Haley Mendez Announces Retirement from Professional Squash

USA’s Haley Mendez announced her retirement from the PSA World Tour yesterday during the session break of the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family, where she received a special recognition award from US Squash for her achievements.

New York-born Mendez reached a highest ranking of World No.36 and played over 100 matches on the PSA Tour, while she also reached a highest national ranking of No.1 at the U19 level, helped Team USA to their first ever second place finish at the WSF World Junior Team Championships in 2011, and won 2 team gold medals and 2 doubles silver medals at the Pan American Championships.

Mendez was a prolific player at the collegiate level, winning three National Championships and three Ivy League Titles for Harvard University while serving as team captain during both her junior and senior years.

The 29-year-old is married to fellow professional player Nathan Lake and is due to graduate from the University Booth School of Business this summer.

We caught up with Mendez to discuss her retirement and look ahead to what’s next.

Q: Haley, you’ve just announced your retirement from professional squash, are you able to talk us through your emotions right now?

Haley: “I can try! Of course, I’m feeling sad to be saying goodbye to my professional squash career, and I’m definitely a little nervous to figure out what’s next.

“Squash is all I’ve ever known to this point, so it’s scary to figure out who I am and what I want to do without it. But equally, I’m excited to start the next chapter, I felt that it was the right time now, as I’m graduating business school in June.

“Squash is always going to be a big part of my life and I’m grateful for everything that squash has given me over the years, from college squash and going to Harvard to compete to meeting my husband at a junior squash tournament in India, to competing against the legends of the game on the biggest stages, it has been a dream come true. I have made friends all over the world whose friendships will far surpass our playing days. I truly feel lucky to have gotten to call this my job in the last 10 years.

Q: What brought you to the decision to retire?

Haley: “It was something that I was thinking through during COVID. I’ve been a full-time student in business school for the last two years and I think it’s been really challenging for me to kind of have one foot in and one foot out.

“I just haven’t had the time to dedicate to my squash the way that I would want to if I was going to pursue it full-time after graduation. It’s not fun to not play well and feel that you’re not playing your best. I think the writing has been on the wall the last few months, but I wanted to call it on my own terms and make it official to give myself closure. 

“After trying to make a speech on the glass court at the World Championships and struggling to get anything out through the tears… it feels real now.”

Q: What were your favourite things about competing on the PSA Tour?

Haley: “We’re all athletes, and we’re all crazy competitive. There’s nothing like the highs of winning those big matches. You train hard, mentally and physically, for those moments, so I think that feeling is something I will miss.

“I’m definitely going to have to figure out another way to channel all of that competitive energy! But equally I think I’ll miss getting to travel around the world with Nathan to new places, exploring different countries and cultures. This has always been a passion of mine. A couple of the girls make fun of me because I’m always the one that’s looking for someone to go with me to the local museum or try some local delicacy of whatever city we’re in, so I’ll miss that for sure.”

“Oh, and I’ll definitely miss being my own boss! One day, that will be the case again!”

Q: Nathan is still playing on the tour, are there any plans to travel with him to some events?

Haley: “I hope so, I think it’s nice that he’s still playing full time. I feel like I’ll still have my foot in the door a little bit, and I’ll get to live vicariously through his career.

“I’d love to travel with him as much as I can. There are so many events in the States that there probably will be a decent number of opportunities for me to do that. But equally, I’m excited to be in one place for a while and settle down and see what’s next.”

Q: You mentioned that you’re interested in seeing other cultures and you’ve travelled to so many great places on the tour. Is there anywhere that stands out as your favourite?

Haley: “I think Amsterdam is my favourite city. Aside from New York, where I’m from, I would move there in a heartbeat. 

“There are so many crazy memories, mostly to do with the friends I have made on tour. I love Hong Kong – I love the hustle and bustle and the food there. I played some really cool tournaments in South America, in Colombia, where the vibe was completely different. Part of what makes squash so special is that one week we are playing on top of a mountain in the Colombian countryside and then the following week we are playing in the desert at the foot of the Egyptian Pyramids.”

Q: Is there anyone you’d like to thank for their support down the years?

“I have to thank my family – my parents and my sister for supporting me throughout junior squash, college squash and then professional squash. I have to thank Nathan for supporting me both on and off the court. 

“Thank you to US Squash, who have supported me both as a junior and as a senior. I’ve had so many coaches that have had a huge impact on me. Fiona Geaves, Linda Elriani, Mike Way and then Jonny Hartford, who deserves bonus points for coaching both Nathan and me on court at the same time, yikes! I wouldn’t have been able to do it without their support, or the support of my strength and conditioning coaches, Mark Burns and Ben Young. And to Andrei Tarsici to rehabbed my knee back to perfection after two ACL tears.

“I was also lucky to have strong female coaches and female players to look up to from a young age, which I think made a big difference. I also actually would love to thank Nicol David, who used to stay at my family’s house for the Carol Weymuller tournament! From 10 years old, I was watching top level women’s squash and dreaming of one day doing it myself.

“That’s what truly inspired me to want to play professionally. Nicol got randomly assigned to our house when she was 16 years old, before she was No.1, and we used to watch her pirated DVDs from Malaysia as kids with popcorn. She gave me one of her Prince rackets and that’s why I play with Prince to this day. She was a huge inspiration to me.

“I also want to thank my sponsors, Open Squash in New York in particular, as well as Pinehouse Capital and Monteverdi. Thank you to the Heights Casino in Brooklyn, East Glos and Old Pats in Cheltenham and the University Club here in Chicago, which have all been so welcoming throughout my career and been my home away from home.

“A particular shoutout to the UClub here – John and Yoni gave both Nathan and me everything we could possibly need to support our careers. Beyond that, they are all just incredible people that have made us feel so at home in Chicago the last two years. Lastly, I should thank the PSA for the whole circus that they run across the globe. I wouldn’t have been able to call this my job without all the hard work that they do behind the scenes to keep the tour running.”

Q: Do you plan to stay in the sport moving forward or does a different career path beckon?

Haley: “Squash is always going to be in my life. Whether that’s me playing socially or playing the masters levels, or I might try my hand at the hardball doubles here in the States. 

“With Nathan continuing to play professionally, I think I will definitely continue to be a cheerleader and coach for the foreseeable future, and I will be disappointed if our kids don’t have hand eye coordination!

“Right now, I think I want to try something away from squash and give myself a new challenge. But I could certainly see myself coming back to squash or the PSA in one capacity or another down the line.”