England clinch bronze medals at World Junior Team Championships

England were bronze medallists in both the men's and women's events at the 2025 World Junior Team Squash Championships at the Black Ball Sporting Club in Cairo.

Both teams came up against host nation and defending champions Egypt in their respective semi-finals. Defeat in both match-ups was certainly no disgrace against the sport's current powerhouse nation.

Having both won three out of three matches to top their respective pools, England's men and women had what Tim Vail called "one of my proudest moments as national Under-19 coach" on quarter-finals day as they defeated Pakistan and Canada respectively.

Dylan Roberts beat Anas Ali Shah 11-7, 11-6, 11-5, before Alex Broadbridge polished off Pakistan with a 14-12, 11-2, 11-9 victory over Abdullah Nawaz.

The women's quarter-final with Canada saw Emily Coulcher-Porter and Mariam Eissa defeat twin sisters Spring and Ocean Ma, in four and three games respectively. England no.3 Olivia Owens went down to Tsz Long Alyssa Ho in the third rubber.

In the men's semi-final with Egypt, England's first obstacle was mighty 17-year-old Mohamed Zakaria, who had won his second successive title in the World Junior Individual Championships the previous week. Zakaria is the current world no.14 and the only teenager in the top 100 of the PSA world rankings.

He defeated Broadbridge 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 in the first rubber, before British Junior Open U19 champion Eiad Daoud secured Egypt's place in the final with a 11-4, 11-3, 11-2 triumph over Ismail Khalil.

England faced another Egyptian prodigy in the women's semi-finals in the form of world no.5 Amina Orfi, who last week became the first player in history to win four World Junior Individual Championship titles.

Orfi was typically ruthless against England's 16-year-old European U19 bronze medallist Eissa, winning 11-0, 11-3, 11-3, before team-mate Janna Swaify conquered a spirited Olivia Owens 11-2, 11-9, 11-4.

Egypt went on to collect both titles on Friday with a 2-0 victory over first-time finalists USA in the men's final and another whitewash in the women's final against Hong Kong, China. For the women, it was their 10th consecutive victory, a run that stretches back 18 years.

England coach Vail said:

"In the pool stages we had a tough day against France for the girls and Hong Kong for the boys, but came through both matches 2-1. All players performed excellently which gave us an opportunity to progress to the semis.

"Quarter-finals day was definitely one of my proudest moments as the national U19 coach. The chats Lauren [Selby] and I had with the players during the day about tactics, what to expect and how to perform were invaluable and the players performed those tasks admirably."

"We're all very proud to get bronze in both men's and women's events for the first time, especially as we had no players in the top 16 of the individuals."

In the women's individual championship, four English players reached the third round — and three narrowly lost out in five-game encounters.

Coulcher-Porter just missed out against Brazil's 9/16 seed Laura Silva 11-13, 11-4, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7; Eissa lost out to Scotland's Robyn McAlpine 12-14, 8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9 and Owens battled hard against Hong Kong, China's 5/8 seed Ena Kwong before going down 7-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7. Reka Kemecsei took the lead against 9/16 seed Helen Tang, also of Hong Kong, China, before ultimately falling 4-11 11-3 11-6 11-2.

Owens said:

"It’s been a great experience in Cairo, competing in an environment with so much energy against the best juniors in the world. There’s been so much to take away and learn from."

Dylan Roberts was England's stand-out performer in the men's individual event as he went down fighting in five — 11-3, 3-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3 — against rising Saudi Arabian star Mohammed Alnasfan. Broadbridge also went out in round three, losing to Egyptian 9/16 seed Adam Hawal in four games.

Broadbridge commented:

"The weather has been great in Cairo and the squash has been even better. It's been an amazing tournament and a truly unforgettable experience playing at such a prestigious club in the toughest tournament of our junior careers."