ISLAND squash star Amelie Haworth — dreaming of playing in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles — will need to focus on the reality of trying to win the English Junior Championships in London, starting today (Friday).

Amelie, of Carisbrooke, won the U19 category at the British Junior Championships in October and enters the English Juniors as favourite for this event, going in as the top seed.

The championships, run by England Squash, takes place across five London venues, through to and including Sunday.

The 18-year-old, now already becoming established on the senior stage, is ranked 148 in the world. 

Victory in London would be Amelie’s fourth English Junior Championships title.

Preparing to make the step up to being a full professional in the sport, Amelie aims to become an Olympian in the near future, now that squash has become the Olympics' newest sport.  

Speaking to the Professional Squash Association about the jump between junior and senior competitions, Amelie said: “The Challenger Tour feels a lot different to playing junior events. It’s a big step up.

"It is always players I've looked up to — and now I'm playing them!

"Sometimes I don’t deal with that very well, but the more tournaments I play, the more I have adapted to it and produced some decent results. 

"I think the rallies go on a lot longer and you have to be stronger, fitter and faster, because they play at such a higher pace.”

More than 300 will take part in the championships, spanning 11 age categories, from mixed U9s, up to girls and boys U19s.