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A holiday to Egypt may not be expected to appeal to the dedicated squash fan, but the many of the hotels there have squash courts amongst their facilities and international competitions are held there too.

Squash is one sport in which Egypt excels at the top level. For a country where climatic conditions mean warm temperatures virtually all year round, you would not expect the thought of running around in an enclosed box to be very appealing, but prepare to be surprised.

The holiday resort of Hurghada hosts one of the biggest international events on the squash calendar when the Hurghada International is held in March and April every year. The competition certainly presents an unusual sight for visitors as the organisers constructed an outdoor glass squash court in the centre of the town. They even set up a miniature replica of their court at the airport to promote the event. The outdoor court, surrounded by grandstands made for an interesting setting, especially when some games were played during darkness in the evenings. The crowds had plenty to cheer about as the Egyptian player Omneya Abdel Kawy, born in Cairo and junior world champion in 2003, was victorious in the ladies competition. She also won the event in 2008 and 2006, this time beating world number three Rachel Grinham. Another Egyptian, Karim Darwish, currently leads the men's World rankings. With three Egyptian men in the world's top four players, it's easy to see why squash has such a profile in Egypt.

In Hurghada numerous hotels offer squash courts (air conditioned of course) amongst their sporting facilities. Holidays in Egypt are very popular with the British, with Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh both remaining favourites, but competition for visitors is fierce and hotels in both resorts are forever improving their facilities in order to attract guests. Some of the larger hotel complexes have unenviable leisure facilities, better even than many sports centres in the UK.