By Doug Woodburn
Squash is making a racket in South Korea, with K-pop girl group IVE taking to the court for their latest video.
In the opening one-minute montage of their latest single, ‘WAVE‘, IVE’s six members are seen posing in squash gear on a red, oversized squash court.
They have IVE branded rackets, as well as a red ball.
“That is how you get players to wear eyeguards. Make a video with attractive people wearing them,” one person on Reddit remarked about the video.
K-pop – or Korean popular music – was recently ranked as the sixth biggest music market worldwide, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
Formed in 2021, IVE topped the chart twice in 2022 with their tunes ‘After Like’ and ‘Love Dive’, and have 3.5 million followers on Instagram.
If the lyrics to WAVE relate to squash, the link is an obscure one, with the girl group crooning ‘I see you’re falling deep for me; Baby, yes I’m all you’ll need; Ride the W-A-V-E’.
Squash, however, will certainly be looking to ride the wave of exposure created by this catchy K-pop number. According to Squash Info, South Korea’s highest-ever ranked player is Ahn Eun Tschan. She reached 52nd in the world in 2012.
We’re not 100 per cent sure about how the likes of Rob Owen would view the sextet’s technique, but the video certainly puts a more favourable spin on the sport than when squash has been portrayed on the big screen (normally involving two sweaty alpha males looking like they’re about to suffer a heart attack – see below).
