First Bermudian Female Squash Player In Games
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Emma Keane describes the moment she walked onto the court for her first squash lesson in Devonshire as love at first sight.
She had been bought a lesson for her ninth birthday by her godmother, a keen squash player, and immediately knew her two years playing tennis at her mother’s behest was nothing but a brief flirtation.
“I had one lesson and was like, ‘Yep, this is it. Tennis is over, it’s got to be squash, much to my mother’s misery!’” Keane recalls.
Keane’s romance with the sport has endured for more than 17 years and has shown no signs of slowing down.
On Friday, when she plays in the preliminary round of 64, she will become the first Bermudian female to compete at the Commonwealth Games – the very pinnacle of her sport.
“It’s massive to be the first Bermudian female squash player [at the Commonwealths],” Keane told Bernews. “This is the highest calling, as squash is not an Olympic sport yet. It’s very surreal.
“As much as this is something I’m taking on, it’s by no means a singular victory. It’s [about] everyone who has supported me over the years, all the coaches, and all the other female Bermudian squash players who have paved the way for me.
“In many ways, this is more their victory than mine. It’s an immense honour and one I’m very grateful for.”
Having decided to devote herself to pursuing a spot in the Bermuda squad for the Commonwealths, Keane spent the past 12 months combining playing on the Professional Squash Association World Tour with her studies at City, University of London.
“I’d been accepted onto my master’s programme and knew I’d never be in a position again when my free time would be my own,” said Keane, ranked 286th in the world.
“I started competing in satellite tournaments on the World Tour in England, getting as much exposure and training with as many people as possible.
“I dedicated as much time as possible to training and hoped, by some miracle, I might qualify. Somehow here we are!”
Since the announcement of the Bermuda squad, Keane has ramped up her training under her London coach, Ben Ford, and has also enlisted the help of mental coach Jesse Engelbrecht, who represented Zimbabwe at the Commonwealths in Manchester in 2002.
She knows the competition will be fierce in Birmingham, with the three top seeds – Joelle King of New Zealand and England pair Sarah-Jane Perry and Georgina Kennedy – ranked in the top ten in the world.
“I had an interesting conversation with my mental coach, Jesse Engelbrecht, about the definition of success and how it cannot be based on points and matches won,” the 26-year-old said.
“It has to be the overall experience. My main focus will be immersing myself as much as I can in this brilliant opportunity and absorbing as much wisdom and learnings from the games.
“Much will depend on who I play against and who the better player is. That’s not something I can control.”
