US Squash has announced the eight men and women set to represent Team USA at the 2024 WSF Men’s and Women’s World Team Championship, December 9-15, at the Hong Kong Football Club.
The 2024 World Team Championships make history by hosting the men’s and women’s team competitions together for the first time, after previously holding them on an alternating biennial basis.
The U.S. squad will be led by the Ganek Family US Squash Head National Coach Nick Taylor, who is set to lead Team USA for the first time in a major competition following his appointment. Taylor will be joined by Director of Junior National Teams Karim Ibrahim and Physio Laurence Leonard.
“It’s an honor to lead Team USA in Hong Kong and the combination of playing experience with Team England and on the PSA world stage, I feel well-placed to lead the team at such a prestigious event,” Taylor said. “I am extremely passionate about Team USA and developing both experienced and emerging talent at this event and beyond with focus on LA28. Having the men’s and woman’s combined teams sounds very positive and pragmatic. I see the benefits it creates, particularly from a coaching and player development standpoint. Having the coaching staff we have, I am confident in navigating training, playing and physio schedules, ensuring our players peak and play to their best during the event.”
The U.S. Women’s Team recorded its best ever finish of second place at the 2022 World Team Championships in Egypt, and world No. 4 Olivia Weaver and world No. 16 Amanda Sobhy will lead the pursuit of a gold medal finish as the two returning members of the squad. Weaver has cemented her position as one of the world’s top players over the past two years, reaching No. 4 in the world rankings. Sobhy, the most decorated player in U.S. Squash history who currently sits at world No. 16, will bring a wealth of World Teams experience to the squad in her sixth tournament appearance.
Marina Stefanoni, who just reached a new career high ranking of world No. 44, is set for her World Teams debut amidst her first season as a full-time professional. Last fall, the twenty-one-year-old earned an individual bronze medal at the quadrennial Pan American Games and will aim to make another impact on the international stage in Hong Kong. Three-time U.S. Junior Open champion Caroline Fouts will make her World Teams senior debut as the fourth member of the squad. World Teams veteran Sabrina Sobhy will miss out on the tournament due to injury.
The U.S. Men’s team will field three of the four team members who achieved a program record-equalling finish of sixth place at the 2023 Men’s World Team Championship in New Zealand.
Timmy Brownell leads the squad as the No. 1 with a career high ranking of world No. 29, and will mark his second World Teams tournament appearance. World No. 60 Shahjahan Khan and world No. 70 Spencer Lovejoy both return for the second World Teams appearance to make up the top three positions. Nicholas Spizzirri, who won a Collegiate Team National Championship with Penn last spring, rounds out the squad in what will be his first senior appearance for Team USA in a major competition.
“Focusing on the process—preparation, mutual support, work ethic—while maintaining ambitious goals is our focus,” Taylor said. “We have a mix of experienced players and emerging talent like Nick Spizzirri and Caroline Fouts who are eager to earn their first caps. This kind of blend often helps create a healthy team dynamic where younger players can learn from our more experienced players while bringing fresh energy and motivation. While becoming world champions remains the ultimate goal, having these core principles helps maintain team spirit and development even during challenging events like the World Team Championships. Sabrina Sobhy is such a valuable team member. Losing an experienced player like Sabrina who has contributed to five world team championships will indeed be impactful to the team. We will miss her tremendously both on and off the court; we wish her a speedy recovery and can’t wait to see her back on court soon.”
The tournament opens with three days of pool play, December 9-11, followed by positional play offs December, 12-15.
For more information and tournament coverage visit wsfworldteams.com.