He represented New Zealand at the World Squash Junior Championships in Cairo, Egypt, in July last year.
“It was the best trip I’ve ever been on; it was my first time experiencing world-class squash,” Mathews said.
“By playing people from different countries, I definitely learned a lot from it.”
He then achieved his goal of winning the under-19 national title in the individual and team categories in October.
He was unable to attend the event in 2024 because of a broken hand.
This month, he was crowned the New Zealand Junior Open boys’ champion after defeating his national teammate, Vihan Chathury, in the final.
“That was on a glass court, which was an amazing experience, in front of 800 people,” Mathews said.
“[Chathury] is a good mate of mine, so it was good.”
Mathews said he won the first two sets “reasonably comfortably” but Chathury won the third set 11-7, which prompted Mathews to “step it back up to meet him” in the final set.
Mathews won the fourth set 11-6.
Mathews has opted to take a gap year this year to focus on his training.
He is hopeful of making the New Zealand team to compete at the World Squash Junior Championships in Canada in July.
At the Oceania Professional Squash Association tournament in March, he had a taste of what it is like to face “next-level” squash players of all ages.
He said he learned what it would take to maintain his junior level of success in the open category.
“The pace is so much faster and your training has really got to match that.
“They are consistent. They don’t go away, so you can’t find the cheap way out.”
The sport will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Mathews said he wanted to put his “best foot forward” to be in contention for selection.
Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
