WJC Profile – Robyn McAlpine hopes to build on history-making year
Anyone that has followed squash in Scotland closely this year is unlikely to have missed the name Robyn McAlpine.
It has been a huge year for the Scotstoun-squash-star, having made history as the first girl to win the U17, U19 and U23 national championships in the same year.
This has been followed up with a first appearance for Alba Storm in the Premier Squash League and being part of the Senior Women’s team that won promotion at the European Teams Squash Championship in Helsinki in April.
At the age of just 16, these accomplishments are all the more impressive, and while Robyn appreciates how much these achievements mean, she is determined to use them as learning experiences.
Robyn said: “It has been a really good year so far, and I’ve gained a lot of experience from being able to play people who are a lot better than me, at the European Teams, for example.
“I’m pretty happy with how I’ve done with my tournaments and I feel like I’ve played well in the matches that have counted.”
Buoyed by her successes in the last year, Robyn feels that recent months have served as perfect preparation for the Junior World Championship in Australia.
She said: “This year has given me confidence that I can compete with players at the top level.
“And it has given me an insight into what the standard is like at the highest level, which I will be able to learn more about in Australia.”
Having travelled across Europe to compete, including at the Nordic Junior Open where she won, beating the European number 1 in the process, Robyn is no stranger to travelling the world to play squash.
However, the trip to Australia promises to be a new experience for the squash prodigy.
Robyn said: “When we go to competitions in Europe, we don’t have to worry about too much travelling or time differences or anything like that.
“I’m just going to take it as it comes, but I think it will give me a good insight into the travelling that I’ll be doing when I turn professional.”
Robyn has just completed her S5 exams, with an experience unlike one that many others would have had.
She sat two of her exams in Helsinki, in the same week which saw her making her senior debut as a Scotland player.
Her big ambition after school is to make it as a professional squash player, and after a fantastic year on court, Robyn and all of her supporters will be confident that she can have a big future in the sport.
The World Junior Championships get underway on Monday 18th July and will run until Monday 29th July. Sign up for our World Junior Championships 2023 mailing list for updates from Australia by clicking here. Follow the new Scottish Squash TikTok page for behind the scenes footage from the Scotland camp!
