Kimberley Cauchi won two out of her five matches in the Girls Under 13 section of the Swiss Junior Squash Open held in Zurich, to finish ninth overall.

The Swiss Junior Squash Open is a European Squash Federation Super Series Ranking Event. Over 240 juniors from 28 nations took part in the largest junior squash event ever to be held in Switzerland.

Kim’s first match was against Kristína Šmicková, a Slovakian girl ranked no 9 in Europe. Kim started nervously and made several unforced errors in the first set, but then fought bravely in the next three sets. In the end the experience of Kristína was the deciding factor with the young Slovakian able to stay calm at crucial points and in the end take a deserved but hard fought win 3-1. (3-11 / 11-8 / 8-11 / 9-11)

The next opponent was Alina Bushma (Ukraine) ranked no 13 in Europe. The two girls were evenly matched up to 8-8 in the final set when two unforced errors and a well timed forehand drop sealed the match for Alina 3-2. (11-5 / 3-11 / 11-8 / 5-11 / 8-11)

The third day of the tournament showed Kim in her best form.

Against Maelle Fuhrer (France) Kim played some of her best squash with every point closely contested and although the final score was a 3-0 victory for Kim the match score of 14-12 / 13-11 / 11-6 shows that this game could have gone either way.

Kim’s fourth opponent was Yuna Loaec (France). 

With the confidence boost from the day’s earlier match, Kim showed that she has the potential to challenge the top 20 players in Europe with only the first set being close. The final score was an excellent 3-0 victory against the number 16 in Europe.  (12-10 / 11-3 / 11-5)

The final match for Kim was against Denisa Rohunová from the Czech Republic (ranked no 11 in Europe), which Kim lost closely 2-3. (6-11 / 11-8 / 6-11 / 11-5 / 5-11)

As the tournament play offs were played on a ‘round robin’ basis, the two sets against Denisa were enough for Kim to secure overall ninth place, an excellent result in only her third overseas competition and this should see her climbing up the European rankings into the top 30 for the first time.

Conclusion: Kim played five tough opponents, four of whom are ranked in the top 16 in Europe. Experience was the deciding factor in most of the games Kim lost. Without continual support and the opportunity to compete overseas the gap will remain making progress in the rankings extremely difficult.

Kim is supported by the Marsa Sports Club, coached by Paul Lake, sponsored by Wilson, and is a member of the Marsa Sports Club Junior Squash Development Programme.