The Main Line's connection to squash runs deeper than most people realize, stretching back to the sport's earliest American roots and continuing through to today's push for Olympic recognition at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games. The Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center at Drexel University, funded by more than $41 million in private donations and $15 million in state support, has cemented Philadelphia's status as the national epicenter of the sport, hosting 18 major championships annually and serving as Team USA's primary training hub. Meanwhile, figures like Susan Gross, who launched the country's first public school squash team at Harriton High School in 1997, and Melinda Justi, who founded the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships in 2004, have spent decades dismantling the barriers that once kept the sport out of reach for most Americans.
- Squash will make its Summer Olympics debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with Philadelphia's Olivia Weaver currently ranked number one in the U.S. and top five in the world as America's leading female Olympic candidate
- The Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center on Drexel's campus opened in 2021 with 20 world class courts and was projected to generate an estimated $23 million in annual economic impact for the city
- Susan Gross launched the nation's first public school squash program at Harriton High School in 1997 with just 14 students and no uniforms, a program that now has over 50 players across B and C squads
- Philadelphia's SquashSmarts nonprofit has served the sport's equity mission for 25 years, providing mentorship and court access to 160 student athletes annually from five low income city schools on a $2.5 million operating budget
With an Olympic spotlight approaching and a new generation of players emerging from both private clubs and public schools across the region, squash's most transformative chapter may be just getting started. For the Main Line, a sport it helped shape for over a century is finally ready for its global moment.
By: J.F. Pirro | Main Line Today | February 20, 2026
Photo: Courtesy of Ashley Joanna
