WJC Profile: Louisa Kaven ready to embrace Australia challenge
Having swapped a tennis racket for a squash one seven years ago, Louisa Kaven feels that she is now ready to test herself against the world’s best players this summer.
As the youngest representative in the Women’s team heading to Australia to compete in the World Junior Championships, she is keen to represent her country with pride in Melbourne.
The 16-year-old has already played at the British Junior Open and European Junior Championship in 2023, but competing at the world level will be a new experience, and she is hoping to make the most of it.
Louisa said: “I’m hoping I can give a good display of squash, and I’m hoping that as a team we can get some good results and push through it together.
“We’re all really excited for the opportunity and it should be a really good event for us all.”
The youngster, who plays at Whitecraigs Rugby Squash Club, first picked up a squash racket aged nine, and has never looked back since.
And she believes that the tournament will help her to build a strong foundation for the years to come.
She said: “I hope that playing in Australia will give me the chance to learn about the quality of some of the top players.
“This is going to be the year above me, so I can look in to see what I need to work on and get an idea of what everyone else is doing to improve their game.
“I want to keep showing that I deserve a place in this team, and would like to keep pushing on in the European rankings and in the Scottish Nationals.”
Travelling across the world to compete could be daunting for any young squash player, but Louisa feels that she couldn’t be travelling with a better group of players.
She said: “We’ve all known each other for such a long time, so we all know how to support each other and look out for each other.
“I’m sure that we’ll all be there for each other and trying to push each other to do their best and enjoy the experience.”
Having just sat her S5 exams, this will be a summer like no other for Louisa as she makes the 10,000 mile trip to Melbourne.
Whatever the outcome, Louisa is determined to learn as much as she can from the experience, and is sure that she will have a great story to tell her friends at the beginning of the new school year.
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!
