We are all very lucky that Raneem wasn’t any good at her first chosen sport of swimming. With intense training, coaching, and talent in playing squash, the young squash star went on to became the first Egyptian player to be ranked as the first worldwide in any sport. We spoke to the Wadi Degla athlete as she celebrates another milestone-capturing the Women’s World Championship.
How did you get your start in playing squash?
I started playing sports at a very young age, the first sport I played was swimming but I was not performing very well. At that time my older brother, Tameem was playing squash so after watching him for a while we started training together.
How did you feel after winning the PSA Women’s World Championship in Manchester this year?
I was thrilled, a state of happiness and denial at the same time. I tried not to get too excited so this doesn’t hinder my performance in the upcoming tournaments; it also got me thinking about all the other tournaments I want to accomplish.
What do you consider the major highlight of your career?
Becoming the first Egyptian player to be ranked the first worldwide in any sport. This happened in 2015, at that time Nicol David was number one for nine years, another player beating her was a major accomplishment for myself as well as Wadi Degla Clubs and Egypt as whole.
Can you give us an insight into your training?
My Squash coach is Haitham Effat, he has been my coach for almost eight years now. I play with him almost every day and he brings the best out of me. My fitness coach is Ahmed Faragallah, I’ve been working with him for nine years now. I work with him five times a week, he’s always helping me to get better.
I train at Wadi Degla Clubs with the best team I could ask for. The sports Director at Wadi Degla is Karim Darwish, former squash number one, he’s always trying to provide me and the other players with anything and everything we might need be it support or advice.
And I have to say that I have two other team members, who’ve made a huge difference in my performance recently. My physiotherapist Dr. Mohamed Amin at Dura Center who keeps my body fixed and ready and my nutritionist Dr. Hany Wahba who has helped me become a much healthier person.
What would you say is the main reason behind your success?
The support I receive from my family, coaches, Wadi Degla Clubs as they supported me during the entire journey, persistence, discipline and of course, hard work, hard work is key. It is an individual sport yes, but it’s the work of an entire team.
Claiming the #1 world rank in 2015, how did it feel to be the first Egyptian woman to reach that high in any sport?
As I said, I was very proud of such an achievement. Becoming the world’s number 1 has been always one of my dreams, nothing is more satisfying than setting a goal and achieving it. It also pushes me to continue doing the best I can, I felt proud of myself for setting an example for young Egyptian squash players in general and participants of Wadi Degla Darwish Squash Academy in specific.
How does it feel to play against another Egyptian in major tournaments?
At first it wasn’t ideal or fun. But now that it happens only every other tournament since Egyptians are dominating the sport. One can only expect to play an Egyptian, so you kind of get over it. You set your mind to it, just play and do your best. Yes we know each other’s games so well. But it works both ways.
Egyptians in general dominate the sport of squash. How do you explain that aspect?
The sport is gaining more popularity in Egypt so squash players are inspired to achieve more titles in order to attract the world’s attention and make a statement that Egyptians have a lot of potential. In Egypt we have world-class sports entities like Wadi Degla Clubs. Wadi Degla provides me with all the facilities I need and are capable of creating global champions.
What are your dreams for the future?
There are more championships that I wish to accomplish like the US open. Also, I would love to see squash being played as part of the Olympics given the international attention it received over the past few years.
Outside of the courts, what do you enjoy doing the most?
I enjoy spending time with my family and friends the most. Other than that I like to chill out and do relaxing stuff, watch a movie maybe or do a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
