After missing a full season and being off court for the best (or worst) part of a year due to an ongoing back injury, I've thankfully been able to get on court and hit again over the past three or four weeks.
I'll go one further, I managed to play a tournament!
From June 9th to June 15th, I was on holiday in Tenerife with Cai, one of my friends from squash and we ended up playing the Canarian Squash Championships in Tenerife.
It was a super fun event and I was incredibly happy to be playing competitively again.
I thought I'd do a bit of an injury update to start with (for those of you who are interested in my ongoing back pain saga), followed by a tournament summary and breakdown for this article.
Let's delve in...
An Injury Update
So, I'll keep this section brief as I assume that not all of you are too interested in my injuries. Feel free to skip ahead to the next section if you just want to read about the tournament!
Anyway, about a year ago now, I sustained a grade 3 ligament tear to my ankle on a trail run.
This, of course, took a good few months of physio and rehab to recover from, but I slowly got back to the point where I was ready to play squash again.
However, during my second time back on the squash court, I started feeling some pretty intense back pain to the lower left side. I tried to play through it, and, in hindsight, this wasn't a great move and made the pain worse.
I think that, in the three months of walking funny on my injured ankle, I must have put some serious strain on one side of my back to carry the extra weight.
At least, that's what I think has happened...
Following that, despite seeing multiple physiotherapists and receiving X-rays and ultrasounds, nobody could figure out the problem.
It went from SI joint pain, to a slipped disc, to a trapped nerve, to something called a 'bone island', none of which proved to be correct.
Fast forward about 9 months, and I still don't know what the problem is.
But, when I finally managed to get an MRI (which came back showing nothing), the specialist said that I should just try easing back into squash again, as she was not worried about me doing any more severe damage to the back.
So, I got back on court!
The pain is still very much there to this day; however, I can play with it without making too many changes to my movement and technique. On court, it hurts most when I lunge on my left leg and play a backhand, so I try to avoid this when possible.
Off court, it flares up quite randomly, sometimes it starts hurting a lot when I've been sitting for long periods, other times, it hurts a lot the following days after I've played squash or been on a long walk.
But, I couldn't go on not playing squash (or running, which I also love to do) any longer, so I've been easing back in and am at the point where I can play matches again now.
It took a good few sessions to get my shots back and my timing right, but fitness was the main issue.
I've been going to the gym three or four times per week throughout my injury period (along with walks and some running), but, as most of you will know, it's very difficult to do squash-specific fitness without actually playing squash.
I'm getting there, but it's still an uphill battle.
I will mention that I have tried out one more new physio who has been advising me to do strength exercises on my glutes, and I think his approach has been the most effective so far.
It's not getting rid of the pain, but it's certainly helping me manage it a bit better.
His theory was that, when my right ankle was sore, I was compensating by putting all my weight on my left leg. As a result, my right glute has lost muscle, and my right hip has become incredibly tight.
He explained it much better than that, of course, and showed me what happens to your back and hips when one side is much tighter than the other, and it certainly seemed to make sense.
Anyway, the squash is getting there and, before Tenerife, I'd been mainly doing basic drills and conditioned games with some friendly matches here and there.
So, moving on to the tournament, we didn't initially plan to play in this event when we booked our holiday to Tenerife.
We didn't even know that the tournament was on!
We only went to Tenerife in the first place because Cai's parents have an apartment there, and, when we saw a return flight from Newcastle (where I live) to Tenerife for £65 (around $120 CAD), I was never going to say know to that combined with free accommodation!
It just so happened that the Canarian Championships were being played from June 13th to June 15th.
Originally, we were only planning to do some light squash training as we have a couple of good friends in Tenerife who play. We also did some hiking and a bit of padel too.
However, when our friends mentioned that the event was on, and, since they knew the organisers, that they could get us in, we thought, why not?
Below is me (in the middle), with Cai Younger on the right, and our good friend Aitor Chinea on the left.
Apologies, maybe I didn't keep that section as brief as I said I would, anyway, onto the event!
The Event
I must admit, Cai and I were a little apprehensive going into the Canary Island Squash Championships event.
We'd heard that it was generally considered to be exclusively for players from Tenerife, and we didn't want to annoy any locals; however, Aitor reassured us that there was nothing in the book stopping foreign people from playing.
As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed. I think our pale skin (and my light hair) was the telltale sign that we were the two Brits who had come to disrupt the event.
Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. Cai speaks some Spanish, so he was able to talk to more people than I; however, in true British fashion, I mainly spoke to the players who spoke some English.
Another cool thing about the event was that it took place at the new Municipal Squash Center located in the Paco Álvarez Pavilion in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
When I say new, I mean new.
We hopped on the show court to warm up a bit (which had one side glass wall with a viewing area and a glass back too). I couldn't see any marks on the wall, and I think we may have been the very first players to hit the ball on the court.
This was the same on the other three glass back courts too.
The full centre hadn't opened yet (technically). It was quite creepy walking around the huge building, which also had basketball courts, handball courts, padel courts, a swimming pool, and much more.
All of which were eerily empty and unused.
Anyway, the tournament was kind of like a monrad event, where you played all of your matches until you reached your final spot.
Matches were in a best-of-five format, first to eleven points, and two clear points at 10-10.
By the sounds of it, seeding the event was a little tricky for the organizers. In England (and a growing number of other places), we use Squash Levels to grade players based on their level.
However, they didn't have this in Tenerife. Instead, they had something named Rankedin that neither Cai nor I were listed on.
Aitor mentioned after the event that he had recommended to the organizers that I should be a 3/4 seed and Cai should be either the 1 or 2 seed.
Unfortunately, I ended up being seeded at 25 for some reason (Aitor mentioned that he protested this but didn't have any luck), but Cai managed to grab the 2 seed spot.
They did the actual draw at the opening ceremony which was cool.
Well, it was cool until my name popped out the hat and I was set to play Cai in the third round (this was assuming I won my second round and I had received a bye in the first round).
I was keen to play as many new players as possible, plus, I play with Cai at least once per week, but, that's just how it goes sometimes!
It also meant that it would be impossible for both me and Cai to reach the final.
Anyway, let's talk a bit about my matches!
My Matches
Going into the event, I told myself that I wasn't going to put too much pressure on myself for the event and to just try to enjoy it (without putting too much strain on my back).
In hindsight, the fact that I played three best-of-five matches on the Saturday and one on the Sunday was maybe not a great idea.
But I had a super time anyway!
Following a bye in the first round, I faced a junior in the second round named Mario Gonzalez Guzman.
I felt incredibly guilty that I couldn't converse with him much due to my very limited Spanish, but he was an incredibly friendly character.
I got a shock at some of the shots he had under his belt. There were plenty of times during rallies where I felt comfortably in control, but all of a sudden, a low kill or accurate drop would fly in from a random corner of the court.
The biggest shock to the system was the temperature. Tenerife's pretty hot 365 days a year and usually sunny. Outside it tends to be around 30 degrees (Celsius) but can go significantly higher (especially in the middle of the day).
As a Brit, I'm used to playing on pretty cool courts for most of the year, and, with my lack of squash fitness, I struggled when the rallies got longer.
I took the win 3-0, but all three games were quite tight.
I was shocked to learn I would be playing Cai about 2 hours after that first match, which I knew was going to be a very tough ask.
Cai's first match was on Friday night, so he had a rest while watching me on Saturday morning.
Although I do feel like I'm back playing very well again, I knew I was going to struggle against Cai. He usually beats me; however, in our past two friendlies, I had won 3-1 and 3-2.
But, as most of you know, a friendly is very different from a competitive match.
Cai's style is very hard to play against. He takes the ball early, hits hard, and keeps the pressure on at all times. His game relies on grit and control, whereas mine's a little more about moving the other player around and catching them off-guard with changes of direction and holds.
But, in this temperature, Cai's game dominated mine. He put a few big rallies into me at the start of each game, and, physically, I would struggle for the rest of that game.
I was hoping to snag a game or two, but Cai very deservedly took the win 3-0.
In my next match, I faced a tricky left-handed player named David Hernandez. I enjoyed this match; he was very friendly and played a fun style of squash.
It was very tough to keep track of the ball. David hit very low and very hard, which made it very difficult for me to slow things down and get control of the rally.
Considering this was my third best of five matches in the same day, I felt pretty good physically. I managed to implement a game plan that involved moving David from corner to corner as much as possible.
I saw some of his match before ours and it was quite a tough one. He was certainly feeling it more than me physically so I managed to break him down and he started to make mistakes.
I took that match 3-0.
My last match was against Juan Gabriel Iranzo Escolano. We played a great match, he was incredibly crafty and, similarly to Mario who I played in the first round, could seemingly slot in winners from anywhere.
I knew that Juan was older than myself, however, he told me after the match that he was 47 and I couldn't believe it. It's very clear he's taken health and fitness seriously throughout his life and he was in great shape. I'd say he looked in his early to mid 30s!
I managed to win that match 3-0 too, but, I'd say that it was my toughest one yet.
So, despite my seeding, I ended up coming 8th. However, in an ideal world, I think I could have made the semi-finals and would have most likely faced Aitor.
I'm not sure who would have won between me and him as we always have a close match, but I know it would have been a good one!
Cai managed to make the final and faced 1 seed Pedro Espeleta (another one of our local friends). Pedro's a very tough player. He hits down on every single drive he plays with a lot of power.
He's got some very flashy shots too.
Ultimately, despite my incredible coaching in between games, Cai lost 3-1, but it really could have gone either way and the match was neck and neck throughout.
Final Thoughts & Future Squash Plans
As I mentioned, I was certainly worried about local players not being too happy with our presence, but by the end of the event, everyone was so kind and friendly it was a big relief.
The organizers urged us to come back next year and even bring some other players if we can. I believe they want to grow the profile of the event and bit and instigate some new exciting match-ups.
I forgot to mention that, along with a beautiful green tournament t-shirt, all entrants received a squash ball sander (pictured above). The idea is that you put an older/used squash ball inside, close the lid, and twist it around to roughen up the surface of the ball and make it play more like a new ball.
I believe I've shared a different company that makes these in our ATW section several months back; however, I'd never seen one in real life before.
This one came from a company named Garhem that does 3D printing. I haven't tested it out yet, but I'm certainly excited to see if it works.
Anyway, the Canarian Squash Championships turned out to be an absolutely awesome event, and Cai and I are definitely keen to go back next year.
If you ever have the chance to enter tournaments in other countries I'd highly recommend giving it a go.
It's a great way to visit somewhere new, play some squash, and meet new people at the same time.
For me personally, I'm absolutely over the moon that I'm playing squash again. My back did hold up for this event, but by the later stages of all three matches it was starting to get pretty sore. I stretched pretty stringently and didn't have to withdraw which was a great result in my opinion.
I'm still thankful that we're still in the off season as I'm still working on getting my fitness back, but, I'm incredibly eager to enter more tournaments once the season begins again.
And don't even get me started on how excited I am for team squash...
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