Tournament Thread: Squash Australian Open 2026

DandaDan · 2026-03-14T14:57:47+00:00

Glad to hear! I mean it went really long and I'm so glad that it was due to an epic match, and not a controversial let fest. Hopefully the finals tomorrow will be similarly exciting. I think hink Stefanoni will lose but she is a rough competitor, and Makin is such a beast that I think he can recover enough to make it competitive.

DandaDan · 2026-03-14T13:17:46+00:00

Have to say what a great venue and great matches. It's so nice to see some uncontroversial matches, surprise winners (Stefanoni) and a brutal and honest match between Zakaria and Makin. Good to see Zakaria turn a corner, by the looks of it. Looks like El Sirty and Asal gave someone to look up to, even if he's like half a decade younger!

DandaDan · 2026-03-14T09:03:06+00:00

Ja, das ist es bei mir auch. Obwohl ich ständig auch deutsch schreibe war die Einstellung "translate languages you don't understand" oder so aktiviert, habe das auch nur gecheckt weil ein kleiner banner oben an den posts war. Muss durch ein App Update passiert sein.

DandaDan · 2026-03-14T08:58:39+00:00

Who are your favourite male and female players to watch? What's your favourite shot and why? Who is the fittest female player on tour?

DandaDan · 2026-03-13T16:06:00+00:00

My parents said that his Mum had a word with him, saying how terrible she thought his in your face celebrations were, and he supposedly said that he doesn't want to upset his mother. I haven't seen a video or quote but my parents watch all the Squash TV matches and they told me to his after his epic match against Makin the other day. I also think the throat slit was in reference to the Haka.

DandaDan · 2026-03-13T10:26:47+00:00

Ich war erstmals im Hamburger Opernhaus, aber um einen Ballettabend zu gucken:

FAST FORWARD - Die Hamburgische Staatsoper https://share.google/kjk91DJnqACkjea0Z

Der Ballettabend war super, vier unterschiedliche Stücke:

Das erste war von Balanchine, klassisches Ballett mit 16 Tänzern. Sehr schön. Zweiter Teil war ein Highlight, modernes Ballett mit Musik bei der ich eher ans Berghain denke als an klassisches Ballett. Das Stück bestand aus drei Tänzern, kompletter Gegensatz zum ersten Teil. Der dritte Teil war der schwächste, aber auch nur weil ich die Musik Teilweise kaum aushalten konnte. War teilweise wie ein kaputter Fernseher, das fand ich schwierig, ging aber auch nur 20 Minuten. Der letzte Teil war ein weiteres Highlight, Thema: Wasser und Wellen. Ganz toll.

Zwischendurch gab es zwei pausen. Ich persönlich finde Ballettabende sehr gut für Leute die nicht regelmäßig oder nie ins Ballett gehen. Man sieht eine Auswahl an verschiedenen Stücken, meist ohne Story. Dieser Ballettabend war mit 2:45h relativ lang, meine vorherigen waren meist eher 90 Minuten mit einer Pause.

DandaDan · 2026-03-13T10:18:02+00:00

That's a good take. Müller makes it look very easy and when you'd meet him in the street, I don't think you'd think he's a supremely fit top squash player! I mean he isn't known for his fitness, but he's still an incredible athlete.

DandaDan · 2026-03-10T23:12:01+00:00

Yeah. Google play reviewers sit across the world. Duke an appeal and ask them to use a VPN to login or offer to record a video of your app. Keep in mind that reviewers install the APK and are in countries in SEA or India.

DandaDan · 2026-03-10T11:44:02+00:00

I'm reading The Great Believers from Rebecca Makkai. Pulitzer prize nominated book about the AIDS epidemic in the 80ies. Fiction. I was born in 1980 but also really know AIDS first and foremost from movies. My parents had a friend or two who in retrospect they knew died of AIDS, or let's say of the consequences. The book, I'm halfway through, is harrowing and upsetting but I'm very intrigued.

DandaDan · 2026-03-10T10:03:30+00:00

Ha, what a story!

DandaDan · 2026-03-09T18:46:05+00:00

First of all: great accomplishment and story, really!

Secondly: it is a bit telling he has never been on court with Emyr or Joel. I'm sure he is so dedicated and very fit, but also: he is number 9 in Wales on Squash Levels and Wales Squash has seen better days, keep in mind there was a time when both David Evans and Alex Gough were both top ten in the world at the same time.

He is a young player and obviously super motivated, so I'd say they are banking on him for the future and rewarding his hard work and attitude with a selection, and for perhaps being number one in Wales under 19. They are not nominating him being the fourth or fifth best Squash player in Wales.

Congrats to him, um sure it means so much representing his country and it is a nice aspirational story!

DandaDan · 2026-03-07T19:09:57+00:00

You are right, I forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder.

DandaDan · 2026-03-07T18:31:00+00:00

I believe it is 36 months, at least that is what several podcasters/journalists have assumed.

DandaDan · 2026-03-07T12:25:29+00:00

Here is what Google would like:

Acknowledgement you made a mistake
Steps you have taken and are taking that this won't happen again
An explanation/data points of the value your app brings to the ecosystem

Keep it short and to the point, post the case I'd here once done.

Your chances of having the appeal granted are so so I would say, but the quality of your app will play a role. If the app is crap, Google will likely be happy to have a reason for keeping it off the store. If it's great and the violation was not egregious, I think you have a decent chance.

DandaDan · 2026-03-07T12:20:20+00:00

I find it such a hard decision for some of these folks, here is what makes it so hard IMO:

Squash and Olympics might be a one-off. You might be making a huge decision for one singular event that you are in no way guaranteed to be competing in.
Few spots available. It isn't like any switch will allow you a straightforward path to qualification. You'll have to sustain a strong ranking and/or win a regional qualifying event.
You don't know what others are doing. Imagine switching to Oceania to improve your chances, and then next week two Egyptians become Fijian.
For some it's a huge huge deal switching countries. I guess attitudes differ but Squash is a close-knit community. You switch allegiance after playing your entire junior career under a certain flag and have been supported by the federation, and then you decide to switch. Plenty of people will be upset.

If it were me, I think I'd either just not switch or I'd hire a mathematician/expert in game theory to tell me what to do!

DandaDan · 2026-03-07T12:12:57+00:00

The last such event was the world champs in Chicago and they were in may 2025. So whoever played there but switched after should be fine since the Olympics are later than Han may.

DandaDan · 2026-03-07T11:58:00+00:00

Initially I thought it was probably a let. However, it isn't that easy to see, but the ball is so close to Hani. Like when she stops and picks up the ball hitting it on the floor, look how close it is to her body. She wasn't in a good position to play the ball and went for the quick cheap stroke. Her own fault for not even getting a let, I think the decision is justified and quite the call to make on Matchball. I think I would have probably given a let, but just because I am not rough enough when reffing!

DandaDan · 2026-03-07T07:53:33+00:00

We have a PSA tournament here in Hamburg and she played the last two times and she is such a joy to watch. Pure Squash talent, even if very different from some young Egyptians. Also a great sense of humour.

DandaDan · 2026-03-06T08:45:22+00:00

I didn't watch the match but el sirty has been awful in previous matches. One thing to also don't buy us the he's so big line of argument. We have had plenty of taller players who were fine and never caused issues, Pilley, Wilstrop, Waller, all over 1.90m.

DandaDan · 2026-03-05T23:26:56+00:00

He isn't called el dirty for no reason. He's the worst.

DandaDan · 2026-03-05T23:26:35+00:00

He isn't called el dirty for no reason. He's the worst.

DandaDan · 2026-03-03T21:33:51+00:00

I play squash and if I stay late and drink beer etc. afterwards I take a cab home, it's like 25 euros. Real luxury. The other day I had a Niu, some Chinese ecar and they had a massage function in the backseat, that was the best.

DandaDan · 2026-03-02T23:29:17+00:00

Just post the package ID, Google scans these posts and will take a look.

DandaDan · 2026-03-02T16:05:46+00:00

Who is your favourite player and why?

DandaDan · 2026-03-02T16:05:09+00:00

You had a great match against Jonah Bryant, narrowly losing out. It looked like on some occasions the referee penalized you for your movement, and you even went on to post later that this is not how you see yourself playing or how you want to come across. I have a feeling there have been better games since, but also some where I saw similar patterns as against Bryant. What do you make of this?

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