Words: Mike Dale
Imagery: Asian Junior Squash Championships
China's emergence as a major force in global squash is now a case of when, not if. The evidence base is irrefutable — and it includes the emergence of 14-year-old Yin Ziyuan from Shanghai.
Last month (May 2026), Yin collected her second title at the Asian Junior Individual Championships in Panzhihua, Sichuan, China.
Having won the girls' U13 title last year, Yin became the first player from mainland China to lift the U15 title in the 33 stagings of the tournament — despite having only just turned 14.
Yin is a direct beneficiary of squash's commercial explosion in China. Her parents run Summer Squash in Shanghai which has six glass courts. It is just one of many downtown clubs that have opened across China's big cities in recent years (see Squash Player issue 26.1).
Since the LA28 announcement in October 2023, squash has also started to receive huge State investment, as well as adoption within the education system, at schools and universities.
Experts predict there will be 1000 courts across mainland China by 2030, but that might accelerate to as many as 5000 if squash remains on the Olympic programme for Brisbane 2032.
This grassroots growth hasn't yet fed through into elite performance, but it won't be long. Yin (whose Western name is Summer, hence the name of her parents' squash club) is one of the first to emerge from the nascent Chinese system and show notable Eastern promise.
"Of course my dream is going to the Olympics, but 2028 is going to be too soon," she told Squash Player. "I want to go to the 2032 Olympics so I will keep working hard on that.
"It's not impossible. I'm just going to focus on my own daily life, keep training hard, and see if that gives me the opportunity. It's my dream."
Yin is picked up from school by her parents at 3.30pm every day and taken to Summer Squash to train until 9pm, before heading home for school work, dinner and sleep.
At weekends, she trains for four or five hours each day, or competes in tournaments across China, as well as Singapore, Malaysia, the US Junior Open and British Junior Open. "I enjoy my training a lot. I love the sport," she says.
Summer Squash has appointed coaches from Egypt and Malaysia, and Yin is also supported by former Egypt national team coach Islam Hany, China's national coach for the last year and a half.
Hany told us: "Summer already has the characteristics of a champion. That's the difference between her and other kids; her personality.
"She can pass tough situations. At the Asian Junior Championships, she had the toughest quarter-final, and was 2-0 down in the semi-final and managed to come back and win, playing under huge pressure. It's not easy to handle.
"We now have two gold medals and we're seeking three, four and five. She's still just turning 14 so has another chance at U15s. We're looking for the biggest number of gold medals in Asia and later the World Junior Championships. We need to keep improving and investing."
Hany concedes that Yin is "lucky" to have parents willing to invest time and money into her development and access to a state-of-the-art club which allows her to follow a "professional" training regime.
"What she has is very similar to the Egyptian set-up," explains Hany. "She has the base, the mentality and the mindset."
Yin embraces coach Hany
Yin has already represented the Chinese senior team. She played against her idol, Japan's world no.6 Satomi Watanabe, in the first round of last year's World Games in Chengdu. Although she lost 3/0, Yin went on to win the Plate competition.
Hany is clearly staggered at the pace of Chinese squash development that he's observed first hand since coming over from Egypt. "There has been so much investment in infrastructure and coaches," he says.
"The private sector started three or four years ago with so many clubs being built. The public sector came later after the LA28 announcement, with investment in the national team, hiring coaches and supporting the promising players."
Later this year (possibly by September) China will have its first national team training complex in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. It will have 20 singles courts and two doubles courts, state-of-the-art fitness and physio facilities, restaurants and even dorms, so China's best young players can literally live on-site.
Egyptian, Malaysian, Pakistani and British coaches have had input into the growth of the Chinese system. "This is what's giving them the edge, they are learning from everyone," explains Hany. "They are getting all the secrets."
He added: "The impact on world squash will happen in less than five years. It won't just be the level of the players, it will be technology and facilities too. In two or three years, we'll see some crazy things in Chinese squash. To witness this will be incredible."
