WEST FIFE squash star Catherine Holland has said she is determined to enjoy playing in what she says is the biggest tournament of her career so far.

The 24-year-old, from Dalgety Bay, qualified to play at the historic Springfield Scottish Squash Open, which began yesterday (Wednesday) and runs until Sunday.

The event, which is taking place at the Inverness Tennis and Squash Club, is Scotland's flagship tournament and features some of the world's top male and female players.

Catherine, who is ranked 331 on the PSA (Professional Squash Association) World Tour, received a wildcard entry for the Challenger Tour event, having achieved a quarter-final place at the Lexden RFC Open last month.

Netherlands' Sanne Veldkamp was her first round opponent, with the winner going on to face Marie Stephan, and Catherine, who also helps to develop the junior game through coaching and mentoring at Dalgety Bay Squash and Tennis Club, said: "It's massive for me.

"I've never played in a tournament this big. I'm so excited.

"It's just really exciting to get the opportunity to go against some of these players because they are so much higher ranked than I am at the moment.

"I'm always looking to improve, see what I've got to bring to the table to start with, and then see what I can do to get better moving forward.

"I haven't set any goals; I'm just going to go in, enjoy it and get stuck into the experience. There's no pressure then. I can only prepare what I can prepare.

"I think there's 24 girls in the draw and it'll be the same for the guys. I got a wildcard so I'm quite lucky to get in.

"It should be good fun."

Catherine, who admitted it had been a tough year in the sport due to COVID-19 interuptions, is relaxed about the levels she wants to reach in the future.

"I just want to be the best I can and keep pushing," she added.

"There's so many different avenues you can go in squash. Because it's physical, it's tactical, it's technical and it's mental as well, you can't tick all the boxes at the same time but you can try and tick as many as possible.

"I think the fact that no matter how good you get, you can always get better, has definitely kept me in the sport."

Both the male and female players at the championship will compete for equal prize money in what is one of the highlights of the PSA Challenger Tour.

The Challenger Tour is where the world’s emerging talent ply their trade in the hope of breaking into the World Tour, the premier league of world squash.

The PSA hosts over 200 competitions across the globe, where star players compete for prize money of up to $500,000 per tournament.

The first Scottish Open was held in 1936 and, after one of the last 'modern era' tournaments took place in 2001, it returned in 2019 due to a surge of interest in the sport.

You can watch the tournament live at https://www.facebook.com/events/967319750513374.