Georgina Kennedy (born 3 April 1997) is an English professional

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

player. Kennedy became the first Englishwoman to win a

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

squash singles title. She reached a career high ranking of number 5 in the world during May 2024.

Early life

Raised in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

in southeast London, Kennedy attended Langley Park School for Girls and was a promising runner, ranked number one in England for the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

at U12 level, and training with sprint star

Dina Asher-Smith Geraldina Rachel Asher-Smith (born 4 December 1995) is a British sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. Internationally competing since 2011, she holds national records in all three sprint events, making her the fastest British ...

at Blackheath and Bromley Harriers. However, having first played squash at the age of nine, she later, aged 13, decided to focus on squash, playing for the Parklangley club.

Career

In 2015, Kennedy reached the quarter-finals of the 2015 Women's World Junior Squash Championships, and won the European under-19 squash championships in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Until 2020, Kennedy divided her time between squash and studying at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where she co-captained the university's Howe Cup-winning women’s team, and won the US National Collegiate Individual Championship (Ramsay Cup) three times, in 2017, 2019 and 2020. In February 2020, she was awarded the 2020 College Squash Association's '' Betty Richey Award'', one of the biggest honours in US college squash. Following a suspension of competitive squash tournaments during 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Kennedy began a run of 50 out of 55 tour wins, 11 finals and nine titles in one year. In February 2021, ranked 167 in the world, she reached the final of the English Squash Championships, losing to World No.6

Sarah-Jane Perry Sarah-Jane Catherine Perry (born 15 May 1990) is a professional squash player who represents England and Great Britain. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 5 in July 2020. Biography Perry was educated at Kenilworth School, ...

. In September 2021, she won the Scottish Open. Then, ranked 51 in the world, Kennedy reached her first

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pro ...

World Tour final in October 2021, losing 3-0 to World No.2

Nouran Gohar Nouran Ahmed Gohar (; born 30 September 1997) is a professional squash player who represents Egypt. She is the 2023–24 world champion and a three-times world team champion. She reached a career-high world ranking of No. 1 in July 2020. Ca ...

in the DAC Pro Squash Classic in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. In June 2022, Kennedy was nominated for the PSA World Tour Women's Player of the Season, having risen from World No.170 to break into the top ten in April 2022, won her first PSA World Tour title in the Bronze-level Cleveland Classic and reached the last 16 of four Platinum tournaments and the

World Squash Championships The World Squash Championships are squash events, which since the early 1990s have been held annually for both men and women organised by the Professional Squash Association. The men's event was first held in 1976 in London, England and the wome ...

. Her rapid rise to prominence earned comparisons with fellow Parklangley member, tennis player

Emma Raducanu Emma Raducanu ( , ; born 13 November 2002) is a British professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 10 by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA, and is the current British No. 1. Raducanu was the 2021 US Ope ...

. In August 2022, Kennedy was ranked number 8 in the world, On 3 August 2022, Kennedy won gold in the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, beating England team-mate (and eventual bronze medallist) Perry in a semi-final and then beating Canada's

Hollie Naughton Hollie Naughton (born October 21, 1994) is a Canadian professional squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 16 in January 2022. In 2016, she won her first Canadian Nationals title. Career Naughton won a silver medal ...

in the final to become the first Englishwoman to win a Commonwealth squash singles title. Paired with Patrick Rooney and Lucy Turmel respectively, Kennedy also competed in the

mixed doubles Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis, and badminton (where it is known ...

and women's doubles events. In May 2023, she reached the quarter final of the 2023 PSA Women's World Squash Championship, before losing to number 2 seed

Nour El Sherbini Nour Atef Ahmed Zaki El Sherbini (; born 1 November 1995) is an Egyptian professional squash player. She holds the record with Malaysian Nicol David for having won the most women's world individual titles. The eight world titles were achieve ...

. Also in 2023, Kennedy was part of the England squad that won the

European Squash Team Championships The European Team Championships (ETC) are the international squash competition played between teams representing different nations organised by the European Squash Federation. Countries enter teams of four or five players to represent them in ...

in Helsinki. In May 2024, Kennedy achieved her highest world rankings to date: No. 5. In August 2024 Kennedy claimed her first

British National Squash Championships The British National Squash Championships are the national squash championships for players from the United Kingdom & Ireland. They are held on an annual basis, with the venue changing for each year. The Championships were inaugurated in 1974 ...

. In May 2025, Kennedy was part of the England team that won the gold medal at the

2025 European Squash Team Championships The 2025 European Squash Team Championships was the 51st edition of European Squash Team Championships for Squash (sport), squash players. The event was held at the Hasta La Vista Center in Wrocław, Poland from 30 April to 3 May 2025. The tourn ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Poland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Georgina 1997 births Living people People from Beckenham Sportspeople from the London Borough of Bromley English female squash players Harvard Crimson women's squash players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in squash Squash players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games 21st-century English sportswomen