Several years before the pandemic, I had the distinct pleasure of taking a group squash lesson from Peter Nicol MBE as part of a charity event here in Charleston, SC. Now, all these years later, I have the pleasure of writing an article about Nicol and his wife, Jessica Winstanley, as they will soon be bringing padel to a unique racket sports facility set to open in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey in early December.
In case you aren’t familiar with Nicol, calling him a “squash legend” may actually be a bit of an understatement.
Among many other achievements, Nicol was ranked No. 1 in the world for 60 months (or five total years) including a continuous 24-month stint in 2002–03… he finished runner-up at the World Open in 1997 and ’98 before winning the title in ’99… and he has 52 total professional squash titles under his belt, including two British Open titles and four Commonwealth Games gold medals.
And now, like so many of the rest of us in the racket-sports world, he has discovered the magic of padel.
Nicol, originally from Scotland, now lives in New York City with Canadian wife Jess Winstanley. Together, they opened a four-court public squash center in Manhattan, and now (as originally reported by our U.K. sister publication, The Padel Paper) they are preparing to open a groundbreaking, 20,000 square foot multi-racket-sport facility known as Nicol New Jersey.
The club — which will be public and offer both membership and “pay-and-play” options — will feature four pickleball courts, three squash courts, and two state-of-the-art indoor padel courts. Two additional outdoor courts for padel and pickleball will be added in early 2025. There will also be a Spear Fitness suite, bar, snacks, and large event space.
While Nicol New Jersey won’t be the first club in the U.S. to offer this trio of racket sports, the fact that someone with a background like Nicol’s (and Winstanley’s) sees the potential in combining all three under one roof is sure to get plenty of attention in the racket sports world.
As Nicol stated in an article for squashplayer.com: “The three sports together tie in beautifully. You can cross over and play one one day and another the next. You can go up or down in standard and complexity, depending on how you feel physically. We offer both a hard 45 minutes of squash and an hour of gentle pickleball and social. That’s where it’s really interesting. We’re very excited about exploring that.”
Winstanley added, “People have combined these three sports in country clubs, but those clubs are private so they’re inaccessible to most people. We are doing it in the public environment in a for-profit business. We believe it’s going to work. It will open squash up to a much larger demographic and become part of a much larger racket sports conversation.
We are looking to make squash more accessible and get more people playing. It’s the perfect time to do so because [squash] just got into the Olympics. We’re very aware of how squash is set up in this country. It’s niche anyway, but this country has made it even more niche with private clubs and inaccessibility.”
Given that padel is increasingly being seen by some here in the U.S. as just another “country-club sport” (much like squash or golf) reserved for wealthy individuals who can afford expensive club memberships and/or court fees that can run as high as $200-$300 per hour in some parts of the country, concepts like Nicol New Jersey may be exactly what the sport needs right now — especially given its own Olympic aspirations.
Once Nicol New Jersey is open, we’ll be back with a full feature article and a behind-the-scenes look at this exciting new project, so please stay tuned!
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