WJC Profile: Anna Halliday ready to broaden horizons from Europe to the World
From Bridge of Allan Squash Club, to Europe and now the world, Anna Halliday is ready to take her game to the next level at the Junior World Championships in Australia this summer.
The eighteen-year old, has taken on some of the best in Europe this year, with a recent win at the Irish Open and a fifth place finish at the German Junior Open.
She was also part of the Scotland team that finished fifth at the European U19 Teams Championship in April – and is now looking forward to broadening her horizons.
Anna said: “I’ve been playing a lot of European tournaments this year and placing fairly well, and even winning one of them.
“I feel like the next step for me is moving on to challenge myself even more by testing myself against some of the best junior squash players in the world.
“I’ll be really happy if I can just play my best squash and have some good games against these top quality players.”
Anna is one of the four players that will represent Scotland in the women’s team event, and at eighteen years old, she is one of the more experienced players in the group.
She said: “We work well as a team, and we all listen to each other and give advice, and we get on really well on and off court.
“With Rowan (Niven) and I being at least a year older than a couple of my teammates might mean we have slightly more experience, and we might be able to lead the team at times.”
Anna is currently ranked 6th in Europe in her age group, and as she approaches her last year as a Junior, she has an eye on the future.
Having just finished her time at Crieff High School, Anna is looking forward to the next chapter in her life, studying medicine at the University of Dundee.
While acknowledging that this will lead to a change in her squash routine, she still plans to dedicate herself to the sport, and hopes to draw on her Australian experience in the future.
Anna said: “My big aspiration is to play for the women’s senior team at some point, and I’m keen to keep playing and progressing as much as I can.
“Coming out of the tournament, I hope to have learned more about what I need to do to take my squash to the next level.
“That won’t just be while I’m playing, but also watching the standard of all the matches, which will really help me to reflect on and improve my own squash.”
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!
