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England’s Commonwealth Games Squash Champion Georgina Kennedy Opens Up on Battle with Career-Threatening Disease
England’s Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Georgina Kennedy has detailed her ongoing battle with ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, which has meant she has had to overcome her own body, as well as her opponents, on her journey to the elite level of professional squash.
On the court, Georgina is regarded as arguably the fittest player on the women’s professional squash circuit, and the England No.1 has captured 11 PSA titles and recorded a career-high World Ranking of No.6 in January 2024 since turning pro after graduating from Harvard University in 2020.
Off the court, however, Georgina’s condition can affect her so badly that she is left unable to walk when it is at its worst.
“For the past 18 months, I have been struggling with it on and off,” says Georgina.
“When my ulcerative colitis flares up, I suffer from bleeding and pain in my stomach and it can be pretty debilitating. I have changed my diet considerably since I first got diagnosed with it in 2016, but unfortunately the stress of travelling and competing in tournaments has caused it to flare up quite a lot in the past 18 months.”
After storming up the PSA World Rankings – going from outside the top 150 to inside the top 10 within 12 months – the 2022-23 season should have been a chance for Georgina to kick on. Instead, she was bedridden with a particularly nasty flare up of the disease she has lived with for the best part of a decade.
“Little things such as going for a walk become incomprehensible when I have a flare up of my UC, so as you can imagine, training becomes very difficult also. When my UC is in remission I can live a totally normal life and I don’t even realise I have a problem, besides taking 5 different tablets every day, but I am still trying to figure out how best to cope with the flare ups.
“My UC kept me away from a few tournaments at the beginning of the 2022-23 season which was extremely difficult, and I really hope that this never happens again.”
For now, Georgina is focused on a strong finish the PSA World Tour season where she will be targeting title glory on home soil at the upcoming GillenMarkets London Squash Classic in March, as well as the British Open in June.
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Notes to Editors
- Georgina is available for one-to-one interviews for editorial features – either in-person, over the phone or via video call – and also photo shoots.
- The PSA can also offer exclusive access to film playing, training and behind-the-scenes content with one of the world’s top sports athletes.
- Free-to-use hi-res imagery of Georgina Kennedy is available here.
- Free-to-use video assets featuring Georgina Kennedy are available here.
- More information on Ulcerative Colitis can be found here.
About Georgina Kennedy
England No.1 Georgina Kennedy is a Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist and is currently ranked at No.9 in the PSA Women’s World Rankings. Born and bred in London, Kennedy is arguably the fittest woman in squash but has battled ulcerative colitis for eight years. Despite the difficulties associated with the disease, Kennedy has lifted 11 PSA titles and is the only Englishwoman to win a Commonwealth Games squash singles gold medal.
Please contact Sean Reuthe for player interview requests or to attend one of the PSA events in 2024.
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