Orkney Open brings PSA squash to Kirkwall as excitement builds for Island Games

Excitement is building on the Orkney Islands as a fantastic summer of sport awaits, with this weekend set for the the annual Orkney Open squash competition. The 2025 event sees the addition of a PSA Satellite grade alongside the usual Silver Scottish Squash sanctioned event being held across two grades and a junior draw. The arrival of professional squash is adding another layer of excitement for the community ahead of the ten-day multi-sport event coming in the summer – the Orkney 2025 Island Games.

Kirkwall Squash Club has a different kind of buzz around it at the moment with such high profile events and talented players coming through the club, and squash has benefited with attracting more local players to come and give the sport a go. The Men’s PSA satellite event has also attracted mainland Scottish and English players of different standards and styles of play – exactly the kind of exposure the Orkney players are needing before the Island Games.

Amongst the players competing in the Orkney Open this weekend are locals Finlay Scott and Aimee Drever. “It’s great to bring a PSA caliber event to the club,” said Scott, Orkney’s top player and rising professional. “I’ve competed in quite a lot of Satellite tournaments across Europe now, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do in Kirkwall — this year we’ve made it happen, and what better time in the run in to the Island Games.”

Scott also mentions his excitement to compete at his home courts: “Apart from our Club Championships of course, I’m normally used to having to travel and staying at friends houses when competing, so it’ll be quite nice to have an event at home and be able to sleep in my own bed for a change!”

The Orkney Open will be the most northern PSA event ever hosted in the UK, and is a key milestone as preparations continue for the Island Games. The three-day tournament will be a key testing period for the organisers and volunteers set to host over 2000 athletes, including 48 international squash players, this summer.

The event is also sure to attract the attention of spectators this weekend with friends, family and players coming to enjoy the traditional graded event — featuring mixed A and B grades, as well as a junior event.

“We’re delighted to see a healthy number entered in the graded tournament, especially women and girls,” said Drever. “It’s definitely going to be good exposure for a lot of our club players, including myself! We’re keen to compete against new players of different playing styles as we often have a limited range of opponents. It’s great to see some juniors joining as well — we have a group coming back from Dornoch for the second year to compete in this event, as well as some of our own juniors. Hopefully they’ll all enjoy some of the PSA squash which will be on display.”

Amongst those to watch for the juniors is PSA player Thomas Clark, who spoke about his excitement to going to compete in Orkney and what it means to have professional standard events taking place in Scotland. “Orkney isn’t a place I’ve been to before so I’m very excited to compete there for the first time,” said Clark.

“I’ve heard some big things about this club and they’ve produced some great players over the years. It’s great to see Orkney hosting a PSA satellite for the first time, they are setting a very good example for the rest of country on how hosting these kind of competitions can be beneficial for both clubs and players. I’m also very excited to see the landscape and hopefully experience some of the island culture.”

Play begins at 5pm on Friday with qualifying for the graded tournament at the Pickaquoy Centre, with the PSA matches kicking off at 18:20 on Court 2. All spectators are welcome to attend and you can follow draws and results via SportyHQ.