Words: George Marsden
For half a century, squash has crowned its world champions, preserving their achievements in results, rankings and record books. But the stories behind those titles have often remained untold.
Andrew Shelley - a long-time administrator and one of the sport’s most dedicated historians - is now changing that.
His new My Journey podcast, an additional World Squash Library resource, aims to capture the experiences of every men’s and women’s world champion since 1976.
“The podcast brings a new element to the preservation of squash history,” Shelley explains. “I’m just trying to get some insight into the players’ squash journeys and to hear it from their own lips.”
At its heart is a simple premise: that while squash’s history has been documented, it has not always been understood or fully explained.
There have been 36 world champions across the men’s and women’s game since 1976. Their achievements are well recorded. The personal journeys behind them not so much.
Heather McKay pictured above - the first women's world champion
For Shelley, the interviewee is the centre of the project. The podcast format allows for something more natural - preserving the essence of a conversation and offering listeners a way to connect with the person behind the player.
Take Rhonda Thorne, the 1981 world champion. The record books show her victory, but reveal little beyond it. Shelley’s podcast adds the missing context - including her struggle adapting from the warmth of Brisbane courts to the cold conditions of England.
“How she got to winning is now there for people to listen to,” Shelley says.
The podcast forms part of Shelley’s wider effort to document the sport’s history. In late 2019 when he retired as CEO of WSF he launched the World Squash Library as an independent, freely available initiative aimed at preserving squash’s heritage for future generations.
“I’ve never been a journalist - I’ve always just been an administrator,” Shelley says, speaking during a break from editing a recent episode.
“But I believe that our history must not only be accessible now, but safeguarded for the future. Each conversation provides something new.
“For Nicol David, it was about continuing to win. For Grégory Gaultier, it was about finally winning it, after reaching the final four times.”
A key enabler of the project is Shelley’s long-standing relationship with the sport. Having been involved since 1976 - when he joined the then Squash Rackets Association, now England Squash - he knows all the game’s champions personally.
That familiarity shapes the tone of the conversations.
“They know I’m not a journalist trying to catch them out or get a controversial angle,” he says. “It makes it more relaxed. It becomes more of a friendly conversation.”
It also makes access easier.
“Players are generally very supportive of the media,” Shelley adds. “They learn early on that if they don’t give of themselves, it’s harder for them to take. The only difficulty is finding a recording time.”
In an era where sport is increasingly consumed in highlights and headlines, My Journey offers something slower, more reflective - a chance to hear the game’s defining figures speak, uninterrupted, about the paths that shaped them.
After 50 years, squash’s champions are no longer just part of the record.
They are part of the story.
