By Kevin D. Klipstein, President & Chief Executive Officer
Last year around this time I wrote about how impressive the top squash professionals were both on and off the court, and how much they deserved to compete on the biggest sports stages in the world. At the women’s semifinal of the 2012 U.S. Open, I witnessed Nicol David rally from a 2-1 game, and 8-1 fourth game deficit to earn a place in the finals, and ultimately win her first U.S. Open title. This year, with the recent Olympics disappointment, we felt we had something to prove to the sports world.
With full parity for women providing a larger stage on which to perform, perhaps David felt she had something to prove too. She again had to dig deep when down in the fourth game, and down 2-1 in games, to earn the title “two-time champion.” The match was among the longest in women’s squash and certainly will be among the most memorable. When I asked her about it afterwards, and reminded her of last year’s semifinal, she nodded enthusiastically and said, “I know! I remembered, and I told myself that I have been here before, I can do it, I want this title.” We are incredibly fortunate to have such a champion, someone as inspirational, as Nicol David. She has humbly demonstrated time and again that no stage is too big for her, or for that matter, for squash.
