BIG TALENT AT JUNIOR OPEN

For a high-level competitor heading in to the semifinal match of a big tournament, Mason Ripka had a somewhat surprising air of nonchalance. For a 12-year-old, on the other hand, the relaxed demeanor was pretty much par for the course. Read more

HARDSCRABBLE ATHLETE MEETS GLOBAL TALENT

In the world squash scene, the United States doesn’t even register as a provincial backwater; it is a blip, a minuscule speed bump compared to powerhouse countries like England, Egypt, Australia and Pakistan.

At least that was the reality facing Chris Gordon eight years ago when, as a precocious and promising young American squash player, he decided to abandon his native soil temporarily for the more nurturing training environment of the United Kingdom. He was 14 at the time.

“That was very tough,” Gordon said last week by phone from Vancouver, where he was playing in the Comfort Inn Open. “We share the language, but it’s a completely different culture. Read more