The biggest squash event in America is at the Specter Center in University City this week

If you aren’t watching squash, now might be the time to start.

With the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles set to welcome the sport for the first time, an early look at American hopefuls arrived this week during the U.S. Open Squash Championships at the Arlen Specter Squash Center.

The event, located on Drexel’s campus in University City through Saturday, serves as a precursor to Los Angeles and showcasing that the work begins now for top competitors and youth prospects.

“If you really think you can be an Olympian in two-and-a-half years, then come on, prove it,” Nick Taylor, head coach of U.S. Squash, told The Inquirer this week. “Get the hard work done.”

This year, the semifinal and final rounds of the Open will be streamed for the first time live on Peacock, with the broadcast deal marking a big step forward for the continued growth and exposure of the sport.

“It’s millions of millions of potential viewers,” Taylor said, “ … that in itself is just amazing for us.”

The U.S. Open fields 32 male and female players from the Professional Squash Association, ranging from U.S team members like No. 4-ranked Olivia Weaver to wild cards like men’s U.S. junior champion Alex Carnell, who attends Penn.

As players compete in best-of-five sets to see who moves onto the next round, the focus is on players’ rankings ahead of the Olympics.

“These players have to just continue to work day in, day out, and just have the Olympics as a massive goal,” Taylor said. “I’m not overly concerned about, you know, the hard decisions of having to select players. I think that will look after itself to a degree.”

The early rounds of the event have already seen major drama, with No. 9-ranked Yousef Ibrahim downing No. 4-seeded Joel Makin this past Wednesday, securing Ibrahim’s place in the semifinals. Weaver, a Philadelphia-born-and-raised competitor, will also feature in the semifinals after defeating No. 18-ranked Sana Ibrahim.

As the competition roars on, Lee Beachill, chief operating officer of the Professional Squash Association, hopes fans tune in to see how entertaining the sport can be.

“To make our debut on such a massive platform like NBC, Peacock specifically, is a big deal for our sport,” Beachill said. “It’s a perfect event to do it. The center has been fantastic. It highlights just what a good position U.S. Squash is in at the moment.”

The squash community has pleaded for a bid to the Olympics for years, only to face rejection after rejection. When the sport finally received its ticket to the big stage in October 2023, U.S. coaches and players were surprised.

“I didn’t even know there was a bid,” said Marina Stefanoni, competing this week and currently the No. 25-ranked women’s player in the sport. “I didn’t even know we were still vying. Someone must’ve slipped it under the door, and all of a sudden, we are in the Olympics. It was a shock.”

With the Specter Center acting as the home of U.S. Squash, special in-house preparations have already begun to train Olympic hopefuls ahead of 2028.

“We have done a lot of tweaking and changing of how we think the program needs to exist,” Taylor said. “ … the Olympics are two-and-a-half years away, which is not that long.”

Egypt has dominated the professional scene for decades.

Since 2003, an Egyptian athlete has won the men’s world championship 15 times, while also winning 10 straight times on the women’s side. Reigning world champions Mostafa Asal and Nour El Sherbini are set to meet in the U.S. Open final, with semifinal bouts scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

As the USA stays on Egypt’s heels, Taylor hopes to overtake Egypt at the world championships in 2027, just in time for the team’s chance for a gold medal at the Summer Games.

“I think we have a really good shot at becoming world junior champions and beating Egypt in 2027,” Taylor said. “That would be a game changer.”