Aylesbury Vale friends both compete at national squash championships

Two Aylesbury Vale friends reached this year’s British National Squash Championships.

Katie Malliff from Wendover and Chloe Foster from Aylesbury, are both performed at this year’s tournament.

Chloe lost three games to one in the final stages of qualifying, whilst Katie entered the national championships as the number seven seed.

She advanced to the quarter-finals and faced number three seed, Sarah-Jane Perry.

After dispatching of a qualifier in quick fashion in round one, Katie lost in straight games at the quarter-final stage.

Whilst 2023 represented a breakthrough year for Katie, as she established herself in the senior ranks, Chloe has continued to achieve great things in the sport in her own right.

Chloe, who attends the University of Birmingham, has won national titles representing her place of study, which is widely considered to have the best squash team in the UK.

Chloe, 21, and Katie, 20, are friends and grew up playing the racquet sport together. Chloe was even trained by Katie’s mum, Tricia, as a youngster.

The one-year age-gap meant they did not have to face off week-in and week-out in junior competition, but the pair were able to see the others’ progress up close.

Katie’s impressive 2023 saw her enter this year’s World Championships ranked inside the world’s top 40.

She was also the only player from outside of Egypt to be nominated for the Professional Squash Association's Young Women’s Player of the Year award, recognising the under 23s that had the best season.

Katie has turned professional, whilst Chloe balances squash around her studies, she enters her final year of higher education in September.

The Bucks Herald has previously chronicled Katie’s ambitions, but her friend from Aylesbury has her own goals, Chloe qualifies for Wales through her mum, and hopes to play for the national team.

She was selected for the Dragons at junior level for a tournament that was ultimately cancelled due to Covid restrictions.

Chloe told The Bucks Herald about her relationship to the world number 50, she said: “Our families actually went on holiday together before we were born. Our families are friends from before we were even around. We used to train together all the time.

"I always try and watch when she’s playing. It’s always good to see someone I grew up with doing so well.”