USA 6th! 

Team USA matched its best finish of sixth place! The U.S. men entered the first Men’s World Team Championship since 2019 as the tournament’s five seeds and topped group E with wins over Czechia and the Cook Islands.

The U.S. then secured a place in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over New Zealand courtesy of wins from Spencer Lovejoy and Shahjahan Khan.

The U.S. met four seeds Switzerland in the last eight. It narrowly missed out on reaching the semifinals as world No. 18 Nicolas Mueller edged Timmy Brownell 11-9 in the fifth game in the decisive win to send the Swiss into its first-ever semifinal.

The U.S. had mixed fortunes in the 5-8 playoffs as the team defeated Scotland 2-1, but then fell short in the 5th place playoff with a close 2-1 loss against seven seeds Wales.

The result matches Team USA’s previous best finish of sixth place achieved in Paderborn, Germany in 2011, and an improvement of seven places from a thirteenth-place finish in 2019.

“We experienced some extreme highs and lows this week, but overall I’m proud of the effort that the team showed throughout the tournament,” said Ong Beng Hee, the Ganek Family US Squash Head National Coach. “We were close to some historic results so it’s hard not to feel some disappointment, but the experience will serve this young team well in two years time. We couldn’t thank New Zealand enough for being wonderful hosts.”

“I’m very proud of the men’s performance, they are cohesive as a team, support each other and came quite close to a real breakthrough,” said Kevin Klipstein, US Squash President & CEO. “They have all worked extremely hard and that strong foundation remains in place as we look to the 2024 World Championships.”

USA 1-2  WALES

Joel Makin (WAL) 3-0 Timothy Brownell  11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (36m)
Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-0 Shahjahan Khan  11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (31m)
Spencer Lovejoy 3-0 Elliott Morris Devred (WAL)  11-5, 11-7, 11-0 (17m)

USA 2-1  SCOTLAND

Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-0 Andrew Douglas   11-8, 11-2, 12-10 (29m)
Spencer Lovejoy  3-0 Alan Clyne (SCO)  11-7, 11-7, 11-1 (42m)
Timothy Brownell 3-0 Greg Lobban (SCO) 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 (32m)

Quarters

USA 1-2  SWITZERLAND

Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-2 Timothy Brownell 14-16, 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9 (64m)
Andrew Douglas (USA) 3-1 Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 15-13, 18-16, 9-11, 11-3 (60m)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-1 Shahjahan Khan  12-14, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (67m)

Last 16

USA 2-1 NEW ZEALAND

Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt Temwa Chileshe (NZL)  11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (36m)
Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0 Timothy Brownell  11-6, 11-2, 11-5 (32m)
Shahjahan Khan  3-1 Lwamba Chileshe (NZL)  11-4, 6-11, 11-5, 11-7 (54m)

USA broke home hearts in Tauranga’s Mercury Baypark Arena with a hard-fought victory over New Zealand as they reached the last eight of the championship for the first time since 2011.

The No.5 seeds started well through third string Spencer Lovejoy, with the World No.69 giving his side a platform with an 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 win over Temwa Chileshe.

World No.3 Coll, so often the rock of New Zealand teams and in form after winning the New Zealand Open in four days ago, restored parity for the [9/12] seeds – who were targeting a third-consecutive quarter-final appearance – through a 3-0 win against Timothy Brownell.

In the crucial third match, it was USA’s Shahjahan Khan who was able to provide the telling contribution. The 28-year-old – who two days ago came in during the third match to clinch victory on a fifth-game tie-break against Czech Republic’s Daniel Mekbib – held his nerve in an entertaining four-game contest with Lwamba Chileshe to take his side through.

“I feel play best under pressure. Playing for the team is different and gets me more motivated,” Khan said afterwards.

USA will face Switzerland in the quarter-final after the No.4 seeds reached the last eight for the first time with a comfortable win against eight-time champions Australia.

Pools

USA 3-0 COOK ISLANDS

Andrew Douglas 3-0 Brian Tapurau: 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (16m)

Shahjahan Khan 3-0 Dylan Russell: 11-5, 11-2, 11-6 (18m)

Spencer Lovejoy 3-0 Joshua Simeon: 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 (18m)

USA 2-1 CZECH REPUBLIC

Jakub Solnicky (CZE) 3-2 Andrew Douglas   12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9 (70m)
Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-2 Viktor Byrtus (CZE)  11-7, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 (61m)
Shahjahan Khan  3-2 Daniel Mekbib (CZE)  11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11-1, 12-10 (67m)