Have a hit with the stars at Leamington's Squash Girls Can Festival

Sarah-Jane Perry, Alison Waters, Emily Whitlock, Victoria Lust, Tesni Evans and Jenny Duncalf will all play at the event at Leamington Tennis and Squash Club

Have a hit with six of Britain’s top women before they show off their skills in an exciting exhibition at Leamington’s Squash Girls Can Festival.

Global squash stars including World No.7 Sarah-Jane Perry and four-time British National champion Alison Waters will aim to inspire the next generation of female players at the Warwickshire event.

Two-time British Junior Open champion Emily Whitlock, World No.15 Victoria Lust, Wales No.1 Tesni Evans and two-time British National champion Jenny Duncalf have also pledged their support to the festival, which takes place on 9^th July at Leamington Tennis and Squash Club.

Secondary school girls from years 7 to 12 will be encouraged on to court for a free taster session before women and girls in the Warwickshire area try their hand at match play. Then it will be the turn of the pros to light up the court with their finest displays of exhibition squash.

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National Squash Championships and Allam British Open finalist Sarah-Jane Perry, 27, said: “It's a fantastic event which I'm thrilled to be a part of. It will be great to get on court with some of the female players from the area.

“It's imperative that girls see positive female role models from as young as possible and hopefully we can inspire some to think about playing professionally, but equally just to enjoy playing.

“Events like this go a long way to increasing the number of girls playing, which naturally creates more competition and raises standards. Welcoming clubs such as Leamington, Kenilworth and West Warwicks plays a big part too as this creates a community for people to belong to.”

Baxi Heating has sponsored the event, with the proceeds of the raffle going to Myton Hospice.

Jason Pike, Leamington Tennis and Squash Club’s Head Squash Coach, said: “We want to make this event truly memorable and energise female squash in our area.

“We have an awesome line-up, we are so lucky to have such talented players performing right on our doorstep. This is open to all – men and women, boys and girls. Let's create a brilliant atmosphere for the ladies.”

The event will begin at 10am with a secondary schools free taster session, which will run until noon. This will be followed by three hours of frantic squash from 1pm to 4pm. Frantic squash is a team game based on five-minute matches where each player’s goal is to win as many points as possible for their team.

Exhibition matches are scheduled to take place from 6pm to 8pm.