Meet the Classens 16-year old twins Erin and Dylan from West Australia (WA) who impressively won the Under 19’s Mixed Doubles recently at the Australian Junior Open (AJO.).
It is the first time doubles has been included in the AJO with the youngsters showing that talent runs in the family and marking this first victory as they set their sights on World Doubles domination.
Before the tournament they both felt excited for a fun day of squash with their friends but they were also determined to come away with solid results.
“To go out and win the title was a special experience for both of us,” said Dylan.
“If we were to be partnered with another player, we don’t think the win would be as special because winning with your sibling is just a different feeling,” said Erin.
Erin also had individual success at the AJO and became the Under 19 Girls Champion.
She said she felt less pressure because she wasn’t the top seed in the tournament. In the preliminary round she faced off against top seed Maggie Goodman before making it to the gold medal final where she met Sza Yu Lee.
“My mindset against Maggie and Sze Yu was the same as I came into the tournament knowing that I could beat both players and was determined to win,” said Erin.
“When I played Sze Yu, from the start of the match I felt confident and believed in myself that I could win the title.”
Dylan had to settle for the silver medal in the individual event after going down to Oscar Curtis in the final. He said Curtis is currently one of the best players in Australia and he still learnt a valuable lesson from his match.
“I need to learn how to be mentally prepared for a match, before I went on court I was getting in my head a little bit as I was putting too much pressure on myself,” Dylan said.
Dylan and Erin were first introduced to squash through their parents at age ten. The fast nature, competitiveness and the sheer enjoyment of hitting a ball keeps them coming back for more. At 16-years-old both Erin and Dylan have already had some amazing career highlights, including representing Australia.
“My three career highlights are getting into the Australian team competing at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Kuala Lumpur. Making history by being the youngest player at the age 14 winning the WA Open title and winning the AJO Under 19 title,” Erin said.
For Dylan his highlights are: “ravelling to Singapore for the Singapore Junior Open. I came into the tournament injured as I had suffered a concussion and still placed in the top five. Another highlight was beating Oscar Curtis in 5 matches at the Esperance Junior Open.”.
Over the next two months they will both compete at the WA Closed, WA Open and the Golden Open in Kalgoorlie as they continue to prepare for the Australian Junior Championship in September.
The list of goals Erin and Dylan have set for themselves individually and as a team is long but nothing will get in their way.
“I have quite a few major squash career goals. I would love to be ranked top 10 in the world for men. I want to play for Australia in the Commonwealth Games mixed doubles as well as the men’s singles in 2026. Start a business in the squash world and have a hit with Paull Coll and Hania El Hammamy,” said Dylan.
“My goals are to be the number one ranked Australian Under 19s player, be ranked in Australia’s top 4 by the time I am 21 and the World Top 10 by 2028. I want to continue representing Australia at the World Junior Championships until 2023, and start representing Australia at the World Teams Championships from 2024 and at the 2026 Commonwealth Games,” said Erin.
Dylan and Erin also want to represent Australia together at the World Championship Doubles.