Joel Makin
CountryBritish (Welsh)
Birth date27 October 1994 (age 31)
Birth placePembrokeshire, Wales
Height1.80 m
Weight78 kg
Turnedpro2013
RetiredActive
PlaysRight Handed
RacquetKarakal Raw Pro 2.1 (Joel Makin Signature Racquet)
EventMen's singles
Highest rankingNo. 4
Date of highest rankingJune 2025
Current rankingNo. 6
Date of current rankingDecember 2025
Titles10

Joel Makin (/ˈmeɪkɪn/, born 27 October 1994) is a Welsh professional squash player.[1] He reached a career high ranking of 4 in the world during June 2025.[2]

Career

Makin was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. He played squash at Aberdare Junior Squash Club under coaches Bob Gould, Clive Roberts and Dave Cope, and represented Wales at Under-13s level in 2007.[3] He left Aberdare at 18 and, forgoing university, trained at West Warwickshire Club under the guidance of Rob Owen until parting ways to become independent.[4]

He won the Kent Open in 2017, beating Joshua Masters in straight sets,[5] and the Tring Open in 2018.[6] He reached the semifinals of the men's singles squash competition at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, losing out to Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan in the bronze medal match.[7][8] Makin qualified for the 2018 British Open Squash Championships where he lost in the first round to Mohamed Abouelghar.[9] He beat the world number one, Mohamed El Shorbagy, to reach the quarterfinals of the Channel VAS Championships in October 2018.[10]

Makin won a bronze medal at the 2019 Men's World Team Squash Championships after reaching the semi-finals, where Wales lost to eventual champions Egypt.[11]

In February 2022, he was ranked number 8 in the World[12] and 1 in Wales.[13] At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Makin was selected to represent Wales, and won a silver medal in the Men's Singles.[14]

In 2024, Makin won his second British National Squash Championships, the first being achieved in 2021.[15] In October 2024, Makin won his 7th and 8th PSA titles after securing victory in the Silicon Valley Open and Pittsburgh Open during the 2024–25 PSA Squash Tour.[16]

In June 2025, he reached the semi final of the 2025 Men's British Open Squash Championship for the second consecutive year, losing to Mostafa Asal[17] but shortly afterwards won the PSA Squash Tour Finals in Toronto to record his greatest feat to date.[18]

Also in 2025, Makin won his third British National Squash Championships title, defeating Nick Wall in the final.[19] Makin won his 10th PSA title in November 2025.

PSA titles

Makin has won eight PSA titles:

  • 1 – 2015 City of Greater Bendigo International (PSA5)[20]
  • 2 – 2017 Kent Open (PSA10)[21]
  • 3 – 2018 Tring Open (PSA15)[22]
  • 4 – 2022 Manchester Open[23]
  • 5 – Oxford Properties Canadian Open, Feb 2023
  • 6 – 2024 Manchester Open, May 2024
  • 7 – Silicon Valley Open PSA Gold, Oct 2024
  • 8 - Pittsburgh Open, Feb 2025
  • 9 - PSA Squash Tour Finals, June 2025
  • 10 - HKFC Squash Open, Nov 2025

References

  1. ^ "Joel Makin - Professional Squash Association". psaworldtour.com
  2. ^ "Profile and world ranking". Squash Info. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Squash: Young members do well for squash club". Wales Online. 3 May 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  4. ^ Gilmour, Rod. "The new Welsh wizard". Squash Player. Vol. 2018, no. 4. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Makin Masters Home Favourite". Squash Player. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Makin Takes Arnold Homes Tring Open Title". Squash Player. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Results : Squash Men's Singles : 2018 Commonwealth Games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Squash: Nafiizwan wins historic bronze but Nicol finishes empty handed | The Star Online". thestar.com.my. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Welshman Joel Makin loses in British Open first round". BBC Sport. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Channel VAS Champs: Welshman Makin shocks World No.1 Elshorbagye to reach quarter-finals". PSA World Tour. Professional Squash Association. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Egypt end Wales' World Team run in semi-finals". BBC Sport. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  12. ^ "Squash Info - Joel Makin - Squash". squashinfo.com
  13. ^ "Unsquashable - Joel Makin". unsquashable.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  14. ^ James Hemingray (3 August 2022). "Makin takes silver at Commonwealth Games". Pembrokeshire Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Makin crowned British champion". BBC Sport. 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  16. ^ "$122,000 Men's Silicon Valley Open presented by Oracle NetSuite 2024, Squash Zone, Redwood City, California, USA". Squash Info. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  17. ^ "British Open 2025 : It's Nouran & Diego". Squash Site. 8 June 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Makin makes history with PSA Squash Tour Finals title win". BBC Sport. 28 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Top Seeds Makin & Murphy Crowned 2025 British Nationals Champions". National Squash Champs. 30 August 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  20. ^ "JOEL MAKIN CLAIMS 1ST PSA TITLE". walessquashandracketball.co.uk. 26 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Joel Makin wins Kent Open title as Josh Masters runs out of steam - Squash Mad". squashmad.com. 18 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Squash Info | Men's Tring Open 2018 | Squash". squashinfo.com
  23. ^ "Squash Info | Men's Manchester Open 2022 | Squash". squashinfo.com