Northumberland teen wins national squash accolade for his impressive rise through the ranks

James Southern from Ashington, has won the male Rising Star award at the 2024 England Squash Awards following a triumphant year which saw him rise from 12th in the U13 rankings to 3rd.

The young star plays at the Tynemouth Squash Club and, despite having recently turned 13, James is already ranked 15th in the U15s category.

James’ impressive performances throughout the year saw him represent Team North at the Battle of the Border, whilst he also led the North East side to the Division Three title at July’s Aspire Team Championships, after winning all of his fixtures at the event.

His dad, Nick, explains that playing squash has always been his son’s dream, unlike many of his peers. He said:

“All his friends at school want to be professional footballers for Newcastle and play for England, but James only wants to be a professional squash player.”

His dad believes that as well as developing his squash skills, James has grown drastically off the court thanks to his success on it, as well as the positivity of the squash community. He explained:

“When James first started, he was quite a shy boy, but as his squash advanced, he progressed even more socially. Now, as soon as we arrive at competitions around the country, everybody just gets on and James is with all the other players.

“They all just ignore the squash mums and dads, and hang out with themselves, talking about squash and practicing, we just see them at feeding time!”

On the court, he’s an attacking player who likes to volley whenever possible and has good stamina, allowing him to stay in games. In addition to his own playing success, James has also taken an interest in coaching, and has thrived off helping some of his younger clubmates during training sessions.

James is hoping to represent England in 2025, and the sport’s inclusion at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles has raised the stakes for the youngster’s goals. Nick concluded:

“As soon as we got the email from England Squash to say it was in the Olympics, within two seconds, he was doing the maths, saying I’ll be seventeen then. He’s extremely keen to go for it, LA may be a step too soon but possibly the next one.”

Find out more about the 2024 England Squash Awards.