Squash doesn’t have one official numerical rating system like other sports such as pickleball, where players are ranked from 2.0 to 6.0 based on their ability, however, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to gauge your level.
Tracking your progress can be done in several ways, through platforms like SquashLevels, where points are awarded or deducted based on your match results, or through more traditional means like climbing the ranks in a club box league or moving up the order in a team lineup.
For those competing in tournaments, official rankings can also be another clear indicator to note your progression.
But even if you don’t play in structured events, understanding what kind of standard you're playing at is vital for knowing what you need to work on to reach the next level.
For this article, I'll break squash down into five general levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Competent, Advanced, and Professional.
While these aren’t official categories, they provide a super useful framework to assess where your game currently stands and how you can step things up to the next level.
Let's dive in...
Chances are, you'll be very aware of whether you're a beginner or not.
At the beginner level, everything about squash is still new.
You’re getting to grips with the basic mechanics of the sport: how to swing properly, how to move around the court, and how to keep a rally going.
The focus at this stage is largely on consistency and control rather than power or advanced tactics.
Simply hitting the ball in and keeping the rally alive for more than a couple of shots is an achievement in itself. You'll be just figuring out how to hit the sweet spot in the middle of the string bed too.
One of the biggest challenges early on is movement. It can feel unnatural at first to lunge onto the correct leg or to return to the T after every shot, but developing these habits is essential to improving.
Right now, your footwork might feel a little clumsy, but with repetition (like learning everything else in squash, and indeed life) it'll improve!
Serving is also something you’re getting used to.
While your serves might not be overly powerful or well-placed, you’re able to get them in consistently and start points with a reasonable level of control.
At this stage, assuming you're also playing against other beginners, your opponent’s return may not always be strong, so you might even be able to win points off your serve alone (especially if you manage to get it deep into the back corners.
In rallies, you’re beginning to get the ball back a few times in a row, but depth and pace are still a work in progress.
You might find that your shots often land short too, however, right now, the goal is simply to maintain control of the ball and avoid too many unforced errors.
At this level, the best way to improve is to focus on consistency, movement, and positioning.
Trying to hit the ball too hard too soon will only result in mistakes, so patience is key.
As your technique improves, you’ll start to see longer rallies, more controlled shots, and the early signs of tactical awareness, all of which will set you on the path to the next level.
Drills-wise, simply hitting the ball back to yourself and doing solo practice can work wonders. You can also practice not letting balls bounce when hitting them back to yourself too, if you'd like to try working on volleys.
It's always a great idea to take a look at other players who are who are competent.
Analysing the way that they move, the shots that they hit, and their swing technique can give you some more specific things to improve in your own game and jump up to the next level...
At the intermediate level, you’ve moved beyond the basics and are starting to develop a deeper understanding of the game.
You’re no longer just trying to hit the ball in, now you’re beginning to think about where you’re placing it and how to structure rallies.
Your technique and movement are improving, though they may still feel a little inconsistent at times. While mistakes are still common, you have far more control over your shots than you did as a beginner.
One indicator that you’ve moved up from the beginner level is your ability to keep rallies going with a clear structure.
Instead of just reacting to the ball, you’re starting to play with more intention, looking for ways to control the T and move your opponent around the court.
At this point in your squash journey, you’ll also be starting to figure out your personal playing style, whether that’s aggressive and fast-paced, or more defensive and controlled.
At this stage, you may not always be able to execute your intended shots consistently, but you’re developing an awareness of what you should be doing.
You'll also be beginning to develop an awareness of your targets, where they are, and how to hit them, especially during training or practice sessions.
However, in the heat of matches, I would say that intermediate-level players will still struggle to focus their mind on their shot selection and target hitting.
Movement is also coming together at this stage.
You’re making a conscious effort to return to the T after each shot, though it might not always be as efficient as it could be.
A massive differentiator between the beginner and an intermediate player is the getting to grips of retrieving shots off the back wall, particularly those that bounce off it before hitting the floor.
Generally, beginners struggle to identify where and how a ball will bounce based on the pace at which their opponent hits it and which walls it's directed toward.
Temperature of the ball also plays a big role here, with hot balls on hot courts bouncing a lot more than cold balls on cold courts.
However, shots that hit the floor first before the back wall first remain a challenge, which is completely normal, even experienced players struggle with these if they don’t anticipate them properly.
Another point I'd like to mention is, if you’ve come to squash from another racquet sport, you may have jumped to this level quite quickly, which is awesome!
Racquet sports are often very transferrable between each other.
A background in tennis, badminton, or even table tennis can give you strong hand-eye coordination and an understanding of angles, spin, and timing, helping you bypass some of the early beginner struggles.
However, squash-specific areas like, swing, ball bounce, movement patterns, and proper lunging will still take time to develop.
A great way to start trying to progress to the competent level is by focusing heavily on the basics.
Try basic length rallies and alley games with your training partner, or, even just hitting drives back to yourself on your own.
You can also work on applying and removing pace from the ball. Being able to hit hard with control is a really great indicator that you're on the way to the next level.
Similarly, drills like boast drive (with either straight or cross court drives) are great for helping intermediate-level players become more accustomed to angles and what the ball does when it hits multiple walls and not just the front wall.
Make sure to focus on your movement too. Light, slow ghosting is one of the best ways for intermediate players looking to develop a bit more fluidity, consistency, and efficiency in the way that they move.
Just a few minutes of ghosting with rest in between will work wonders and will start to build a bit of muscle memory that can translate to match situations.
Overall, at this level, progress is all about refining technique, improving shot placement, and making movement more efficient. While you’re still working on consistency, you’re well on your way to becoming a more competitive player.
One last thing I'll touch on for intermediate players is that it's pretty common to notice bigger improvements in your game. I think that, in squash, the most noticeable improvement comes at this level and things in your brain will really start clicking into place.
Unfortunately, these improvements become trickier and trickier to notice as your level increases, but, that doesn't mean that you're not improving!
Congratulations, you're now a competent squash player!
At this level, you’ve developed your own playing style and have go-to shots that you can rely on.
You’re no longer just hitting the ball to keep the rally going, you have a clear plan and understand how to construct points to put your opponent under pressure.
Your length hitting is far more consistent, and you’re capable of executing solid drops, volleys, and boasts when needed. While mistakes still happen, your overall level of control has improved dramatically.
One of the biggest shifts at this stage is the role of fitness.
Rallies are longer, and endurance starts to separate players. You’re engaging in physically demanding points where simply being able to last longer than your opponent can be the difference between winning and losing.
Strength and flexibility also start to play a role with stronger legs being vital for explosive movement, while flexibility makes retrieving shots from deep and low in the front corners a little easier.
Going back to my previous point, at this level, matches are now much more structured.
There's clear intent behind your shots, and your positioning on the court is smarter. You’re consistently aiming to stay on the T and control the middle of the court, rather than just scrambling to get to the ball.
However, many players at this level still struggle with patience. Long rallies require discipline, and the temptation to go for a risky, low-percentage shot can sometimes creep in.
One of the biggest challenges of reaching the next level is fine-tuning your decision-making.
At times, competent players can still fall into the trap of hitting the ball just because they can, rather than because it’s the right shot at the right time. Learning when (and why) to attack and when to play a more conservative shot is key.
It's at this point in your squash journey that it becomes tougher and tougher to reach the higher levels. The next jump (to the advanced level) is a massive step and takes a lot more time, effort, and consistent training to achieve.
Again, the basics are so important here, and, spending as much time on court as possible is also vital.
You should be trying to develop your mental game as well as the physical.
You'll benefit most from playing players who are better than yourself, which is arguably why this is one of the hardest levels to jump up from. You need to go through the pain of defeat over and over again to learn the fastest.
This will help you develop mentally as well as technically.
Once you learn how to fare in those longer, more drawn-out matches against equally skilled opponents, you'll know you're on the right track.
Unfortunately, this is when it becomes even more important to work on your squash-specific fitness and strength.
Fast-paced ghosting, explosive court sprints, frequent stretching, and even going to the gym and doing squats and other weight-based leg exercises will all help to equip you to reach the next level.
When it comes to hitting, this is a great time to start practicing conditioned games to focus on specific parts of your game.
One example of this would be having to hit every shot to the back of the court (with the first bounce having to be behind the mid-court line on the floor). This one is great for finding your depth, accuracy, and consistency to the back of the court.
Another example would be a game where one player can only hit to the front of the court (second bounce in front of the mid-court line) and the other player can only hit to the back (first bounce behind the mid-court line).
Swap round every five points and you'll be able to work on your boasts and drops from the back as well as your low hard lengths from the front.
There are infinite ways to create conditioned games, the trick is figuring out what you'd like to work on.
Once you start to identify your weaknesses and improve them step-by-step, while also refining your strengths, you'll be well on your way to reaching the advanced level.
Image credit: Steve Cubbins
At this level, you'll now have a deep, well-rounded understanding of squash.
You know when to attack, when to defend, and how to construct rallies that play to your strengths.
Your shot selection is intentional and purposeful, and you can adapt your strategy and tactics on-the-go during matches, depending on your opponent’s style.
You can also dictate the pace, slow things down when needed, or apply pressure by taking the ball early and cutting off angles.
Physically, you are strong, fast, and capable of sustaining high-intensity rallies over long matches.
You can recover between points efficiently and still play at a high level deep into a fifth game.
However, not every advanced player is built the same, some are relentless athletes who grind opponents down, while others rely on exceptional racket skills and control to dominate without needing to be as physically explosive.
It’s not uncommon to see highly experienced players at this level who compensate for a lack of speed with precision, deception, and tactical awareness.
The margin for error is much smaller now.
While competent players can get away with occasional loose shots, at this level, every poor shot is punished.
There’s also a major shift in the mental aspect of the game, staying composed under pressure, handling setbacks, and making the right choices in key moments separates those who plateau from those who push to the next level.
Now, it's important to note that even advanced players have their weaknesses. In fact, every single player in the world has a weakness. However, at this stage in your squash journey, it's likely that you're very aware of what you're good at and what you're not as good at.
If you're an advanced-level player, chances are that you're training pretty often, playing for a team or two, and also competing in tournaments.
To reach this level and have such an advanced understanding of the game, you have to have played against a huge variety of different styles and standards of squash players.
But, it's important to always keep pushing and trying your best to train and hit with players who are better (or even just tactically different) than yourself.
Of course, at this level, an advanced player likely has a good idea of what they want to work on and train.
Generally, drills don't get much more complicated than they are for competent players, however, they'll often be played at a higher pace and, of course, a higher standard.
Pressure sessions, where you rally under match-paced intensity with no easy points are really beneficial. If you've got a partner who is good enough to feed you into different corners of the court over and over again at a fast paced, anchors is one of my favourite go-to drills that helps you raise your game.
Essentially, the feeder stands in one corner of the court (usually one of the back corners) and feeds into different corners of the court, with the other player having to retrieve it and always hit back to the feeder.
It's up to the feeder how difficult they make this for the other player!
This is also the time to utilise targets a little more and adding more competitive elements to your drills and routines.
Scoring during alley games and giving extra points if one person hits the targets is always a good one.
Movement-wise, interval ghosting to different intensities is great for working on your fluidity and efficiency as well as explosivity too.
At this level, the smallest improvements in accuracy, anticipation, and court positioning make the biggest difference in beating equally skilled opponents.
Of course, even once you're classed as an advanced level player, there are different levels within this level. In fact, this is the case with each of the five levels I've went through this week.
So, before I move onto the final section, I just wanted to mention that, if it feels as though you're not making the jump from one of these levels to the next, it doesn't mean you're not improving.
It takes everyone different amounts of time to improve, however, as long as you're training with purpose and intent, you can be sure that you're getting better!
Now, this step up from advanced to professional is, of course, the hardest step to make.
To become a professional, you have to have made a conscious decision to make this leap, which actually makes it very different to the other jumps to other levels.
You know for certain when you're a professional player because, at this point, you've signed up to the PSA Squash Tour circuit and have began entering professional tournaments to secure your ranking.
At this stage, the gap isn’t just about skill, it’s about the dedication required to train like a professional.
Of course, there's a jump in standard from the advanced level to the professional level too. Fitness, tactics, and shot quality all need to be sharpened and procured as much as physically possible to compete with the best players in the world.
As many of you who watch SquashTV will probably already know, at the professional level, technical ability is world-class.
Professionals hit their targets over and over again with incredible precision, whether it’s tight, dying lengths, tight drops, or attacking volleys.
Movement is seamless and efficient, with players covering the court effortlessly while maintaining balance and control. Even under extreme pressure, they execute shots with accuracy, turning defensive situations into counterattacks at any opportunity they get.
Their patience is second to none and impulsive or risky shots are (in most cases) at an absolute minimum. Of course, there are some special exceptions with players like Mazen Hesham and Karim Abdel Gawad who are renowned for their ridiculous shot-making ability
The mental game is just as crucial as the physical in professional squash. Even the smallest lapse in focus or burst of frustration can lead to a flurry of points being lost, which can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Professionals must consistently handle the pressures of high-stakes matches, adapting to different opponents, and making split-second tactical decisions.
At this level, self-belief is absolutely crucial, and, it's something I'm seeing more and more evidence of in players' post-match interviews.
Joel Makin, in particular, stands out to me. He often talks about the work he puts in and reaffirms his belief in himself as being capable of reaching the top. You love to see it.
So, to sum up, competing at the professional level isn’t just about ability, it’s also about navigating the realities of the pro circuit.
Travel, tournament schedules, sponsorships, and ranking points all play a role in a player’s career. For someone who is new to this career, I can imagine it takes quite a lot of time to get used to.
It’s an intense, demanding path to take, but, without players willing to take this leap, we wouldn't be able to watch the awesome professional squash spectacles we get to see regularly on SquashTV today!
I'm not sure how many professional-level players read this newsletter, however, I know that there are a few. If you're reading this one, I hope I've portrayed the professional level and lifestyle accurately!
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