“Ali Farag is an Amazing Example” – Caroline Fouts on Team USA, Harvard Commitment and More

Still just 18 years of age, Caroline Fouts has already established herself as one of the most exciting young stars in world squash. 

A career on court that began at the age of eight has already yielded a debut for Team USA, wins at both the Tournament of Champions and World Championships, plus a place inside the world’s top 60. 

Off the court, Fouts has co-founded a non-profit organization helping provide books to underserved areas and is set to take her talents – both academic and sporting – to the collegiate level later this year, having committed to Havard. 

She will, of course, follow in some famous footsteps in representing the Crimson, including current men’s World No.1 Ali Farag and two of the women’s top 10 – Gina Kennedy and Amanda Sobhy. 

Indeed, the ongoing CIB PSA World Championships gave the teenager an opportunity to chat to some other Harvard graduates – including Victor Crouin and Hana Moataz – about what she could expect, but the event also gave a good indication of the progress she has made across the last 12 months. 

After losing 3-0 in round one on her debut in the sport’s showpiece event in 2023, Fouts went one better this time around, knocking out World No.47 Nicole Bunyan 3-1. 

“I think I’ve really become a lot more confident in my style of squash, and just being able to believe that I can compete at this level,” she said, speaking after beating the Canadian in Cairo. 

“Last year was a bit of a shellshock, just being able to compete against the world’s best players. I think this year, I came into the tournament with a bit more confidence, having more exposure to the level of players.” 

Her win in the World Champs followed an even more impressive display early in 2024 at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, where she upset French No.1 and top-30 player Melissa Alves. 

“That was a big confidence boost for me,” she said. 

“I had come off the British Junior Open, which was also a good tournament for me. So going from that tournament – with so much US support – straight into the TOC, I really entered with this desire and hunger to continue to compete and to prove myself as an up-and-coming squash player. 

“I went into that tournament, playing Melissa, believing that I could take her to five games and push her to play her best squash, and thankfully, and luckily, I got a good win, and that gave me the confidence to believe in myself.”

Fouts on court during her round-one win over Melissa Alves at January’s J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions.

That result highlighted what has been a largely successful season for the Rye-born right-hander, who also enjoyed glory at the US Junior Open and a runner-up finish at the British equivalent, though her first full season on Tour was not without its challenges. 

“Some of the highs have been the US [Junior] Open in December, and then British [Junior] Open, that was great as well, losing to Fayrouz [Aboelkheir]. She’s a top-20 player right now and she’s in top form, so that was a great tournament. 

“Then I reached my first final of a 15K, which was good for me. I lost to Nardine Garas who is also here [at World Champs] and is a top player. So those are some of the highs that I’ve had. 

“And obviously being here, qualifying from the Pan-Am region, that’s a high, but there have also been some low moments.  

“I had a really tough battle with Lucy Beecroft. Playing against someone of her level was a tough one because she just puts you in such difficult positions, but I really learned a lot from that match.  

“And last week I played Sana Ibrahim, and those battles on the Challenger Tour really prepared me for some of these bigger opportunities that I’m starting to get, so they might seem like low moments at the time, but I really do think that those have helped me play at the higher level here. 

“Playing a lot of the good Challenger Tour tournaments has been a really good stepping stone, because it allowed me to take my solid junior game but be exposed to different conditions, a different environment and a different intensity that was seen at World Juniors, and hopefully I can carry that to Houston this summer.” 

Fouts in action against Fayrouz Aboelkheir in this year’s British Junior Open final

The event in Houston that Fouts is referencing is the upcoming WSF World Junior Squash Championships, a tournament at which the 18-year-old will spearhead her country’s quest for glory, something she’s already relishing the prospect of. 

“I really love playing for Team USA,” she said. 

“Some of my fondest memories of squash are from playing at the British [Junior] Open this year. I can’t wait to have the three letters on my back again, playing at this high level.  

“This year at the British Junior Open there was around 52 juniors supporting me behind that glass in the final and I pulled out some of my best squash, so to be able to recreate that at the World Juniors this year is really something exciting, especially in our home country. 

“I know there’ll be a lot of support. Both the men and the women have really strong teams this year, and we’re looking to grab the team titles for both the men and the women.” 

Representing her country on the international stage is something that Fouts has not only done at the junior level, but on the senior stage as well. 

As a 17-year-old last summer, Fouts joined forces with Sabrina Sobhy, Marina Stefanoni and Olivia Clyne to help Team USA qualify for the Pam American Games, in which the team went on to win gold. 

Speaking of that experience, Fouts revealed how much it meant to play alongside her role models. 

“Olivia [Weaver], Sabrina, Amanda [Sohby], Olivia Clyne, even Marina, they’re great role models to me, I look up to them every day,” said Fouts. 

“Olivia [Weaver] is working with Rod [Martin] kind of close to my hometown, and hitting with her, seeing how she brings an intensity to practice, and just being able to witness her doing great things right now is really inspiring.  

“I was lucky enough to play with Sabrina, Marina and Olivia Clyne at the Pan Am Championships – the qualifying – last June in Cartagena, and being able to consider myself a part of their team was a real honor. I learnt so much from how they approach every match and how they carry themselves on and off court. They’re just great people to learn from and great characters off court as well.”

Fouts proudly representing Team USA at the British Junior Open in January.

Playing alongside a Stefanoni sister is something Fouts will become accustomed to in coming years, with Marina’s younger sibling Lucie starting her sophomore season at Harvard when Fouts enters her freshman year. 

Marina, meanwhile, has just completed her senior year at the same college and was one of the players Fouts sounded out while in Cairo.

“I’m super excited,” she said when asked about heading to college this fall. 

“Coming here and talking to Hana Moataz, Victor Crouin and Marina, who’ve recently graduated, they seem to have had such an amazing time there, and it really is just a big community.  

“Even though I haven’t had my Harvard experience yet and they have, it’s really nice to be able to talk to them. To know that we’ll have that similar experience and that shared connection is really amazing, and it helps build friendships between us.”

The young American also revealed her eagerness to learn from esteemed Harvard coach Mike Way.

“I’m super excited to work with Mike. He’s so knowledgeable about the game and just has so much wisdom to share, and I’m really hoping that I can go for the next four years at Harvard and learn a lot, develop my game to the next level and be a part of a team, because I really love playing for a team and something bigger than myself.” 

On choosing Harvard over other potential colleges, she added: “I was looking at a few of them but I really just loved the balance of academic rigor and comradery that Harvard has. 

“I know Mike is very capable of bringing players from college squash to the next level. Ali Farag is an amazing example, Gina [Kennedy] too, all of them are able to just step right onto the world tour and really bring their squash to the next level, and I think that can really be attributed to Mike, and his knowledge of the game.  

“So that was definitely a factor of me choosing Harvard. But really it was the balance of academics as well, as I hope to continue my studies at a high level. It was a tough decision, but I know I made the right one.” 

Such is Fouts’ pedigree on the PSA Tour already that many players in her shoes may have considered turning pro straight away, foregoing the academic benefits of a college career in search of a more immediate professional journey. 

Fouts, though, was never in any doubt as to what path she wanted to take, partly due to the unrivalled experience of playing alongside others in what is otherwise such an individual sport. 

“I was really determined that college was something I was going to do before I explored the World Tour,” she said. 

“I love playing for a team so I know that going to college and playing for the team will ultimately bring out my best squash. 

“I think that I do play my best squash knowing that I’m representing team USA, representing my high school team or representing, hopefully, my college, so I always knew that I was going to bring it to the collegiate level.” 

Fouts celebrates with Rod Martin after her win over Nicole Bunyan at the 2023/24 CIB PSA World Championships.

Putting her pro career on hold completely is not something Fouts is considering either, hoping to continue playing on Tour throughout her college life, albeit perhaps a little less than over the past 12 months. 

“My goal before going to Harvard was to try and get my ranking to a position where I’d have a little bit more flexibility and ability to choose which tournaments I wanted to play, and not have to play every single 10k or every single 15k that is on the calendar,” she said. 

“So, I definitely hope that I’ll have a little bit more selectivity with the tournaments that I get to play next year.  

“I’ll see how my first year goes, balancing my academics, but I’ve had great conversations with Victor, Hana, Marina and Gina, trying to figure out a balance between my college experience – and being able to have a great college experience – and being able to play on the World Tour.” 

Balancing an academic and squash career alone would be challenging enough for some, but Fouts is also hoping to continue her philanthropic endeavors through the non-profit organization she founded with her cousin, albeit in a reduced capacity. 

“Turning Pages is a non-profit organization that collects books and redistributes them to underserved communities,” she explained. 

“I started this because at school we have such amazing libraries and over the summer I was exposed to communities that don’t have access to as many books as I do at my school. 

“I’m really passionate about that and it’s great community service and it allows me to form a connection with people outside my community. 

“My cousin and I run it together, but we’re trying to expand the group of kids who are involved and volunteer to the larger Fairfield County, so we have a couple of different regions all over the tri-state area. 

“I’ll try to carry it on. I’ve passed it on to my other cousins and it’ll keep getting passed along but I always want to be involved and help the community if I can.”