Helen Wu, an Open Squash Member, originally from Shanghai, hadn’t heard of squash until she moved to the States to attend boarding school where they had squash courts. “During the off season, me and my friends would pick up the old rackets they had in the bins and just hit the ball around, and I thought it was really fun!”
Running was her primary sport in High School, but she decided to try out for the squash team, although she didn’t make the team on her first 2 tries. “I didn’t give up, and in my third year I finally made the team.”
She was on a team of just 12 girls, and by her Senior year she made it to the Top 7, who play the matches that go towards the overall result. Despite finding it a lot of pressure, she says she had a lot of fun.
At the University of Pennsylvania, she didn't play any squash, and post-grad she entered the workforce at BCG. During her time there she met an Open Squash member at a potluck with her friends, who encouraged her to go to the Queen of the Court Clinic, and “everyone was really friendly, it felt way different from High School.”
Thanks to her positive experiences with the Open Squash community, she decided to continue playing clinics until she eventually became a member. “I love the women’s community (...) and it's really rewarding to feel like you are a part of something.” She explained.
In her professional life outside of the squash court, after leaving her job at BCG due to visa restrictions, she began a start-up. Despite having lived in New York for just 3 years, she has already moved apartments 3 times. Because of her experiences, she is “trying to build a tool that helps New York City renters find apartments easier, faster, and with less stress.”
Part of the plan of her start-up is to include apartment reviews from other renters and safe and secure ways to upload documents. Just a month in so far, she expects to be ready to pilot soon, and she has already started her social media campaign. “If there are people in the community who are moving soon, I’d love for them to try it out.” If you are interested, you can email AbodeeNYC@gmail.com
Back to squash, Wu has been playing consistently at Open Squash for a year now. She was encouraged to join one of the NYC teams at the Howe Cup, the biggest Women’s Team tournament in the USA, and her team won the D division! She has also placed 2nd in two 3.0 level tournaments at the individual level, and she hopes to be able to play in the 3.5 division soon.
“I feel very proud that I’ve improved so much (...) and I hope to play squash for a long time (...) and I feel excited about that.” She hugely appreciates the upward trajectory for improvement that squash has provided her with.
Despite being from Shanghai, Wu was actually born in South Africa, and frequently goes back to visit, and was introduced to some players in South Africa that she was able to play with when she last went back!
One of the best things about squash is the community that you can build at home, but also all over the world.