Alison Thomson’s passion for squash is rooted in some of her earliest childhood memories of watching her father in action.
Thomson’s family is steeped in squash history, with her father, Alan, the most capped Scottish player of all time and part of the European Championship winning side in 1992.
Although she was brought up in London, Thomson has represented Scotland since stepping up from junior level at the age of 19.
The 25-year-old says her father has continued to have a vast influence on her career, ever since she watched him compete in her early years.
Thomson said: “He has been a massive influence.
“When I’m training down south and I don’t have the other Scottish players with me, that’s when I ask him to stand in the corner and give me a pressure session.
“I forget how influential he is in the game. I find myself saying ‘Alison, use him.’
“We didn’t have a babysitter, so he had to bring me down to some of his matches when I was younger.
“That was 20 years ago when the culture was different in squash and you would bring your kids down.
“That’s what got me into squash. I would be four or five years old and just watching him in awe.
“I didn’t really play with the other kids, I have two older sisters and they didn’t play squash. He probably thought I would copy them and do ballet dancing and gymnastics.
“I just started at the Saturday juniors playing once a week, and that’s where I fell in love with it.”
Although Thomson represented England throughout her junior career she says playing for Scotland, as she did in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, feels a more natural fit.
She added: “I had other commitments when I was at school so I represented England as a junior. I was playing loads of other sports at the same time.
“It was also more of a selfish thing because I played some of the best players in England which raised my game as a junior.
“My family are all from Glasgow, so being in a Scottish household if there’s an England v Scotland rugby or football match we always have the blue shirts out.
“My mum and dad are both heavily Scottish – it’s just me and my two sisters with this accent.
“I just sided to my dad when I turned senior. It felt more natural wearing the Scottish colours.
“I didn’t really see it that I played for England, I just loved playing squash at tournaments and that was it for me.”
Thomson has travelled to Inverness for the first time this week to compete in the Springfield Scottish Squash Open, where she enters in today’s second round.
After some withdrawals, here's the latest Draws ready for tomorrow's start @InvTennisSquash …
Full Schedule : https://t.co/hrTppkq4IW pic.twitter.com/NZyAdk61Ai
— Scottish Squash 🏴 (@Scottish_Squash) September 21, 2021
Thomson, who is ranked 76th in the world, is in upbeat mood ahead of the tournament.
She added: “I’ll just take it one match at a time. Hopefully I can implement what I’ve been working on with my coach in the matches.
“I feel like I have been putting in a good training block and I know hard work pays off.
“Everyone is human, everyone is beatable, it’s just about what you can control.”
