Olivia Weaver: “Mindset Shift Has Helped My Best Squash Come Out”

“I have definitely just taken a massive bit of pressure off myself,” said USA No.2 Olivia Weaver when reflecting upon her inspired recent form on the squash court. 

“I was talking a lot to my coaches, and my mental coach in particular about just trying to enjoy being on court,” she said. “I have put in a lot of really hard work and it’s very easy to get caught up in the stress of wanting to win.” 

“I think that mindset shift has helped my best squash come out.” 

Back-to-back titles on home soil at the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup and the DAC Pro Squash Classic – a pair of events that saw Weaver drop just one game in total – is certainly evidence that her new approach is starting to pay dividends. 

This eight match unbeaten run, which included dominant wins over top ten trio Georgina Kennedy, Tinne Gilis and Rowan Elaraby, saw the 28-year-old climb to a career-high rank of World No.6 earlier this month. Her rise up the rankings subsequently saw two American players sitting in the top six of the PSA World Rankings for the first time in the sport’s history, with Weaver joining the currently injured Amanda Sobhy there.

“It was definitely very exciting,” Weaver recalled. “It’s great because my ranking went up as a result of me really performing consistently and taking out several really top players. 

“I have been really playing some of my best squash yet so it’s extremely satisfying to see that number go up and I’m really proud of my performances throughout the week.

“In terms of American squash, I think we are just getting stronger by the day. Obviously, Amanda [Sobhy] just got hurt and Olivia [Clyne] just retired, but Sabrina [Sobhy] is right there and we have some players in the college set-up and on the junior tour that are showing a tonne of promise.”

Weaver has enjoyed a vast amount of success on the tour’s ‘America Swing’ during her career to date, capturing six of her seven PSA titles on home soil. As well as her recent twin successes on the traditional courts in Cincinnati and Detroit, the American has come away victorious from two events in Philadelphia and one further tournament in Rhode Island. 

“It’s always been amazing being able to play in front of home crowds,” New York-based Weaver admitted. “I have played at some of these events before and you stay with families and develop these relationships with them. It can sometimes be really hard being away from home, being away from my family and my husband, but when you develop relationships, you almost have a home away from home. 

“I feel like these types of clubs have become really familiar to me and are just so welcome as well. I think the fact I’m an American always gets me a little more support than I may do otherwise, and I love that. It can never hurt when you’re in the heat of a tight match. 

“I think the fact that it is usually just a short train ride or flight away, and not having to deal with the jet lag, is always a benefit. I love this string of events and I’m really enjoying it right now.”

Next up for Weaver on the PSA World Tour is a trip to Chicago for the Windy City Open 2024 presented by The Walter Family. The USA No.2 has been drawn as the No.8 seed for the Platinum-level event and will look to convert her recent form at the Cincinnati Country Club and the Detroit Athletic Club to the big stage in Illinois. 

The former Princeton University student is seeded to start her campaign against Tomato Ho, before potential clashes against recent Squash On Fire Open champion Amina Orfi and World No.3 Nouran Gohar in the third-round and quarter-finals, respectively. 

On her confidence levels moving into this event and the rest of the season, Weaver said: “Before all of my matches in Cincinnati, we focused on ways to get really excited about going on court, looking forward to competing and the opportunity to go out there, battle and put the tools I’ve developed to use – so that is what I’m going to try to do more of moving forward. 

“A lot of it is just trusting yourself on court, when I can play at that level, that consistency, and beat players who are so strong and in such good form the way I have recently, I’m just really pleased. I’m definitely holding a lot of trust in the work that I have put in and the direction I’m going in. 

“I’m just constantly striving for myself as a person, as a competitor, about my swing, my movement and how I can become more effective on court. Players are always evolving and changing parts of their games as well, so you just have to be constantly adapting and growing as a person. 

“I think my commitment to that growth mindset has really helped me and is my priority as a player.”