More Than Just A Ranking is a series where we get a personal insight into squash players about more than just who they are on court.
Both Camille and Raneem are legends of the Womens Game: Camille is a former World Number Two and winning 15 titles including the British and US Open. Raneem is a former World Number One and former World Champion.
Since their retirement they have continued to be involved with the tour, being part of multiple exhibitions on the tour, with this interview being filmed around their exhibition at the Tournament of Champions 2023.
In this interview, they speak about their careers, advice for future generations what they’ve been up to post tour life and more.
“Having retired, you look back and reflect on the good moments you had with other players, not on the good moments that you had on your own.”
“I think nowadays, since everyone you know is at the top of their games and everyone is really successful and doing very well, the pressure kind of gets to you and you start to, you know, be in your own bubble, not talking to other players not enjoying it as much as I would when I was still a junior.”
“I think my advice to an up-and-coming junior would be always stay social. Don’t lock yourself up in the room and don’t distance yourself from the other players.”
“Make your trip an exciting one and make your time on tour really enjoyable.”
Raneem: “I have a son, He’s, three years old and he is definitely my main focus. I would like to say that Shahir and Tarek are my main focus, but unfortunately Shahir has 90% of the focus and then Tarek gets whatever is left”
“I’m trying to make it as easy as possible for him [Tarek] to only focus on squash and not anything else outside.”
Ahead of the Paris Squash Alpine 2023, Camille talks about her excitement in being part of the organisation process of this inaugural event.
“It’s a big challenge and now that I’m on the other side of this, of how it works. I can see how difficult it is, how challenging it is.
But it’s funny. I can still feel, you know, this good pressure that I had when I was a player and I’m like this is a good challenge.”
Finally, they then both reflect on their very successful squash careers and their friendship throughout their time on tour
Raneem: “One thing I miss about being on tour is playing, you know, at the big stages in front of the big crowds on the glass court.”
“The one thing I don’t miss about being on tour is I don’t have to do any court sprints anymore!”
Camille: “I mean, the one thing I miss the most is the same as you playing in these amazing, you know, locations in the world. I think that’s why I really loved playing squash and I felt like we were very lucky with this sport to be able to play in these locations.”
“And the thing I don’t miss, I would say jetlag, warming up, the routines and even traveling: living in a suitcase.”
Raneem: “Over the years, Cami and I we’ve always talked about keeping our kindness, maintaining our fairness, our love for each other, our respect for each other.”
“Most importantly I think the two of us, we managed to keep that from start to finish, which was amazing: This is what I admire the most about us.”
Watch the full interview on SQUASHTV YouTube now.
