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The thumping of the rubber ball against the court’s glass barrier echoed over the spectators at Squash Zone in Redwood City, where dozens of fans, young players and international champions had gathered for the 2026 Silicon Valley Open.
The five-day tournament began Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Squash Zone, a club in Redwood City east of Highway 101. Excitement flowed through the venue as fans watched some of the sport’s best players take to the court — an energy that many hope to build as squash makes its Olympic debut in the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
The racket sport’s players volley a rubber ball by bouncing it against the walls of a boxed-in court, gaining points when their opponent fails to return the volley. The tournament is played individually, with two opponents going head to head in three matches. Losing players are dropped from the bracket until one winner remains, with the finale scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24.
Since its inclusion in the 2028 summer Olympics was announced, youth participation has jumped, according to tournament director and Squash Engine president John Nimick. Squash Engine has organized dozens of squash events across the continent for more than 20 years, and Nimick recalled when the Silicon Valley Open began in 2012, then named the Oracle Netsuite Open.
The original event, held at Embarcadero Plaza, featured a glass court similar to the one being used for this year’s tournament in Squash Zone, where spectators can watch the game from every angle.
Along with being one of the most vigorous racket sports, requiring quicker movements than other growing sports such as pickleball and padel, Nimick said the court is part of what makes squash unique.
“Everything else that you normally think of is played on a linear surface with athletes standing on it, and they’re playing on the linear surface over a net or on a field,” Nimick said. “We play in a box and the ball is having a three-dimensional rotation around that box.”
The tournament kicked off with a flourish, with a fan village featuring donuts from Randy’s Donuts in Santa Clara and mascots from local professional teams, including Sharkie from the San Jose Sharks and Sourdough Sam from the San Francisco 49ers. Children attending were given a tournament poster and pen, and encouraged to get autographs from players.
Seeing young players get excited about the sport inspires Stanford University junior and squash player Riya Navani. She said she regularly returns to mentor young players at the club where she learned to play: Squash Zone.
Navani was raised in Milpitas and drove to Redwood City every day after high school to practice at either Squash Zone or Bay Club Redwood Shores. At the time, she said there were only a few competitive clubs in the Bay Area, but the sport has grown in popularity and competitiveness locally throughout her career.
“It’s really special to be part of this West Coast wave,” Navani said. “Stanford being the only varsity program on the West Coast, I think it’s about damn time we get a national championship,” adding that she was excited to be a trail-blazing part of the sport’s growth.
All of the tournament’s wildcard players currently call the Bay Area their home. In the men’s bracket, Shahjahan Khan is ranked 2nd in the U.S and 25th in the world, and lives in Menlo Park. Khan coaches at Squash Zone alongside Bransten Ming, who played on Tuesday and lives in Redwood City.
Navani’s collegiate teammate, Stanford freshman and squash player Riva Bhagwati, also took the court Tuesday evening. Bhagwati, who grew up in nearby Hillsborough, also said she’s excited to be a part of squash’s local growth and hopes the worldwide momentum continues past 2028.
Finding supporters outside the sport is crucial to continuing to grow. While squash was greenlit for 2028, its future in the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane, Australia, is undecided. Nimick said he’s heard the organizers are concerned about costs, so squash will have to find a way to “turn their financial model positively.”
At the Silicon Valley Open, one of the sponsors — finance technology company Crowd Street — hosted financial literacy workshops for middle school-aged players from multiple local squash clubs. Rodes Ponzer, the company’s chief marketing officer, said Crowd Street wants to use the sponsorship to get involved locally.
Ponzer said Crowd Street saw a similar focus on “transparency,” between the company’s goals to make investment more accessible to consumers and Squash Engine’s use of clear glass transparent courts for tournaments. Crowd Street has partnered with multiple squash tournaments over the past year, in New York City, Pittsburgh and Boston.
While the sport’s Olympic future is still being weighed, it’s clear there’s traction around the Bay Area. Multiple children approached Navani after her match, complimenting her play and asking for her autograph on their posters.
“The West Coast is not necessarily what people think of as the hub for squash (but) it’s definitely picked up,” Navani said. “To have such a big tournament in this part of the country, this part of the world, is just so good for the sport and it’s also so good for the Bay Area in general.”
