Open Squash sponsored PSA pro Hannah Craig has had a great start to the year on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour. In September she won the Paraguay Open, her maiden PSA title, and she's moved up to 75 in the ratings from 87 when we last caught up with her, in May. At the time she was committing to a full-time job as a touring professional. She made a difficult decision in 2023 to leave a consulting career behind and embrace the struggles and sacrifices of a career in squash. So far it seems to be going very well.
The Irish champion lost only five points in her third-round match in Paraguay, before beating Mexico's Diana Garcia 3-1 in the semi-finals. The final showdown with Lucia Bautista was a hard-fought affair with Hannah eventually winning 11-7 in the fifth game. Before, Bautista had won their only previous meeting, 13-11 in the fifth game.
"I was so happy and excited to win my first PSA title," Hannah said. “There was also a big relief that came with it because I knew I'd put in a lot of the work in the summer, a lot of hard training. So, to actually be able to have something to show for it is motivating for the rest of the season."
Squash, as anyone will tell you, is a learning journey, and Hannah then went on to face Bautista again in Brazil in the final of the São Paulo Open. Gunning for her second title in a row, Hannah was up 9-7 in the fourth, two points from winning the championship, but she "saw the finish line too early." Bautista fought back to win the game and ultimately, the match 11/9 in the fifth game.
"She's a fierce competitor and I made a mistake in seeing the finish line," Hannah said. "Thoughts crowded my head and I reverted back to what was familiar instead of what was tactically necessary. I felt like I was on a mental rollercoaster, and needless to say it was a very big lesson for me.”
Hannah's next tournament was a PSA bronze event in New York, the Open Squash Classic. She fell to the eventual finalist, Ka Yi Lee, an unseeded player from Hong Kong, who beat the second, third and fifth seeds in later rounds. Hannah, though, had a game plan going into the match to make sure she stayed composed. Despite losing the match she was proud of her performance.
"A big next step in my career is that mental focus and to be less reactive to whatever is happening on court," she said. "In many ways it happens because I like to play at a fast pace, so I create less time for myself to settle. The other side to it is that as a youngster my relationship with squash was one of fighting for your life, in a sense. I was often playing against men, and there was a lot of adversity that naturally created a more emotional mentality and the need for me to want to prove myself. Having fire on-court from a young age has been a blessing and a curse (depends on the day!)”
Now, having won her maiden PSA title, Hannah recognizes the need to "change and rewire that relationship with the game." She still wants to fight hard for every point and be able to tap into that deep-rooted sense of giving it everything she has on-court. As a junior, she read a book called "The Chimp Paradox" by psychologist Steve Peters, before winning her first European title at the Swiss Junior Open. "It completely simplified the idea of the emotional chimp and the logical chimp on court," she said. "It was my first exposure to sports psychology that made me realize it’s about being aware of that part of yourself but not giving it the power to control your responses on the court." Hannah has started working with a sports psychologist this season to develop practical strategies to control responses on court and she’s excited to start implementing these.
It's one thing, of course, for a community squash player to lose composure occasionally on court, but at the professional level it can make all the difference, Hannah said. And her goal now as a professional player is to enjoy watching her matches back on video, not only because she hopes to win plenty more of them, obviously, but also, from this point of view.
Hannah now has about a month to train unless there's a late entry into the Canadian Open, a silver PSA event, on October 27. Her next scheduled event is the Costa Rica Open on November 12. Best of luck, Hannah! Your Open Squash family is cheering you on! You can do it!