“I’ve Got to Travel the World” – Rhys Evans on his Breakout Season, Learning From the Best and Aims for the Future

Entering May 2023, Rhys Evans was ranked outside the world’s top 400 having not yet made his Challenger Tour debut, but fast-forward 15 months and it’s a different story altogether.

The young Welshman ended the 2023/24 season at No.160 in the world, just one spot shy of his career-high ranking achieved in June.

Not only that, but Evans has claimed his first two Challenger Tour titles, winning the 3k East Glos Open in February, before clinching the 6k Mozart Open crown as an unseeded player in Austria.

Those moments highlighted an impressive first full campaign on the PSA Tour, and speaking after making his 15k debut at the Bremer Schlüssel, Evans was pleased with his progress
on and off the court.

“It’s been good, my first full season on Tour, going from the Satellite Tour onto the Challenger Tour,” he said.

“When I was doing the Satellites, I was hoping to get into the bigger tournaments like the 15ks and now I’m getting into them quite consistently.

“I won two Challenger events, which has been really good. I won a 3k in Gloucester and then the 6k in Austria, and really enjoyed both tournaments. I’ve enjoyed every tournament I’ve been to. There’ve been good crowds and I’ve met new people, so it’s been good.

“You get to see a lot of places. When flights go your way it’s ok but when they get cancelled and all that stuff it’s tough, but it’s been really good. Like I say, I’ve met a lot of new people and got to travel the world. A special thanks to my sponsors Cadwallader LTD, Tecnifibre and Salming. I wouldn’t have been able to do it all without them.

“Also, the support of my Welsh coaches, Greg Tippings and Dave Evans (former World No.3) has been invaluable in helping me to get stronger and prepare me for the challenges ahead.”

Key to Evans’ success has been the work he’s done with some of the world’s best players, both past and present.

The 20-year-old – who is currently based in his hometown of Aberystwyth in Wales – was part of the Welsh team that took part in last season’s European Team Championships, giving him the opportunity to learn from World No.9 Joel Makin.

He’s also spent time training with three-time world champion and former World No.1 Nick Matthew, something that came about after a league match between the pair.

“We played in a league match once and he beat me 3-2,” Evans said.

“From there, I basically said… hopefully one day we can get on court… and he’s been really good. Along with my Welsh coaches, he’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever got on court with, and just one of the nicest people as well.

“He’s always there for me in tournaments on the phone, texting me. His lessons are really good, and what he’s doing in Sheffield is great for squash. He’s done everything in the game and in my opinion, he’s one of the best squash players to ever get on the court.”

Discussing what he feels he’s improved over the past few months, Evans added: “I feel like I’ve got a little bit stronger. My skills work is getting better, I’m not relying on my fitness and my speed as much now.

“Obviously, I’ve still got a lot of work to do to get where I want to be, but I’m not going hard every day, I’m working through my week in a good way, doing a lot of skills work and going to the gym a lot.”

Evans’ final match of the season saw him go down 3-0 to Ibrahim Elkabbani, but all three games were separated by three points or fewer, with the Welshman pushing the World No.61 hard.

Despite the result, Evans’ performance in that contest shows plenty of promise for the coming season, during which he hopes to continue making waves on the Challenger Tour, while also testing himself at a higher level.

“The Copper events are the 25ks now, so next season I want to be getting into those and hopefully get some good results to keep ticking over.

“Hopefully, I can win a few more Challenger events too, and one day in the next few years get onto the World Tour consistently. That’s my goal and my dream.”

Evans also has one other dream lurking in the back of his mind. With squash becoming an Olympic sport in 2028, he hopes his continuing progress over the next few years could take him all the way to LA.