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A day and a court to forget for #teamyellow

For the Viennese Squash Rackets Federation, the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband, WSRV we are visiting all squash courts in Vienna. It’s called the WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition. We are playing matches there and rating the clubs in 5 categories: booking, reachability, facilities, court, price.

Squash Floridsdorf

With only three more squash venues in Vienna to go, we want to finish hard! We will play 3 matches within one week starting at the Country & Sports Club Wien Nord in Floridsdorf. Arriving at the address, #teamorange was already there, not sure if Google Maps had fooled us. But behind an unappealing metal door, the huge sports club revealed.

Entering the venue, the squash court is on the right hand side. We turned on the lights as we were instructed by the friendly bar keeper and the flaws of the court where immediately exposed – we will address them later. But for now you need to know that it was incredibly slippery and that the side walls were totally slick.

In our warm up game we had great fun sliding around the court. Unfortunately we brought our Eye Rackets shoes instead of our ice skates… I wondered: Does my-squash.com sell those for courts like these as well?

#teamyellow going down

The floor was my biggest issue. I had no grip at all! I couldn’t make even one controlled shot. I was permanently sliding. My #teamyellow shoes were terribly dirty after the first few points, covered with dust. #teamorange on the other hand adapted well. He moved much better than me and managed to kinda control the rallies. He took the first game 11-7.

The slick side walls made it almost impossible for me to play a decent boast. If a boast made it to the front wall, it was rather much too high or in the middle of the court. Easily #teamorange advanced to a comfortable 2-0-lead taking game 2 11-4.

I knew that I recently turned a match around after being down 0-2 (notably the game results were exactly the same as in Alt Erlaa). But this time it was different. I was just a passenger on the ice ring. Game 3 went in the same direction: 6-1 for #teamorange was too big of a lead. Garbage behind the court in combination with the poor lighting make the ball disappear when it hits the back wall on the backhand side. Nevertheless I managed to get to 6-5. At 10-8 Joel took his chance and made his second match point to claim his second win on the WSRV Squash World Tour Vienna Edition – on the probably worst court I ever played on!


I still lead 7-2 on the Vienna Edition in total and I’m looking forward to play at my home club C19 this Thursday!

Our rating

Booking: Booking via Eversports is possible weekdays from 8am-3pm. On all other dates the court is reserved for members only. Guests can make a reservation via phone a day before they want to play – if no member is using the court they can play. Confusing? For us too! 2,5/5 Stars

Reachability: Final stop of the U6 Floridsdorf. Then two stops with a bus 28A or 29A. Adding 7 minutes walk. 2/5 stars.

Facilities: The venue is nice and spacious. There is a Restaurant, even a small library. The locker room is clean, as well as the shower. A plant in the shower creates a slight rainforest feeling. 3,5/5 stars.

Court: The huge holes in the wooden side walls and the rusty nails the walls have been fixed with make a bad first impression. The vastly damaged front wall, the slippery floor, the cobwebby ceiling do not improve that impression. The slick side walls make it hard to play boasts. The lighting also could be better – one halogen lamp is missing. On the pro side there is a glass back wall and a small nick (#teamorange awarded 5/5 for the nick). The floor structure seems to be okay as well. 2,5/5 stars .

Price: 20 Euro for one hour of squash is too much for that court. 2,5/5 stars.

RESULT

2,5 stars for Country & Sports Club Wien Nord!

Website: www.bsvshell.at, booking-link (Eversports) , Phone number for booking: +43 1 258 16 54

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#teamorange still looking for his mojo

In cooperation with the Viennese Squash Federation, the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband, WSRV we are testing all squash courts in Vienna. The series is called the WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition. We are rating the clubs in five categories: booking, reachability, facilities, court, price to bring you value!

Squash in Alt Erlaa
© Renate Schwarzmüller

As I had to work late and underestimated the walking time from the subway station to the squash courts of Club Danube Alt Erlaa (and Google Maps first sent me to the wrong entrance), I arrived a bit late while #teamyellow and the media team were already preparing for the match. But my mission is clear – although the Squash World Tour Vienna Edition is lost – I have to get back my Mojo!

After some warming up – which, to my enjoyment, we extended a little bit – our match began with #teamyellow serving.

I changed my tactics compared to the last matches and tried to take more risky shots, especially more drops. The idea was, to make the winner of the Vienna Edition run for every point while #teamorange can dominate the rallies, which should at least pay off in the last games when he gets tired.

#teamorange dominating

It worked better than expected. While #teamyellow definitely improved on his serve, a lot of my risky drop shots took him by surprise and while he could reach quite a few of them, I was able to dominate the rallies and take the first high quality game 11-7.

I was feeling so fine, I didn’t even leave the court for the break. I was ready for the next game. And it was beautiful. While everything worked for me, nothing seemed to work for #teamyellow and I could take the game in a convincing manner 11-4.

And again, I was feeling great afterwards, didn’t take the break and waited for Peter to come back and finish him.

#teamyellow constantly hitting the nick

But it seems like he found some good drugs (considered innocent until proven guilty) and the tables turned very quickly. Now everything seemed to work for #teamyellow. The serve was nasty, he hit the nick consistently and I was just running like an idiot – missing a few shots I had to make. He took the game 11-4.

Now #teamyellow was on fire, but I wasn’t here just for fun either. The fourth game was really intense, I made fewer mistakes, but Peter continued to serve well, hit the nick and in general had a great length in his shots. Because I could read his shots better, some really good rallies ensued. In the end though, #teamyellow could take the game 11-6.

Giving away a 9-4-lead in the final game!

Before the final game #teamorange also took a nice break to get back the energy for a tough fight. With a concentrated start, I could take an early lead and could extend it with my serve to as much as 9-4. But #teamyellow didn’t give up and with a few great serves and drop shots, he could first equalize and then take the game 11-9.

As this is of course disappointing to lose after being so close to the first win in centuries, I feel confident again to be able to play on par with #teamyellow and hope that the luck will return soon. #teamorange will get back his Mojo!

© Renate Schwarzmüller

Our rating

Booking: Is only possible via phone, no online-booking. On the website you can find out if there are free courts. 3 of 5 stars.

Reachability: It takes some time with the U6 to Alt Erlaa. From there it’s a 6 minute walk. 3 of 5 stars.

Facilities: Currently the center is under construction. We have been told that the squash courts are closing at the end of May 2019. Therefore we abstain this category.  

Court: The walls are in good shape, the floor as well. The lighting is okay. There are glass back walls on all courts. Only point of criticism is the huge nick. “That’s the thing bothering me the most on a squash court”, says #teamorange. Our compromise ranking therefore is 3,5 of 5 stars.

Price: 24 Euro for one hour of squash is the same price as the other Club Danube venues in Erdberg and Ottakring. As we always consider the cost-benefit-ratio, we award 2,5 of 5 stars to CD Alt Erlaa.

RESULT

3 stars for Club Danube Alt Erlaa!

Website: www.clubdanube.at , Phone number for booking: +43 1 662 66 66

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The Squash World Tour Champion of Vienna

We are cooperating with the Viennese Squash Federation, the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband, WSRV.  We are testing all the courts in Vienna on the WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition. As we want to provide value, we are rating all the clubs in five categories: booking, reachability, facilities, court, price.

After the cheapest court in Vienna, the most expensive one was our battlefield this time: Manhattan Fitness Nord. The club is great, more about that later…

I needed only 3 more games to secure the first yellow triumph of 2019. I didn’t want to leave something to chance, so I was there half an hour early. I took the time to become acclimatized and warmed up properly. At 7:30 I started hitting balls – #teamorange still wasn’t in sight.

About 10 minutes later – I was already at operating temperature, Joel finally arrived. “I underestimated the distance from the U-Bahn station” he said. As usual he wanted to start quite fast with our warmup points; actually he wanted to play a whole game instead of our usual 10 points. “It would also be a good idea to play best of 7 games” he suggested. Classic #teamorange mind games…

I agreed to extend to play a whole warmup game instead of only 10 points. As I played for the first time in years without my knee bandage, I thought it would help me too. Joel won and earned the right to serve.

Right from the beginning I was able to take a comfortable 8:3 lead, but #teamorange managed to equalize the score. It was pitched battle until the end – which was better for #teamyellow: 13-11. In game 2 I was able to take the lead and not lose it once: 11-9. The quality of our match wasn’t as high as in Erdberg, but we had some decent rallies.

Now the table was set! I knew I needed only one more game to secure the overall win on the Vienna Edition. After the break I came back on court and played some of my best shots right away. For #teamorange on the other hand nothing seemed to work as planed… I secured game 3 with 11-8 and raised my fist to celebrate.

Personally I’m happy about the victory – and the result of 3-0. #teamyellow is now the Squash World Tour Champion of Vienna! Even more satisfying than the result is the fact that I did not wear my knee bandage.

Of course we will play all the remaining courts in Vienna as well to find out and tell you what they are like!

Our rating

Booking: Only possible via phone. On the website it isn’t even promoted that there are squash courts. 1 of 5 stars.

Reachability: Coming there by public transport is a bit tricky and it takes about 10 minutes walk from the U-Bahn station Spittelau or from the tram station Rampengasse. 3 of 5 stars.

Facilities: On several floors there is a well equipped fitness center, there are great wellness facilities and they even have sponsored hygiene products. There is a shop, a bar and extremely friendly stuff. The obvious result: 5 of 5 stars.

Court: 3 of their 6 courts have been renovated recently, so there are no bumps or holes. We played on one of the renovated courts. But unfortunately the walls stained the ball – we never experienced that before. The nick is also quite big. The lighting is good and the court is clean and generally speaking in good condition. But for the price we would expect an even better experience. 4 of 5 stars.

Price: 40 Euro is by far the highest price for one hour of squash in Vienna. 1 of 5 stars.

RESULT

3 stars for Manhattan Fitness Nord!

Website: www.manhattan.at , Phone number for booking: +43 1 3687311

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#teamyellow needs one more win

As we announced on our social media channels, we are cooperating with the Viennese Squash Federation, the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband, WSRV. Their leader board asked us to play all courts in Vienna to show the squash-community in Vienna where to go. So we came up with the idea of the WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition. As we want to provide value, we are going to rate all the clubs in five categories: booking, reachability, facilities, court, price.

 

The sixth WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition match took place at Postsportverein Wien in the 17th district of Vienna. We both were curious about the venue because it’s close to our homes. Even though I played tennis at a club right around the corner of the squash hall in my junior years, I have never checked out the squash courts. For both of us it was unknown territory.

It’s all about the right coins

I arrived on time and found out that a particular coin was needed for the lockers in the dressing room: 10 Schillings (former Austrian currency until 2001). Then I checked out the court: There was a coin box with special coins for lighting. Unfortunately I did not have either of these coins on me. Luckily the groundkeeper showed up and sold us the lighting-coins – I did not ask him about the Schilling-lockers…

Hard life at Postsportverein

The dressing room was covered with red clay because mainly tennis players change here. While the tennis courts have heating, the squash courts do not. Joel went straight on court to get started. It took time to get warmed up there – for us and for the ball as well.  First we thought the low bounce is caused by the low temperatures, but we quickly found out that the floor was the reason. I think that there is no substructure underneath the wooden panels. Not ideal for someone with knee issues like #teamyellow…

Anyways – our game began and because our 10 warmup points did not do the trick warming us up, we started a bit rusty. The low ball bounce and the slippery floor favored playing drop shots – and thats how I won the big points in game 1 and 2 to take a 2-0 lead (11-8, 12-10). #teamorange was desperate as every drop I played seemed to work out just the way I anticipated.

In game 3 #teamorange several times caught me on the wrong foot. And he seemed to have adapted his footwork as my drops where not as effective anymore. Joel won the game 11-8 – a flattering result for #teamyellow as I could not keep up in this one. After a short break I went back on court – focussed again. I played 4 huge points in a row finishing all of them with beautiful drop shots. “Even Aqeel Rehman couldn’t get to them”, Joel concluded. I was on fire, everything I tried worked out: 11-4!

One more to go

It’s my fifth win in the sixth Vienna Edition encounter and #teamyellow is now 5-1 in the lead! As there are only 5 squash courts (we know about) left to play in Vienna, #teamyellow needs only one more victory to win the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition!

Our rating

Booking: Booking is available via phone and mail. On weekdays during opening hours requests via a contact form are answered as well. The stuff wrote back fast and polite. But there is no information about the availability. 2,5 of 5 stars.

Reachability: We live close to the venue – for both of us it takes about 15 minutes to get there. Considering that you have to take the tram 43 (stop Rosensteingasse) to get there, we award 3 of 5 stars.

Facilities: The dressing room was covered with clay and a bit outdated. A restaurant is close (Saunastüberl) and the name of the Restaurant suggests that there is a sauna as well. 2,5 of 5 stars.

Court: One of the two court has a glass back wall, the second has 2/3 of a glass back wall. The lighting is good. The plastered walls are peeling. The floor is slippery and hard, we think that there is no substructure underneath the wooden panels. But the nick is small. One issue only #teamyellow had: the temperature was way too low! Our compromise ranking as our impressions varie: 3 of 5 stars.

Price: 16 Euro for one hour of squash is the best deal you can get in Vienna! 5 of 5 stars!

RESULT

3 stars for Postsportverein Wien!

Website: www.postsv-wien.at , Phone number for booking: +43 1 486 23 23 – 0

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#teamyellow almost gives away 2-0 lead

As we announced on our social media channels, we are cooperating with the Viennese Squash Federation, the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband, WSRV. Their leader board asked us to play all courts in Vienna to show the squash-community in Vienna where to go. So we came up with the idea of the WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition. As we want to provide value, we are going to rate all the clubs in five categories: booking, reachability, facilities, court, price.

The fifth match of the WSRV Squash World Tour Vienna Edition took place at the biggest squash club in Vienna: Club Danube Erdberg. The venue offers 15 squash courts, all with glass back walls and regular side and front walls. It’s also home of the Austrian Squash Federation.

I arrived a bit early to prepare better than the last time when #teamorange could claim his first Vienna Edition victory. To my surprise most of the 15 courts were booked – squash is quite popular in Vienna!

As the temperatures in the Austrian capital currently are quite low, I did some footwork exercises to warm up properly as well as some squats and sprints. I wanted to reach operating temperature before my adversary arrived.

Having some fun

Joel entered the court and after a short chat about the Birdbox Movie on Netflix, we decided spontaneously to try to hit some balls blindfolded. Check out our video we started the #squashbirdboxchallenge with.

After that we went back to business, as we had some games to play and a club to rate!

The match

Right from the start it was a very close race. None of us could gain a significant lead, after being 8-7 up, #teamyellow could secure a 11-8 in the opening game. In game two we both were able to maintain the high level – several awesome rallies amazed us as well as our crew. Again it was #teamyellow who took the game 11-9.

Being 2-0 games up made me almost forget about the missing chair and the wet carpet I was sitting on during the break. I was sure that the night was going to end with a demoralizing 3-0 victory for #teamyellow against #teamorange.

Unfortunately #teamorange wasn’t ready to lose – yet… Joel surprised me with a brilliant start and a 5-1 lead. His commitment to fight for every ball gave me a hard time. Although I had my chances and I had my fire back, I wasn’t able to catch up and therefore lost the game 5-11.

Game 4 began. I was sweating so hard that my goggles misted up all the time. My game plan was not really working, as I planned to keep the rallies shorter. A bit distracted I moved poorly and caused a collision with Joel which made it hard for me to breath. And on top of all that my grip became so slippery that I couldn’t hold my racket properly anymore. Nevertheless I had my chances. I thought I could secure the game, but the goddess of squash obviously had other plans for me tonight.

#teamorange stayed on court while I took my time during the final break to regrip my racket, change my shirt and focus one more time – this is me focused (some would say exhausted):

We asked the community if #teamyellow still has a chance – later I found out that unbelievable 50% believed in me (and no, my mum didn’t vote for me)! Additional note: Before the match 60% thought that #teamorange was gonna make it…

In the final game an incredible run secured me the 6-2 and later a 9-3 lead. Still Joel was not giving up and the long rallies continued. Ultimately I won 2 more points securing a 3-2 (11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11-3) win and a total lead of 4:1 at the Vienna Edition.

Our rating

Booking: Is only possible via phone, no online-booking. On the website you can find out if there are free courts. As there are 15 squash courts, chances are high that you will be able to play whenever you just come over – even without a reservation. That’s why we award 4 of 5 stars.

Reachability: The underground line U3 is stopping in front of the venue; six stops from the city centre. Only if there was a court right underneath St. Steven’s Cathedral it would be more central. 5 of 5 stars.

Facilities: It’s nice, clean, spacious, the stuff is friendly, there is a sauna, other sports facilities and a restaurant with a lot of traditional dishes on the menu. And of course the 15 squash courts are impressive! 5 stars!

Court: We both liked the court (No. 11). As Erdberg is Joel’s training venue, he played on several courts and was never disappointed. There are glass-back-walls on all 15 courts. The side- and front-walls are of traditional material and still in good shape. The floors are clean and the nick is small. The lightning is also excellent. For the first time we award 5 of 5 stars.

Price: 24 Euro for one hour of squash in our opinion is a reasonable price for the quality of the courts. Considering the cost-benefit-ratio, we award 3 of 5 stars.

RESULT

4,5 stars for Club Danube Erdberg!

Website: www.clubdanube.at , Phone number for booking: +431 79 88 400

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#teamorange wins in Simmering

As we announced on our social media channels, we are cooperating with the Viennese Squash Federation, the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband, WSRV. Their leader board asked us to play all courts in Vienna to show the squash-community in Vienna where to go. So we came up with the idea of the WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition. As we want to provide value, we are going to rate all the clubs in five categories: booking, reachability, facilities, court, price.

Our first battleground of 2019 was chosen to be the FITcom fitness club in Simmering, at the outskirts of Vienna. After a week of intensive endurance training in Gran Canaria  #teamorange was ready for the first battle on the Squash World Tour 2019. Perfectly prepared I showed up 20 minutes earlier to inspect the court and warm up. 

Squash World Tour Simmering
#teamorange happy – photo by Michele Agostinis

Some 10 minutes before the game #teamyellow showed up, spotting me on court already. Confusion on his and the media teams faces.

Before starting we celebrated a belated Christmas: the guys from my-squash.com sent us brand new material to test out! It was all there: strings, grips as well as big sports bags and new rackets sponsored by Dunlop! Thanks guys!

my-squash.com
New equipment by my-squash.com & Dunlop – photo by Michele Agostinis

After our 10 warm up points (9-1 #teamorange) our 4th match of the WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition began. It started great, I received well and managed to dominate the rallies, making Peter run for every point. He didn’t play as precise as usual, allowing me to pick up most of his drop shots and so I won the first game 11-8.

Thats the way to start the new year! And I continued strong: dominating the rallies, leading 8-4, when suddenly nothing worked anymore… Hitting the tin twice and a few nicks by #teamyellow meant turning the tables, securing him the game 11-8. I was disappointed with my performance and angry at myself for giving away the game too easily. Mainly because I know how much it means mentally to be 2-0 ahead or 0-2 behind.

Anyways, I had to refocus. But #teamyellow was keeping up now. I still dominated the rallies, but also made some mistakes and so a close game went into the tiebreak. Which I won with a little bit of luck 13-11. This helped a lot.

And basically the same pattern continued, and again I won the tiebreak 12-10.

Finally, my first victory on the Vienna Edition!

Knowing that #teamyellow always forgets things and steals shampoo from little children (read more about that), I organized also a little Christmas present for him.

Squash Shower Gel

Our rating

Booking: Our e-mail was ignored. After some days we called and were told, that booking is only possible via phone – but only for the current week. We had to call on Monday to book the court for Tuesday. 1 of 5 stars. 

Reachability: U3 last stop Simmering plus 10min walk or 1 tram station. 2,5 of 5 stars.

Facilities: It’s basically a fitness club build in a former squash club. There is a sauna (which we didn’t test) and a bar with friendly stuff. There is no food served and no squash shop. 4 of 5 stars.

Court: The one remaining squash court is in really good condition: a classic wall, a small nick, glass back wall. The lines on the floor are a bit improvised and the light could be brighter. 4 of 5 stars.

Price: 19,20 Euro for one hour of squash is a bit cheaper than in other clubs in Vienna. And they have a great deal for fitness members (21,90 per month): unlimited access to the squash court! That’s worth 4 of 5 stars for us!

RESULT

3 stars for FITcom!

Website: FITcom, Phone number for booking: +4317683757

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#teamyellow succeeds in epic year end fight

As we announced on our social media channels, we are cooperating with the Viennese Squash Federation, the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband, WSRV. Their leader board asked us to play all courts in Vienna to show the squash-community in Vienna where to go. So we came up with the idea of the WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition. As we want to provide value, we are going to rate all the clubs in five categories: booking, reachability, facilities, court, price.

#teamorange desperate

Recently we had two exhibitions: one against Lukas Windischberger (where we got our asses whipped) and one against our fans at the Merry Squash-MAS event. It felt good to compete again once more against good old #teamyellow in the last WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition match of the year 2018! 

Such a close call

Our location this time was the City & Country Club Wienerberg where we booked a late night session. #teamyellow started ferociously, but after a big lead I managed to get closer. Peter’s service and returns were too strong in the end. He took the first game 11-7.

But I didn’t come here for a tea party. I was prepared to fight till the end. And so the second game started out on an equal level. At 7-7 Peter managed to get a 9-7 lead – a mentally tough situation for me. I put all my skills and energy in those 4 points and managed to get away with a 11-9 game.

That was important! But I had given a little bit too much. Although I didn’t have the power from game 2, I somehow managed to get to 9-9. But this time, #teamyellow took the game 11-9 in the end. Close call again…

Best game we ever played

Out of nothing comes the 4th game. Honestly, it was the best game we ever played! Very few mistakes, high quality shots, long rallies. It had everything. I was in the flow – so I only remember that it felt really good and I had the touch and the legs were moving on their own. In the end it was a close 11-9 for #teamorange.

At 2-2 after the best game ever, it was difficult to remain concentrated. It was a long day already. But the quality of the rallies dropped only slightly, a few little mistakes here and there. #teamyellow being the more consistent, took this game again 11:9 and with it the game and an astonishing 3:0 lead on the Vienna Edition.

All I can say: I’ll be back!

Our rating

Booking: Online via Eversports with check of availability and online payment, or booking via phone. 5 of 5 stars.

Reachability: Reachable via U6 Tscherttegasse and 12 minute walk or Badner Bahn or Bus 16A and 10 minutes walk. One advantage if you have a car: free parking is available. 2,5 of 5 stars.

Facilities: A Shop to buy equipment, a decent restaurant and a sauna. Nothing to add here. 5 of 5 stars.

Court: The quality of the 5 courts varies: courts 3 & 4 have a new (plywood panel front) walls and glass back walls. If you can, chose court 4 – it’s the best! The floor on on most courts is in good shape, it’s clean and the nick is small. Because of the differing courts we award 4 of 5 stars.

Price: 20 Euro for one hour of squash is reasonable but not a steal in our opinion. 3 of 5 stars.

RESULT

4 stars for City & Country Club Wienerberg!

Website: www.cityandcountry.at, Phone number for booking: +431 66123

 

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Our first Squash Event in Vienna

Recently Joel #teamorange and myself #teamyellow could host our first event for friends and fans of the Squash World Tour. Via social media many sports enthusiasts applied, thanks to Eversports and Tennis Point Vienna we had the chance to invite over a dozen people to play squash!

We could attract a group of squash-rookies for our squash event at Tennis Point Vienna in Erdberg, where the club provided two squash courts for two hours. Splitting up the group was easy, as the majority of our followers wore their orange or yellow shirt! After explaining the rules, we grabbed our rackets and started with some easy exercises.

Best practice for beginners

Our favorite exercise for beginners: Start about 1,5 meters away from the front wall. Use your racket to play the ball against the front wall – gently! Move back step by step without stopping the ball until you reach the service box. If there are more players on one court, split up the court in the middle, let two players begin simultaneously and when the first player reaches the service box, another player starts at the front wall. For variation change sides after reaching the service box on one site.

About squash balls

The choice of the right squash ball is fundamental! A squash ball is made of two pieces of rubber compound, with a drop of liquid gas inside. Squash balls must be hit some dozens of times to warm them up. Cold balls have a low bounce. There are different types of balls, all marked with dots on each ball: blue, red, yellow, double yellow. The fastest ball is the blue ball (blue dot). It has the highest bounce and therefore is easiest to hit. The blue ball is best suited for beginners and juniors. We however recommend to start with the red ball! When your level of play improves, the blue ball can be hard to control. The red ball is a good choice if you want to use your ball for some time, while the blue ball is not as enjoyable after some hours already. When your level of play improves, change to yellow and later to yellow double dot balls. Just that you know: Yellow double dot balls have the lowest bounce and require a higher skill set.

We tested yellow double dot balls of 5 different brands – find out which one we liked best!

Fans vs. Squash World Tour

After a bit of practice, we were ready to roll! Our fans formed teams of two to face us on court: Their goal was to score combined 11 points against us in two games. Player 1 of each team played game 1 against #teamorange, player 2 played game 2 against #teamyellow. Player 2 started the game 2 with all the points, player 1 had made earlier in game 1. For example: Player 1 scored 3 points against #teamorange in game 1; player 2 started game 2 with a 3-0 lead against #teamyellow. 12 teams gave it all, but our routine paid off: None of the 12 teams could win the challenge… But that wasn’t what the evening was about! It was our goal to spread the enthusiasm for our sport and to motivate people to play squash! And that’s what we accomplished!

Thanks to our friends from Eversports, who made this public event possible, we also had the chance to play against one of the best squash players in Austria: Lukas Windischberger!

Find out how that played out for us!

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Squash World Tour vs. Top Player

Joel #teamorange and myself #teamyellow are squash buddies for about 10 years now. In 2017 we started our Squash World Tour – the venues change, but the opponent remains the same. We thought it’s time for a new experience and invited Austria’s number 5 ranked squash player Lukas Windischberger to play an exhibition against us! We would play games against Lukas – while he remains on court, we change for each game and try to score as many points as possible.

 

Thanks to our friends from Eversports, the City & Country Club Wienerberg provided the court for our battle! We like to play at the City & Country Club. No wonder: The facilities are nice, two of their squash courts have been renovated in 2017 and we can book the courts via Eversports! 😉 

 

Read about our WSRV – Squash World Tour – Vienna Edition match at the City & Country Club Wienerberg!

 

And we have some great memories: In 2017 we played our first match on an all-glass show-court at the City & Country Club!

 

Read about our match 2017 in Vienna!

 

Try to stay alive

Before our exhibition we asked our community for advice. Apart from comments like “better don’t play”, or “try to stay alive”, we got some useful tips as well. The best advice was given by the Record Austrian Champion Aqeel Rehman: “Keep the ball away from the middle and stay on court as long as possible!”

We did not know exactly what to expect, because we never faced an opponent of Lukas’ quality. Joel #teamorange was – contrary to his usual habit – 30 minutes early at the venue. In comparison: On our trip to Břeclav he jumped in 30 seconds before the train to the Czech Republic left. Even earlier Lukas arrived at the City & Country Club where he did some footwork exercises.

Lukas Windischberger & Squash World Tour
Lukas Windischberger & Squash World Tour

Squash World Tour takes the lead

We could start right on time. And the Squash World Tour started in the best possible way: #teamorange won the first point with a nick-shot and could even double his point balance during the game. That gave me confidence! #teamyellow as on, and thanks to 2 stroke balls I rushed to a 3-1 lead and a respectable 6-11 game.

After such a start, we were hungry for more! But our hopes that Lukas would get tired, did not come true. Instead we became more tired and less concentrated with every game. I hardly sipped some water after a game and had to go right back in! #teamorange felt the same. Games 9 and 10 we lost 11-1 and 11-0. For the statistic freaks all the results: 11-2, 11-6, 11-3, 11:3, 11:4, 11:2, 11:3, 11:4, 11:1, 11:0.

 

After that we somehow managed it to get to the sauna to give our tired bodies some rest!

Summary

It felt like Lukas was just standing while we ran around in circles on the court. We are not used to this level of intensity! With a lot of effort we could sometimes stay in the rally, but Lukas took advantage of each mistake.

 

We want to thank Lukas for taking the time playing with us! Thank you as well to Eversports and to the City & Country Club for making this event possible by providing the court for our exhibition!

 

That’s what Lukas said:

Your project is helping squash to gain popularity – I like that! But in terms of your skillset there is still a lot to improve. You fight for each point – great! But you have to improve the efficiency of your footwork. Focus on your footwork – you can move much more efficient! Your level of play will improve – gaining the level of the whole Squash World Tour. That could help you gain popularity among better players!

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Two winners in Břeclav

As you may have noticed, we have been busy recently playing the Vienna Edition of the Squash World Tour. We are testing all the squash courts in our home town of Vienna in cooperation with the Viennese Squash Federation, the Wiener Squash Rackets Verband. But we managed to schedule our last international match of the year on December 2nd. 

Accurate planing 

I’m still a bit afraid of #teamorange organizing a trip, after he chose to go by bike to Bratislava in 2017. That’s why again I took responsibility and planed another very time efficient trip: Our train leaving at 9:10 am at the main train station in Vienna, arriving at 10:04 in Břeclav. On our way to the squash center we would stop for some #sightsquashing at the Modern St. Wenceslas Church and later head on to the squash center. From 11 to 12 our match was scheduled. Then we would have another hour to shower and get back to the train station where our train back would leave at 12:55, being back at 1:49 pm in Vienna. 

Břeclav has all you need

Looking out for new venues, Břeclav surprised us! The town right behind the Austrian-Czech boarder has only about 25.000 residents. Most would not expect a squash center with two squash courts – but there is one: Squash Relax Sport! They are active on Facebook, offer online booking and are just a 20 minute walk away from the railway station.

#teamorange just on time

As usual: Just before the train to Břeclav left, #teamorange jumped in. Right away he told us why he wasn’t at his best today. I do not recall the reason – but I according to his stories he was never at 100 percent at a Squash World Tour match. However, I was prepared! I am immune to his psycho games…

Arriving in Břeclav we headed to our #sightsquashing location, the Modern St. Wenceslas Church. For the first time we did #sightsquashing in winter – it worked out pretty well! I think that will become a thing! 

After that we went on to the squash center, arriving there about 20 minutes early. „Let’s get in“, I thought – but the door was locked! #teamorange rubbed his hands with satisfaction: „Because you organized the trip, it is your foult that it is closed and therefore I win!“ But only minutes later, the receptionist arrived in her brand new Škoda and opened the door! 

Closed Doors…

Again a good start

The Squash Relax Sport center is really nice, the courts are modern with walls made of wooden panels. A bit different to play than the classic walls we are used to and a bit louder. Because it was quite cold outside – and inside as well – the ball did not jump as high as usual. The floor was also a bit slippery. I adapted well and cruised through the first game, taking it 11-7 with my third game point. Game 2 was similar: I never felt in danger of losing it – even though I could not produce enough length. But my drops worked out fabulous: 11-7!

https://www.facebook.com/squashworldtour/posts/587127228375053

In game 3 I felt a bit tired and #teamorange smelled it! He knows how to be there on point! It was a close call, but saving only one game point was not enough and I lost 9-11. Game 4 was on the razor’s edge! A beautiful catch earned me a match point – and I only needed one to secure the victory: #teamyellow bt. #teamorange 3-1: 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9. 

Two winners 

After losing three international matches in a row against #teamorange it was my turn again! Unfortunately the international season is over and with only two wins in 2018 I did not manage to repeat my success of 2017 where I won the annual race! Thats why we have two winners today: #teamyellow winner of the last Squash World Tour match 2018 and #teamorange winner of the Squash World Tour 2018 annual race! 

In the end I want to mention the kind gesture of the receptionist who took us by car back to the railway station! Thank you! That’s why I love the squash community so much!