PSA Player Spotlight: Paul Coll by Jonny Coverdale
photo PSA
December 15, 2015
- New Zealand is highly revered for its sporting successes, especially
on the rugby field, however Kiwi squash player Paul Coll is also doing
his country proud and quickly becoming a formidable force on the PSA
World Tour.
Throughout 2015, the 23-year-old from Greymouth, New Zealand has soared
into the world’s top 50 and clinched multiple PSA World Tour titles in
the process.
The current World No.40 defied the odds in August to secure the
Australian Open title, producing an outstanding performance to defeat
his training partner and home favourite Cameron Pilley in the final.
The New Zealander, who was unseeded for the tournament, admits he was
delighted with the victory.
“Winning the Australian Open was a surreal feeling and beating someone
of Cameron Pilley's status gave me huge confidence in my game and what
I could achieve,” said Coll.
“The win also gave me opportunities to compete in the bigger tournaments on the PSA World Tour.”
After claiming this prestigious title, Coll’s winning momentum
continued apace, marching to his first national title in August before
becoming New Zealand’s No.1 player in September’s PSA world rankings.
“Throughout my whole life I have always wanted to be the best player in
New Zealand, so to finally achieve this goal was an amazing feeling,”
he said.
“Campbell Grayson and Martin Knight have been at the top for many years
and I’ve always looked up to them, so it’s a good feeling to be ahead
of them for now.”
As well as reaching these career highs in the summer, Coll continued to
build on his success and finished the year in style, conquering four
English opponents to seal the London Open title in November.
Seeded No.1 for the event, the Kiwi didn’t drop a single game en route
to the final and produced a strong display to overcome the resilient
Ben Coleman in the title decider, eventually prevailing 3-2 after a
five-game thriller.
“The London Open was the perfect way to finish the year,” Coll enthused.
“It’s always different being the top seed, I was probably more nervous
in some of these matches than playing in the World Championship the
week before.”
New Zealand currently boasts an impressive total of five top 100
players and Coll has paid tribute to the vibrant junior squash scene in
the country.
“Grassroots squash is a lot of fun in New Zealand,” said Coll.
“We have good junior tournaments and there is always a fun vibe at
these events. My Mum and Dad played squash so I was always down at the
courts. Despite playing lots of sports in my youth, when I got picked
for New Zealand squash I began to focus on the sport a lot more.”
Like most of the world’s best players, Coll trains extremely hard and has his own unique type of match preparation.
“I do at least one physical and one on court session a day,” he said.
“My physical work is usually in the gym and usually finishes with me
lying on the ground in a lot of pain. Before a match I usually have a
light hit in the morning, followed by a nap and some good food – then
I’m ready to play.”
The Kiwi’s immediate focus now turns towards next month’s J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions where he’ll hope to secure passage to the main
draw of a PSA World Series event for the first time in his career.
Coll is quietly ambitious about his future prospects and has set his
sights on achieving more success in 2016, while he also outlined his
longer term goals.
“Obviously I would love to see my ranking keep rising, hopefully into
the top 20s and I hope to qualify for some PSA World Series events,”
the high-flying 23-year-old said.
“I aim to compete on the glass courts against the best in the world.
I’d also love to win a gold medal for New Zealand at the Commonwealth
Games and of course strive to be the best in world and win the World
Championship.”
If Coll can continue his imperious form on the PSA World Tour, he could
well be challenging for the sport's most illustrious titles in years to
come.
