Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players (or in doubles 4 players on court at a time) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. Squash is recognized by the IOC and remains in contention for incorporation in a future Olympic programme.

The game was formerly called squash racquets, a reference to the "squashable" soft ball used in the game (compared with the fatter ball used in its parent game racquets (or rackets; see below).

Squash is a sport developed from at least five other sports involving racquets, gloves, and balls having roots in the early 12th century in France. It is stated that “Squash, with its element of hitting balls against walls, was for entertainment. For example, boys slapped their balls in narrow alleys and streets”. Religious institutions in France, such as monasteries, developed a similar game. Monks used gloves that were webbed to hit balls against a fishing net strung across the middle of the courtyards of the monasteries. This developed the early “racquets” used in tennis and squash. Then in late fifteenth century, tennis was developed and spread to other European nations. The next major development of squash took place in England where the game of rackets_(sport) was developed in Fleet Prison, a debtor’s prison. Similar to tennis, it involved racquets and balls, but instead of hitting over a net as in tennis, players hit a non-squeezable ball against walls. A variation of rackets that also led to the formation of squash was called fives, similar to handball. Fives was essentially the game of racquets, without racquets. (The ball was hit with the hand.) It is played against a wall or walls.

Peter Nicol, MBE (born 5 April 1973 in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire), is a former professional squash player from the United Kingdom, who represented first Scotland and then England in international squash. In 1998, while still competing for Scotland, he became the first player from the UK to hold the World No. 1 ranking. During his career, he won one World Open title, two British Open titles, and four Commonwealth Games Gold Medals. He is widely considered to be one of the most outstanding international squash players of his time.

During his career, Nicol was well known for his excellent retrieving game, as well as being an extremely tough competitor to break down. His rivalry with the Canadian player Jonathon Power was amongst the most famous and extended in the history of squash.

Nicol was ranked World No. 1 for a total of 60 months during his career, including a continuous 24 month stint in 2002-2003.

After finishing runner-up at the World Open in 1997 and 1998, Nicol won the title in 1999, beating Ahmed Barada of Egypt in the final 15–9, 15–13, 15–11. He continued to hold the title of "world champion" through to 2002 as the men's World Open was not held in 2000 or 2001 due to difficulties in securing sponsorship for the event.

Nicholas Matthew (born 25 July 1980 in Sheffield) is a professional squash player from England who won the British Open in 2006 and 2009 and is the reigning World Champion. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 1 in June 2010. His home squash club is Hallamshire Tennis and Squash club in Sheffield which has named a squash court 'The Nick Matthew Showcourt'.

Matthew, who attended High Storrs School, first came to the squash world's attention as an outstanding junior player. He was the 1999 British Junior Open under-19 champion, a semi-finalist at the 1998 World Junior Championships, and a member of the England team which won the 1998 world junior team title. He made his first appearance on the professional tour in 1998.

In 2006, Matthew became the first home-grown English player to win the British Open men's title since 1939. In the final, against Thierry Lincou of France, he came back from 0–4 down in the fifth game to win 11–8, 5–11, 11–4, 9–11, 11–6. In 2007, Matthew won the US Open title, beating James Willstrop in the final 11–7, 11–4, 11–7.

James Willstrop (born 15 August 1983, in North Walsham, Yorkshire, United Kingdom) is a professional squash player from England.

Willstrop is recognised as a young squash talent with a big future ahead of him. He has a large build for a squash player, being 6 feet 4 inches and 91 kg.

Willstrop trains at Pontefract Squash Club in West Yorkshire, where he is trained by his Dad, Malcolm Willstrop.

Willstrop crowned a sensational junior squash career in 2002 when he claimed his third consecutive British Junior Under-19 National Championship title, to establish himself as England's most successful junior player of all time – having won National titles at all age groups (under-12, under-14, under-17 and under-19), and British Junior Open trophies at under-14, under-17 and under-19. In the same year, he established himself as the world's top junior player, claiming both the European and the World junior titles.

Willstrop has gone on to be one of the youngest players ever to play for the senior England team, representing his country for the first time at both the European and World Team Squash Championships in 2003.

Matthew England is a physical oceanographer and climate scientist. England completed a B.Sc. (Honours) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of Sydney, Australia. In 2005 he became a Professor at the University of New South Wales, and was awarded an Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship that same year.

England's main research work relates to the global-scale ocean circulation and its influence on regional climate, with a focus on the Southern Hemisphere. England is currently Co-Director with Professor Andrew Pitman of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales. England is a former Fulbright Scholar and CSIRO Flagship Fellow. He currently co-chairs the CLIVAR Southern Ocean Regional Panel.

England was an organiser and signatory of the 2007 Bali Declaration by Climate Scientists. England also jointly authored the Copenhagen Diagnosis in 2009.

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