A New Joel Makin?!

A Bit of Background

Born 27th of October 1994 in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Joel Makin is now 29 years old.

With many current professionals well into their 30s, for someone in Joel's shape, this is a great age for him to reach the next level since he has accumulated plenty of experience and wisdom, however, his physical condition is still superb.

He's 180cm tall and weighs 82 kg. I just listened to an interview with him and the commentators at the Qatar Classic and he mentioned that he was around 90kg last season when he was doing a lot of weight lifting which is pretty absurd.

He also mentioned that he was at around 6-8% body fat, which is wild. If you know much about Joel Makin, you'll know he's an absolute machine physically (but more on that later).

Joel has been a sponsored Karakal player for quite a long time now (I'm not actually sure how long) and has his own signature racquet with the brand, the Karakal Raw Pro Joel Makin 2.0.

A few of my friends use this racquet and I've tried it out myself, it's certainly a great frame!

Anyway, as I mentioned in the intro, Makin is currently ranked at World No.9, his highest ranking was World No.7 (in 2022), and, he's pretty much been no lower than 11 since then.

He's got 11 years on the PSA Squash Tour now with 392 matches under his belt, 247 wins, 23 finals reached, and 8 titles claimed.

But, rewinding a little bit, Makin's route to the top involved reaching the top 50 for the first time back in 2017.

That year he won the Kent Open and came second in the Chicago Open (losing out against Cesar Salazar in the final), then, in 2018 he won the Arnold Homes Tring Open, and, made the quarter-finals of both the Channel VAS Championships and the Qatar Classic at the end of the year.

This is when he entered the big leagues!

Image credit: Steve Cubbins

By 2019, he was playing in most of the major events such as the Tournament of Champions, the Canary Wharf Classic, the Egyptian Open etc, and was making some serious progress in pushing the top players.

He breached the top 10 for the first time towards the end of the 2019-2020 season, and, at this point, he was the British No.1 too. Before that season closed out, he reached the last four of the CIB PSA World Tour Finals and the last eight of the Qatar Classic and the CIB Black Ball Squash Open.

2021 is when Makin broke the top 8 and was now making the semi-finals and even finals of many major events.

In 2022, Joel took the biggest title of his career, winning the prestigious Manchester Open, but, since then it's almost been like he reached his ceiling (at least if you just looked at his record on paper over the past few years).

We had a bit of a glimpse into what he's capable of towards the end of last season when he won the Manchester Open yet again beating the likes of Youssef Ibrahim in the semi-final and Greg Lobban in the final.

He also dismantled Tarek Momen 3-0 at the end of last season's British Open, then went on to beat Ibrahim again (this time 3-2), and, beat Diego Elias 3-1 (who recently had a stint at World No.1) which was a big turning point game in my opinion.

So, as I mentioned, if you've watched Joel play (especially last season) and know anything about his training regime, you'll likely be in agreeance with me that he's got something more to give.

I'll talk a little about his regime and his style in the next two sections, then I'll dive into talking about this season's 'new Makin'!

Makin's Ridiculous Fitness Regime

We all know how tough squash is, it's one of, if not the, most physically demanding sports in the world. You need to be strong, fast, flexible, fit and have great hand-eye coordination on top of everything.

So, professional squash players have to be fit. Skill and shots only get you so far and to reach those higher levels you need impeccable fitness and consistency to be able to grind out big tougher matches.

There are a few players that stand out when it comes to physicality. There are players like New Zealand's Paul Coll and England's Gina Kennedy, but, nobody (in my opinion) is as fit as Joel Makin.

The Welshman sometimes posts short clips of his workouts on social media and they're absurd just to give followers a little glimpse into his ridiculous workouts.

On a side note, if you don't follow Joel on social media, I'd highly recommend doing so. His content is really interesting just from the perspective of a squash fan, but, it's also given me some great ideas and inspiration for drills and exercises that I haven't tried before.

These workouts are so absurd that an article from the PSA written a while back referred to Makin as the fittest man in squash (backing up my claim). 

According to that article, a typical fitness session for the 29-year-old involves 10 sets of 1km intervals run at 20kph (12.5mph), combined with 4-5 reps of lunges carrying weights up to 180kg, together with pressure sessions on the court.

I'm aware that Makin was doing a lot of weight lifting in previous years, however, I also know that, now, on top of all his squash-specific strength and fitness training, Makin does a lot of boxing.

If you've ever seen how hard boxers train, you'll know that this is a wild extra way to build on fitness. I'm not sure if many (or any) other squash players do a completely different sport (other than running or swimming or doing their routines at the gym) to work on their fitness outside of squash.

Anyway, Makin's fitness shows every single time he plays a match. Yes, he is known as one of the sweatiest players on the PSA Squash Tour, but, that rarely means he's tired.

There's a reason why he's been a part of some of the biggest, longest, and most gruelling squash matches of all time...

Makin's Style Of Play

Joel Makin is what's often referred to in squash (and other sports) as a grinder (Joel, if you're reading this, apologies if this has caused any offence)!

A grinder is someone who retrieves every single shot their opponent plays and can endure the longest rallies and matches without physically fatiguing. They can sustain a high pace of play and play consistent lengths over and over again, rarely making unforced errors of their own.

However, this is perhaps now the old Makin I'm referring to... this season's 'new Makin' may have ascended above the 'grinder' allegations I'm making (but more on that in the second half)...

Anyway, this style of play makes for some great matches to watch. It's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea, with many gruelling length rallies and very few nicks, kills, and winners.

But, for squash purists, Makin's game can be beautiful to behold.

I've touched on his endurance and fitness, but, I haven't yet mentioned his explosivity. Makin is absolutely rapid when moving into those front corners to retrieve his opponent's attacking shots.

His strength when doing heavy lunges in and out is really impressive.

When it comes to shots, Joel is exceptionally good at stepping across and volleying, taking balls early, and putting pressure on his opponents. He can apply some serious power whether he's volleying or not too.

In recent seasons, his short game has come on leaps and bounds too, with the counter straight drop becoming more and more of a weapon for the Welshman.

While he doesn't go for tricky deceptive shots to claim quick points, Joel is an expert at hitting his targets again and again to slowly wear down his opponents and wait for the right moment to go for a kill or a drop, even if it takes one, two, or three minutes to do so!

The New Makin?

As I've mentioned a couple of times, given the work he puts in and the level he has been able to consistently play at over the past few years, I think Joel is deserving of more titles and a higher ranking.

It wasn't necessarily like his game was missing something in previous seasons, it was more as though it seemed like he had more to give and that he needed to take one more step in his game to get to the next level.

Now, that makes it sounds as though he just needs to make some sort of change to his technique or strategy, which of course isn't the case.

It can't be understated how much practice professional squash player's do.

As I'm writing this, Makin has now beaten Fares Dessouky 3-1 in quite a see-saw match, and, in his winning speech, Makin touched upon his training.

The interviewer asked him what the difference in his game has been over the past year or two, Makin's response was something along the lines of 'just another 2000 hours of court time hitting shots'.

He went on to talk about how important it is to just hit balls as much and as often as he can during practice. Again, hitting those targets is the cornerstone of his game-style.

Well, although this season hasn't been goign too long, Joel is looking like a new player in a way. He has an unwavering assertiveness and confidence out on the court.

I'm using the ongoing 2024 Qatar Classic as an example and there's one match in particular that's stood out to me, and indeed the entire world of squash... and that was Joel Makin's 3-0 win over Paul Coll.

For Joel to be drawn against Coll, who currently sits at World No.3, in the first round is a pretty big ask, however, this match was possibly the best I've ever seen Makin play.

The scoreline was 11-8, 11-4, 11-4.

Now, you can't use this match to form a solid opinion on either player, as it's also likely that Coll perhaps had an off day too.

However, having watched the match, it seemed as though the first game was somewhat close, but, Makin was calling all the shots.

After getting a 1-0 lead, Makin was in the drivers seat the entire time, not letting Paul get a sniff of the T in any rally. The Welshman was doing a superb job of hitting his targets again and again, volleying a lot, and finishing off rallies at the right time.

Joel (who's also referred to as 'The Golden Tiger' due to his red hair and beard) had won just 4 of 17 previous matches against Paul Coll.

In fact, his last victory against the Kiwi was at the same vanue precisely 12 months prior, with that match lasting 93 minutes and going to four games.

As stated previously, Coll is another one of those players with superhuman fitness, so these two are usually destined to playing a monster marathon match whenever they come up against each other.

However, for Joel to dismantle Coll like that indicates a change. A new Makin. Perhaps a slightly different style to just grinding it out. It's like Makin had a new weapon out there.

Precisely what that was is what I've already mentioned (I think), and that's relentless volleying, dominating the T, and hitting those targets. But, that sounds too simple and easy on the surface.

Something else I did notice about Makin was that he seemed more confident than normal, but also, more relaxed than normal.

It's not often you see the Welshman smile, but we saw him with a grin on his face on quite a few occasions in his match with Paul (and again in his next round match against France's Auguste Dussourd which he also won 3-0).

This was something that the commentators picked up on too.

He seemed to be really enjoying his time on court, which allowed him to be a little looser and comfortable. This makes it a lot easier to hit your targets and play your best squash.

Something I haven't yet touched on is Makin's mental strength.

To be a grinder (not that I'm saying Makin is still a grinder...) you have to be very mentally strong. You have to be able to stick to your guns, execute your gameplan, and stick to it, no matter how long the rallies get.

He's never been the type of player to lose his head and give up points due to a poor decision or unforced error, however, he also hides his cards very well and it's difficult to tell what his mental state is.

This is ultimately a pretty big strength, and, the fact that he's smiling on court during such important matches is the sign of some great mental strength and confidence.

Makin's winning speeches have also been really interesting to listen to.

He doesn't just go through the motions of congratulating his opponent and saying he's happy with his win, he actually goes into some unfiltered detail about his game plan, where he did well, and where his opponent's weaknesses were.

After his match with Coll, he said:

"I think if you get ahead against Paul he can get edgy, he stops believing in the process of what he’s doing. I got on top and then those weird tins happened. You get those quick errors and then the gaps seem to open up, but not many people have been able to do that to him for a long time."

Makin then went on to say:

“Some of these guys can put together special performances and you’ve got to shake their hand if they’re too good and keep coming back. I’m going to keep trying to get through these matches, and if my squash is that sharp then I’m going to cause some problems.”

He's not quite having a dig at his opponents, but, he's still being brutally honest.

This really says a lot about Makin's mindset and where he sees himself as a player. He's clearly got the deeply rooted belief that he can (and will) beat these top players if he's on top form. With that level of confidence in himself, the only thing left to do is actually play at that top form!

And that's just what he did against Fares Dessouky as well. Even though it was a 3-1 victory that could have gone either way, Joel stuck to his guns and it paid dividends.

So, I think this really could be a glimpse of what's to come for the Welshman this season. I'm hoping we're about to see something special from Joel, something that he's deserved for a long time!

Predictions For Makin?

I wouldn't be making all of these claims about the 'new Makin' if I didn't have solid predictions in mind.

Straight off the top of my head, reaching the world's top 5 is the main thing I want to see from Joel. He's got what it takes to beat those top players, he just needs to do it more and more consistently.

I like to think that he could do it by the end of the first half, however, that's a very big ask with players like Ali Farag, Diego Elias, and Mostafa Asal on absolute top form at the moment.

I firmly believe that Joel can achieve this feat by the end of the season if he keeps up with what he's doing.

Image credit: Steve Cubbins

Titles wise, there aren't any specific tournaments that I think Joel is more or less likely to win than others, however, I think this is his year to win some gold and even platinum titles.

The Silicon Valley Oracle NetSuite Open gold event is next up, and, after that, is the platinum US Open, the gold Singapore Open, and the platinum Hong Kong Open.

I would absolutely LOVE to see Makin grab a title at one of these events and will be cheering for him (as a fellow Brit).

So, I hope this week's newsletter has got you hyped up about Joel Makin! I certainly am (as you can tell), however, if you have your own thoughts or comments, please feel free to get in touch and let me know, I'm always interested in hearing the thoughts of our readers.

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