England squad announced for World Junior Championships in Canada

We have named a strong and exciting squad which will head to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, to compete in the 2026 World Junior Individual and Team Championships from 20-31 July.

England will take two teams of four to the Mark Sachvie Squash Center in Ontario, with both the men’s and women’s teams looking to perform well having won bronze medals last year at the World Junior Team Championships in Cairo. England have a proud history in the competition, having won both team titles five times.

Women’s squad:

• Mariam Eissa (Team and Individual)
• Emily Coulcher-Porter (Team and Individual)
• Reka Kemecsei (Team and Individual)
• Harriet Broadbridge (Team and Individual)

For the women, Eissa (Warwicks) will lead the team. She won bronze in the U17 category at January’s British Junior Open and became British Junior Champion in 2024 at the age of just 15.

British and English Junior Champion Coulcher-Porter (Bucks) is a key member of the side, supported by England no.3 and recent European U19 Individual bronze medallist Kemecsei (Sussex).

No.4 Broadbridge (Hants) reached the last 16 in the British Junior Open U17 draw and finished fifth in the U19 European Championships earlier this season.

Coulcher-Porter expressed her delight at being in the team for the trip to Canada: "I can't wait to compete alongside the girls in Canada, we're so excited to see what we can achieve.

“It will be my last World Junior Championships, a real chance to show what I can do and what we can achieve as a team on the global stage."

Men's squad:

• Dylan Roberts (Individual event only)
• Ronnie Hickling (Team and Individual)
• Ismail Khalil (Team and Individual)
• Gabriel Chak (Team and Individual)
• George Griffiths (Team event only)

Roberts holds both the British and English U19 titles and finished runner-up at this year’s European Championships. He turns 19 during the trip so will only be eligible to play in the Individual event.

Hickling (Surrey) was runner-up in both British and English finals as well as bronze medallist at the European U19 Individuals in Krakow. Ismail Khalil (Warwicks) was a British Junior Championship semi-finalist and is still only 17.

Chak, also 17, is no.4 in the England U19 rankings and reached the semis of February's English Junior U19 Championships. Griffiths comes in for the Team event, having finished 5th in last year’s British Junior Championships.

England Squash Lead Coach Tim Vail commented:

"We're feeling positive heading to Canada for this year's World Junior Championships. Last year's team bronzes in Cairo showed our juniors remain among the world's best and we're looking forward to showcasing our levels again."

Lucy Townley Junior Talent Pathway Manager at England Squash said: "Once again, the England Squash coaching team is proud to lead our juniors into a World Championships where we hope to compete well against the best teams in the world. We were extremely pleased with last year's bronze medals and will look to build on that result and see what our juniors can do."

England Squash’s success on the European and world stage is supported by our Performance Partner, Squash Travel by Nirvana, ensuring smooth travel for our teams at major championships.