistakes and not getting anywhere. This is discouraging and can even make you doubt your ability to improve.

You may start getting confused and forget one element that you're trying to improve while your brain focuses on another, which can be very frustrating.

By narrowing your focus, you'll start to give yourself a clearer sense of progress, which helps with motivation and confidence.

The best players in the world didn’t perfect every aspect of their game overnight.

They built their skills step by step, focusing on one thing at a time before moving on to the next.

If you want to break out of a plateau, resist the urge to change everything at once. Instead, commit to improving one or two key areas that are your biggest weaknesses.

Then, once you're happy (or they're no longer your biggest weaknesses anymore), you can shift your focus.

Not Having Measurable, Attainable Goals

It's very tricky to train your game without having checkpoints to track your progress.

Often, the first thing that comes to mind is beating a certain player, however, your goals don't need to be as 'big' as that (let's say).

A vague goal like “I want to get better at squash” isn’t enough. What does “better” mean? Do you want to improve your consistency? Your shot accuracy? Your movement efficiency? Without a clear target, you’re essentially training without direction, making it much harder to track progress or stay motivated.

Measurability makes tracking improvement much easier, and, it's a great way for you to tell whether your training is working or not.

Since we've already established that you're going to be focusing on a select element of your game, you're going to be patient with it and give it time, and, you're going to be practicing with intent, after a little while you'll be able to start measuring your improvement in that area.

For example, if you're working on your volleying, you can track how many straight volleys (or even figure of 8s) you can hit in a row. Keep track of your progress and work out a target to go for.

Once you hit that target, it'll give you a nice little confidence boost and you can set your sights further afield.

Similar to the 'just going through the motions' point I made, it’s easy to fall into the habit of simply showing up to practice, hitting some balls, playing some games, and hoping to improve over time.

While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying your time on court, improvement is much harder to come by if you’re not working toward something specific.

It's also vital to make sure that your goal is attainable (as well as measurable), otherwise it can become discouraging if you're struggling to meet it.

Instead of saying, “I want to win every length rally” try setting a goal like, “I want to hit 8 out of 10 drives so they bounce behind the service box”.

Instead of “I need to improve my fitness,” aim for something specific, such as “I will be able to do 20 court sprints in one minute”, or something along those lines.

Measurable goals give you something tangible to work toward and help you gauge whether you’re actually improving, attainable goals keep you motivated.

If you currently struggle to find depth in your lengths effectively, don’t expect to suddenly be the best length hitter in your club within a few weeks of training lengths.

Instead, break it down into smaller, achievable steps. Small wins add up over time and keep you motivated to keep pushing forward.

Remember, setting goals that are too ambitious can quickly lead to frustration, which, will lead to stagnation in your game.

By setting clear, realistic goals and tracking your progress, you’ll avoid the frustration of feeling stuck.

Improvement becomes something you can measure, not just something you hope for. If you’ve been training aimlessly, adding structure to your practice could be the key to breaking through your plateau if you feel like you're in one.

Neglecting External Feedback

Being totally honest, I actually completely forgot to mention this one until I got toward the end of the newsletter, and, it's perhaps the most important!

One of the main reasons why you're not seeing improvement could very well be due to the fact that you're not focusing on the right things.

Players can spend countless hours practicing something in the wrong way, with the wrong intentions, or, even working on an element of their game that they don't even need to improve on!

Relying solely on your own perception of their game is more common than you might think.

You might feel like your movement is efficient, your shots are accurate, or your decision-making is solid, but an outside perspective, whether from a coach, teammate, or even an opponent, can often point out flaws you weren’t even aware of.

Even though it might not be particularly nice to hear at times (especially after a painful result), constructive feedback is one of the most powerful tools for improvement.

A training partner might notice that you drop your racquet head too low on your drives.

A rival might tell you that your movement is predictable, making it easier to anticipate your shots.

A coach will break down technical aspects of your game that you may not even realise need work.

These insights can be invaluable for breaking through plateaus.

That being said, feedback doesn’t always have to be criticism either!

Positive reinforcement is just as important. If a coach or teammate points out that your accuracy has improved or that your fitness has noticeably increased, take that on board too.

It'll help you to recognise your progress as well as your strengths that you may want to focus on in future matches to give yourself an edge.

Video analysis is another great way to get external feedback if you don’t have access to a coach.

Watching yourself play, especially compared to higher-level players, can highlight inefficiencies in your movement, shot selection, or positioning. Often, what you think you’re doing on court and what you’re actually doing can look very different from that third person perspective off of the court!

Coaching can be costly and not everybody has that luxury, however, one of the benefits of being in the age of social media is that you can join squash groups and forums online, post a video of yourself playing, and asking fellow players and members for pointers on what you can improve on.

I'm in a group called Squash Stories on Facebook, for example, and I see quite a few videos like this being posted with some very helpful feedback from other players in the comments section.

I don't have a lot of experience on Reddit, but I've heard that that can be a great option too.

So, if you’re struggling to improve or take your game to the next level, it’s always worth asking yourself when the last time you actively sought feedback from someone else was.

Being open to external input, whether from a coach, a peer, or even a bitter rival, could be the missing piece that helps you push past your current plateau.

This article was taken from our On The 'T' Newsletter, if you're interested in receiving more content like this, please feel free to sign up using the subscribe section located at the bottom left of this page (or underneath the article if you're on mobile), thanks!