There was once a time when Australia was one of the world leaders in squash. Australia laid claim to numerous world champions — Geoff Hunt and Heather McKay in the 70s, Rhonda Thorne and Vicki Cardwell in the 80s, and serial winners throughout the 90s like Michelle Martin, Sarah Fitz-Gerald and David Palmer, all of whom led the way. In fact, Australia has won more World Team championships in both men's and women's competitions than any other country, and leads the way in Commonwealth Games titles too. But since then, squash as a sport in Australia has been on a steady decline, even if Rachael Grinham bucked the trend by winning the World Open in 2007. When Australia ruled the courts in the 80s, the sport boasted a high of about a million participants. By 2013, that figure had fallen to a shade over 100,000. A Sydney Morning Herald story in 2022 highlighted that simply finding a court was getting harder — from a high of about 200 facilities in the mid 80s, there were less than 40 locations where the sport could be played in Sydney. Former five-time world champion Fitz-Gerald told the ABC in 2020 that there were less than 600 facilities around the country, down from about 1,300 courts 20 years prior. "We had a golden generation," Rob Donaghue, chief executive of Squash Australia, acknowledges in conversation with ABC Sport up in the grandstand at the Australian Open Squash tournament in Brisbane. "Most sports and most countries have highs and lows, and eventually you're going to have a dip. "We had this golden generation that took us through for a long period of time." Those times may be over, but after years of decline, now is unmistakably the time for Australia to throw its hat back in the ring as a global power. In 2028, squash will finally take its spot at the Olympic Games, ending a two-decade, four-application battle for inclusion in sport's biggest party. World number four and number one seed in Brisbane, American Olivia Weaver told ABC Sport it was clear that all national federations had been buoyed by its inclusion in the Games. And while the prospect of playing at a home Olympics is still too far away to look ahead on a professional level, Weaver acknowledged that it was so exciting for the sport. "I'm so, so thrilled for our sport," Weaver, a silver medallist in the world team championships last year, said. "Just to think about how far the sport has come. So many people involved have worked so hard to get it to where it is today. "I think that we just deserve to be showcased on the biggest sporting stage in the world. So I'm really happy for our sport." From LA, the sport hopes to earn a slot in Brisbane — talks have been taking place between World Squash and Brisbane 2032 this week to further that cause. "Being included in LA, we saw the immediate impact of that straight after the announcement," Donaghue said. "To [have squash be included in] a home Games would just, I think, elevate that to another level again. "The opportunity for kids to aspire to be an Olympian at home would, I think, be enormous." To get there though, Squash Australia understands that visibility is key, with this year's Australian Open aiming to showcase the sport in its best possible light. Fortunately for squash, it has an ace up its sleeve. A venue fit for kings The ability to use glass courts is one of the key areas where squash can get a jump on the competition and take the event to innovative and exciting locations. Very few sports can essentially pop up alongside, or even inside, major global landmarks in the way squash has in recent years. Whether it be in front of the pyramids in Cairo, outside the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, or Grand Central Station in New York — all places that have hosted events on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour. "It's incredible … that's one of the coolest things about this game," Weaver said. "You can put a glass court anywhere. When I get to show people pictures of the court in front of the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower or in amazing opera houses or a setting exactly like this here in Brisbane, it's pretty cool. "You're proud of what you do when you get to tell people about it, it's an absolute privilege." Brisbane's South Bank Piazza, where the gold-level PSA World event, the Australian Open, is taking place this week, may not quite have the same gravitas as the fourth dynasty resting place of Pharaoh Khufu. But nevertheless, a pop up court opens up endless possibilities that are limited only by the imagination and bravery of organisers globally. And the Australian Open is a tournament with a phenomenal pedigree. The first iteration of the tournament that would become the Australian Open took place in 1928, making it contemporaneous with the sport's Wimbledon, the British Open, and has been won by squash luminaries such as six-time World Open winner Jahangir Khan and four-time winner Geoff Hunt. As the Olympics so spectacularly showed in Paris — and a very different way in Beijing — integrating sports into some of the world's most famous settings can turn tickets to an otherwise fringe sport into the hottest commodity around. It also marries neatly with the International Olympic Committee's aim of sustainability by using temporary or existing venues. "We know that there is a strain on infrastructure and the ability to spend on infrastructure, and we think we're a pretty compact sport and a cost effective sport for inclusion," Donaghue said. "Because of the court, we can position ourselves within existing venues. "I think the unique selling point for the event that's different to other sports is you can literally show the city through the sporting event as opposed to saying that you're in the city for a sporting event. "And that's hard for some sports. It's very difficult to take an indoor basketball stadium and put it on the river. It's just logistically impossible. "Whereas we could put this glass court on the river bank and showcase the city in the back of it. "This event is a big part of our strategy about how we show the Olympic organisers what one, the squash event looks like and then two, what it looks like in the Olympic city." 'Spicy' squash surprisingly combative As Donaghue speaks it's impossible to ignore the palm trees flanking the South Bank Piazza, with Brisbane River ambling past in the background, Brisbane's CBD skyscrapers looming beyond those trees. Neither is it possible to ignore the thwack of ball on glass, as Malaysia's Rachel Arnold and number four seed Rowan Elaraby do battle, which was followed swiftly by the contest between England's Marwan El Shorbagy and Hong Kong China's Henry Leung. And battle is the right term. Squash is a sport of geometry, players dexterously flicking and whipping the ball around the court, making use of every conceivable angle with all the deftness and skill of a master draftsperson. Yet this is also a deeply combative game of niggle and occasional spite. Contained within their glass prism, players bump and jostle and mutter and grimace as they try to work a positional advantage within their 9.75 by 6.4-metre court. The tension of the contest is exasperated by the proximity of your rival. The constant contact. The occasional chat. The battles both internal and external being played out in front of an attentive crowd with no blind spots, with both players losing their cool with themselves and each other. That spice and theatricality is undoubtably a key selling point for the sport — conflict is great for viewing numbers. "It's quintessentially what we love in sport," Donaghue said. "There's the fitness element and the toughness element to it. There's the combative element to it. There's the fierce rivalry to it, and you are in close quarters with each other and so, you know, some of the back and forth between the players can be quite spicy as well. "And then I think there's the uniqueness of how you can watch it, the 360 [degree] view where it doesn't matter where you stand, you get a different perspective of the same point from wherever you're seeing it." With the referee high in the stands and their judgement relayed to the court via the stadium speakers, appeals for obstruction take on a big brother courtroom feel, the conversation dragging spectators into the drama in a way unlike many others in world sport. Raising the profile a key factor Increasing the profile of the sport is a crucial part of Squash Australia's 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, the third pillar (along with participation, performance and facilities) to help recapture the game's glory years which included a target to "make Squash 'visible' — build the sport profile and increase awareness of the sport across all audiences". A $10 million Play Well participation grant from the Australian Sports Commission issued in 2024 will help increase the sport's visibility as squash hopes to retain its place at the Games in Brisbane 2032. So far, so good. The issue, of course, is that the weather can also provide a cap on what is possible for venue organisers. Last year's Australian Open, then a bronze level PSA event, was set to be played in Martin Place, but poor weather meant the build of the court could not be completed in time. "The all-glass court in Martin Place was generating fantastic interest through the squash and wider community, which makes this outcome incredibly disappointing," Donaghue said at the time. How Squash Australia must have feared the imposition of Tropical Cyclone Alfred on this year's event when it slowly meandered towards south-east Queensland last week. The undercover nature of the court this year significantly helped, with tournament organisers still able to build the court, and South Bank avoiding the sort of devastating flooding that affected so many other riverside locations in the region. "It's amazing how quickly Squash Australia and the PSA responded [to Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred]," Hong Kong-China's Tsz-Wing Tong said after her 62-minute five set epic round one victory over Australia's Jess van der Walt on Wednesday. "They did amazing work trying to accommodate the players." That included the introduction of an extra session on Friday and delaying the tournament start by a day. A small price to pay to ensure the competition took place as intended. PSA chief executive Alex Gough described the response from Squash Australia as "incredible" ahead of the tournament getting underway. "Rob Donaghue [chief executive of Squash Australia], Tamika Hunt [Squash Australia events general manager] and the team have moved heaven and earth over the last week to ensure that the Australian Open will go ahead safely. "A staggering amount of work has gone on behind the scenes and staff and volunteers have worked around the clock to get everything in place." And that work continues. Squash Australia was expecting a bumper crowd for Saturday's semifinals and remains hopeful that the event's location will continue to spark conversation. "There's great examples around the world, the pyramids, Grand Central Station in New York," Donaghue said. "Someone said to me there's 10 million people a day walking through there, from an exposure point of view, even in broadcast, you can't buy those sort of numbers. "We know South Bank comes alive over the weekend, the amount of people just having those signs there saying 'Squash Australian Open' will will generate some conversations." Those conversations are, what Squash Australia hopes, will help boost it back up to its former status within Australian sport. "I'm convinced that everyone has a squash story, whether it's their parents played it, whether they played it, whether they met their partner there, whether they got hit by a ball on a on a drive," Donoghue said. "It's almost about bringing those stories out and then getting people to then pick up a racket to go and play."