Wendover squash prodigy entered World championships ranked inside top 50

A Wendover athlete competed in the 2023 Squash World Championships ranked as one of the 50 best players on the planet.

Katie Malliff from Wendover entered the world’s top 50 for the first time this year and continues to set ambitious goals.

Having recently turned 20, the long term aim remains to become world number one, her mother, Tricia says.

Between 3-11 May 64 athletes will compete at the PSA Squash World Championships.

Yesterday (4 May), Katie was defeated in the first round of the championship, losing to Welsh athlete and 15th seed, Tesni Evans.

Despite yesterday’s setback this has been a positive year for the Aylesbury Vale prodigy. She recently started training full-time, after completing her studies at Aylesbury College, and is now touring the world taking on the best her sport has to offer.

Katie did not pick up a racket until the age of nine, but had excelled in other sports enjoying playing rugby and football as youngster.

She was in the perfect environment to excel as her mother was a squash coach.

Tricia said: “She came along with me when I was coaching, so she started hitting and then she started playing.

"I coached children that were better than her, so she was exposed to that at an early age. She got good exposure to different levels of abilities.

"She was very comfortable and confident with playing against whoever was on court. I think that helped with her attitude, she wasn’t just playing with girls, she would play with anybody.

"By the time she was 12 she was playing in the men and women’s mixed league, and playing men and beating them. It’s not a contact sport, so she could use her speed, skill and agility to beat these people.”

While setting out to become world number one, may sound like an ambitious aim, the Malliff family believe it is a realistic goal given the success Katie has enjoyed so far.

She has represented England at multiple age groups and claimed a European Championship at under 19 level. Next up Katie travels to Egypt to once again face the sport’s elite.