Junior squash stars look to follow in the footsteps of greats at SJO 2025
The 79th annual Scottish Junior Squash Open is set to welcome athletes from 32 countries when it takes place in Edinburgh from 28-30 December.
Some of the sport’s rising stars will be in attendance at the tournament, which is regarded as a key fixture on the international junior squash calendar.
Former champion Nicolas Mueller highlighted the importance of the event in junior development, crediting it as a pivotal moment in his own career.
He said: “I remember it quite well, and winning the tournament gave me a lot of confidence before the British Junior Open, which ended up being my best finish there, finishing in the top 3.”
The Swiss athlete, currently ranked 30th in the world rankings, won the under 15 event in 2003, going on to play squash at the highest level.
With ranking points available across age groups from U11 to U19, the Scottish Junior Open has long been an important platform for young players.
Players will seek to emulate the success of former winners, which include 4x Commonwealth Games champion Peter Nicol, reigning World Champion Diego Elias and 2025 World Games winner Satomi Watanabe.
Mueller supported the opportunity, saying he would happily return in the future.
“I really liked my time in Edinburgh, and I would play it again if I was still a junior.”
“Maybe I will come back as a coach one day to see it again,” said Mueller.
There will be plenty of talent on the courts with a handful of former champions and medallists returning to compete this year.
They include Rania Nazril of Malaysia and Mehwish Ali of Pakistan, as well as Judy Liu and Muhammad Sohail Adnan.
Notable Scottish male entries include Archie Niven, a 5/8 seed in the U19s, who competed at this year’s World Juniors and Murdo Mackenzie 3/4 seed, fresh from his Irish Open u17 title in November.
Notable Scottish ladies’ entries include Rebecca Little, the current U15 national champion, Anna Jane Singh 2024 U15 Scottish National Champion and Chi Pui Felicia Chan who are all 5/8 seeds. Consecutive U13 national title holder Sophie Ballantyne is second seed to India’s Divyanshi Jain.
With anticipation building ahead of the tournament, attention will soon turn to whether any of this year’s competitors can add their names to the prestigious list of past winners.
Selected notable previous winners:
Diego Elias (Peru); The 2024 World Champion was 1st U17 in 2013.
Satomi Watanabe (Japan); The World Games 2025 gold medallist won in 2012 as a U13 and in 2013 as a U15.
Ramy Ashour (Egypt); The three-time World Champion succeeded in 1997 as a U13.
Jonathan Power (Canada); The first North American to become World Champion defeating Peter Nicol in 4 sets in 1998, triumphed as a U17 in 1989.
Sarah Jane Perry (England); The three-time Commonwealth Games medallist with individual silver in 2018, individual bronze and team silver in Birmingham 2022 was victorious in 2007 as a U19.
Nicol David (Malaysia); The eight-time World Champion prevailed in 1995 and 1996 as a U15 before winning as a U17 in 1998.
Peter Nicol (Scotland & England); – Born in Inverurie, Nicol became 4 times Commonwealth Games champion and was successful as a U17 in 1998 and in 1990 & 1991 as a U19.
Article by Telfer Gray
