It was another exciting day of action in Perth, Australia, as Germany’s Thomas Grübel upset the No.2 seed to advance on Day Four of the 2026 World Squash Masters Championships.
With over 900 players from 55 nations competing at this year’s World Masters, there was plenty of exciting action across the three venues – Belmont Squash Centre, Squashworld Mirrabooka and Karrinyup Shopping Centre.
On the all-glass court at Karrinyup Shopping Centre, Grübel [9/16] produced one of the shock results of the day after beating USA’s John Musto [2] in straight games.
The German made the quicker start, claiming the opening game 11-5. Moving into the second, Musto was able to recover, taking a 6-0 lead.
However, despite the deficit, Grübel was able to claw his way back into the game, powering through to win the second 11-8.
With momentum in his favour and a two-game lead, it seemed that Grübel was ready to cause an upset when he took a 5-2 lead in the third. However, Musto fought back to level the scores and force a tie-break.
Nonetheless, the German was able to regain the lead, eventually claiming the third game 15-13 to complete a 3-0 victory, which saw an outpouring of emotion on the court.
Following the match, Grübel said: “Mentally, I am extremely tired. I wouldn’t say physically, but that certainly was the most mentally tiring match of squash I have had in my life.
“Knowing that there are hundreds of people watching at home, family and friends too, it just feels incredible to have done this.
“I have never been to the last 16 of the World Squash Masters Championships before, and it is really hard to describe the emotions of how I am feeling right now,” said Grübel.
Joining him in the next round will be Guyana’s No.1 seed Richard Chin, who got off to a flying start in the Men’s 55+ draw after beating New Zealand’s Mark Foxcroft [17/32] in straight games.
In the Women’s 50+ draw, Australia’s top seed Jane Kennedy impressed on the all-glass court with a straight-game victory against her compatriot Bea Burger [9/16].
Kennedy will be joined by her compatriot and No.2 seed Melissa Martin, who scored an 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 win over England’s Michelle Higgins [9/16].
Elsewhere, there were also some unbelievable battles at Squashworld Mirrabooka, especially in the Men’s 70+ draw, as Ireland’s Michael Conlon [2] avoided a seeded upset in his five-game win over New Zealand’s Wayne Seebeck [17/32].
Despite progressing into the next round, Seebeck never made it easy for the No.2 seed. The New Zealander took the lead in the opener, winning 11-7 and forcing a response from the Irishman, who won the next two games 11-8, 11-9.
Moving into the fourth game, Seebeck levelled the scores in an end-to-end battle, winning 12-10. With the scores tied at 2-2, Conlon was forced to push once again, winning the final game 11-7.
On Court 6 at Squashworld Mirrabooka, Australia’s Khris Wiaceck [5/8] scored a victory over her compatriot Kerry Kern [9/16] in the Women’s 70+ draw, winning 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8.
Meanwhile, Belmont Squash Centre once again produced exciting action on every court. In the Men’s 40+ draw, Australia’s Shahroze Khan [9/16] caused an upset in the seedings with a win over USA’s Karamatullah Khan [5/8].
Despite going behind 2-1 in tightly contested games, the Australian was able to find another gear, winning the next two games 11-4, 11-5 to complete the comeback.
In the Women’s 50+ draw, there was another upset to the seedings, with New Zealand’s Mickayla Kerr [9/16] taking down South Africa’s Barbara Vintcent [5/8] in straight games.
Although the result seemed one-sided, it was far from the truth, with the duo not giving each other any breathing room on the scoreboard. However, it was Kerr who did enough to power past her opponent and win the match 11-7, 13-11, 13-11.
The 2026 World Squash Masters Championships will return for Day Five tomorrow, Thursday 3 September, with play beginning across all three venues at 9:30am (GMT+8).
Action from the glass court at Karrinyup Shopping Centre, Court 5 at Squashworld Mirrabooka, and Court 2 at the Belmont Squash Centre will be shown live and free on WORLDSQUASH.TV.
Click here to view all the results from Day Four.
Click here to view the schedule for Day Five.
For the latest World Squash news, follow World Squash on Facebook, Instagram, Threads,TikTok, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) or subscribe to the World Squash Newsletter.