Not long after Squash Ireland posted on social media in mid-February that Aaron Knox had won the BU19 Irish Junior Nationals title in Cork, his uncle Kevin – himself a serial title winner on the Masters circuit and soon to be voted its Player of the Year – posted a comment that neatly summed up the trajectory of his nephew’s grand progress.
“Top man, Aaron,” he began. “You had to bide your time but, as the saying goes, the cream always rises to the top. #machine.”
A glance back through the Nationals of recent vintage highlighted the steps gradually taken by the talented Celtic player. He was fifth in the 2022 U15s, entering as the eighth seed and bowing out in the quarter-finals to Sutton’s Conal Jackson.
Then came duels with another Sutton rival, Christian Dromgoole. There was defeat in the 2023 U15s final and then a semi-final loss to the same opponent in the 2024 U17s. Last year, it was Galway’s Danny Barnes who had his number in the U19 semi-finals, but there was no stopping the Waterford teenager in 2026.
A solid foundation had been impressively laid. Provincial titles were collected in Ulster, Munster and Leinster, as well as a runners-up spot in Connacht.
Then, the week before his Junior Nationals moment of truth at Sunday’s Well, he entered the Senior Nationals at Fitzwilliam and enjoyed a quarter-final tune-up against eventual champion Sam Buckley.
The 16 points Knox won in his 0-3 loss were three more than the 13 that defending champion Conor Moran managed the following day in the Fitzwilliam final, and it was a useful encouragement for him when it came to getting the Junior Nationals job done 3-1 in his final versus Dromgoole the following weekend.
“I have been playing probably the best squash that I have been playing,” he told Squash Ireland at a recent training camp at Trinity College ahead of the upcoming U19 European Championships in Poland, where he hopes to build on last year’s 16th-place finish in the individuals in Prague.
“I won four out of the five Open tournaments on the Junior circuit this year and it was my first time winning the Nationals, so I was very happy to win that. I was very happy to win, my first time winning it, so I was proud.
“I’m now very excited to be competing at the European Junior Championships in Krakow. Very proud to be representing Ireland as the No.1 and junior champion. Very excited to be competing with the top juniors.
“All the opponents are going to be tough, and there are no easy matches in the tournament. It is the top players in Europe, so you are not going to get anything easy. It [the standard] is very high. I enjoy the travelling. There is excitement travelling up to games and tournaments.”
It was no easy task becoming the best in Ireland at his age-grade. “I was sort of doing six days on court and was doing extra running beside that, so a lot of effort went into it and it paid off,” he explained, going on to reference how he balances this dedication to the sport with his education.
“I’m in fifth year. I just sort of do schoolwork in school and try to get most of the work done, so when I come home I try and get training in.”
Squash has always been the family sport, with dad Brian and uncle Kevin powerhouses on the Masters circuit while his cousins are also becoming big Junior circuit names.
“Watching my dad Brian and my uncle Kevin play and make achievements makes me want to train harder and become like them. Harry and Alfie are my two cousins and Harry is U13 No.1. The two of them, I am just trying to inspire them as well just to keep going.”
Representing where he comes from – Celtic Squash Club in Waterford – is also a huge motivation for Knox. “It’s not a very popular sport, or there have not been many good players coming from there,” he said.
“There have been a few, so I just want to try and be a good player that comes out of Waterford and inspire other people in there.
“I just like the social part of squash, and I like the mental part as well. It’s a tough game, but it is fun as well to play. I want to try and become a professional and just see how far I can go up in the rankings.”
