With just three days to go until the Optasia Championships get underway in Wimbledon, England’s No.2 Jasmine Hutton has expressed her excitement to be heading back to the event for the third successive year.
The current World No.16 lives less than 30 minutes away from the Wimbledon Club, making the Optasia Championships her closest PSA Squash Tour event. Hutton will be determined to utilise the home comforts of staying at home, a short commute and familiar surroundings to produce a positive performance in her first event on home soil since the London Classic in September 2025.
“I’m very excited to be playing the Optasia Championships again this year,” said Hutton.
“It keeps drawing me back, it’s my local event. I’m sponsored by Opatasia now too so that’s a massive bonus for me and a huge incentive. I also get to play in front of my family and friends and I can stay at home. It’s a pressure-free event for me, so I can just turn up and have a good go, stress-free.”
Hutton reached the semi-finals in 2024 and the quarter finals in 2025. She’s admitted her desire to put in another big performance in front of many familiar faces, a chance that doesn’t often present itself on a busy PSA Squash Tour.
“It would mean a lot to produce a big performance on home soil. It’s a rarity that so many of my friends and family can come and watch me play. So, it would mean a lot to get another strong week in there to show them how much I’ve progressed throughout the season and to feel their support will be amazing too.”
Hutton is the seventh seed for the event and has been drawn in the same quarter as top seed and defending champion Hania El Hammamy. The pair have met six times since September 2024 and despite suffering six losses, Hutton has lost 3-1 three times. The Englishwoman is determined to learn from the losses and be better each time she plays the World No.1 and will be excited if the pair meet again next week.
“She’s probably the player that I’ve played against the most over the last 18 months. I feel like I’ve drawn her a lot. I feel like I know her game a lot better, and I’ve learned a lot each time we’ve played, and I’d like to think that each time I’ve played her, it’s been more competitive each time so if I get another crack at her, I can go in with confidence and belief. Also with the addition of a home crowd for me and a comfortable environment, things couldn’t be better for me to try and play my best squash against her.”
You have to go all the way back to the Black Ball Open in 2023 to find the last time Hutton was defeated by someone ranked below her in a PSA event. Hutton’s consistency has seen her reach a career-high ranking this season but she knows that her level is more important than the ranking at the moment.
“I think I’ve had a pretty good season so far,” admitted the two-time British National Champion.
“I feel like my ranking hasn’t quite got to the level that I’m playing at. But that’s okay, it takes time and it’s not something that I need to worry about if I’m playing at the level that I want to be. I feel like I’m improving all the time, quite rapidly and my confidence is growing too. I’m proud of the season I’ve had so far and I’m looking forward to pushing on and hopefully I can get some more big results in the events for the rest of the season.”
The tournament gets underway at midday on Tuesday 24th March, with Hutton set to face either Rachel Arnold or Amina El Rihany in round two at 17:30 on the all-glass court.
Watch all the Optasia Championships action live on SQUASHTV.
