Millfield squash player crowned European Champion

Millfield student Amelie Haworth has been crowned U19 European Squash Champion.

Amelie claimed the European crown when representing England at the ESF European Individual U19 Squash Championships 2024 in Bucharest, Romania.

Having lost in the final of the same event last year, Amelie went one better in 2024, coming out on top in an incredible final up against number one seed Lauren Baltayan of France, who is ranked within the top 100 of the womens' professional world rankings. After trailing her opponent by two games in the final, Amelie displayed astonishing resilience to come out as the eventual winner by three games to two (8-11 8-11 11-3 17-15 11-7).

A boarder from the Isle of Wight, Amelie joined Millfield for its unique squash programme. She is currently studying A levels in Spanish, Geography and Psychology.

Amelie said “It felt surreal to win the European Junior Championships. It has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember, and when I was 2-0 down I reminded myself of this, and how much it would mean to me if I won. I was so relieved to complete the comeback. In the five years I have been at Millfield, the Director of Squash here, Ian Thomas, has majorly supported and helped me and I would really like to thank him for that.” 

The victory caps off a stellar start to 2024 for Amelie, who secured her fifth English Junior National Championships title in February when she won the U19 Girls' event without dropping a game throughout the tournament. She has now won the English Junior National title in every age group.

Amelie will represent England on the international stage at the Junior World Championships in Houston, Texas, in July.

Amelie hopes to represent Great Britain in the 2028 Olympics, with squash making its debut as an Olympic sport in the Los Angeles games. Following the completion of her A levels, Amelie will join Stanford University on a Squash scholarship.