Joel Makin

Joel Makin
Personal information
Nickname
‘The Golden Tiger’
Born (1994-10-27) 27 October 1994
Pembrokeshire, Wales
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
CountryBritish (Welsh)
HandednessRight Handed
Turned pro2013
Coached byIndependent
RetiredActive
Racquet usedKarakal Raw Pro 2.1 (Joel Makin Signature Racquet)
Men's singles
Highest rankingNo. 4 (June 2025)
Current rankingNo. 6 (December 2025)
Title10
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  Wales
World Team Championships
2019 Washington D.C. Team
Commonwealth Games
2022 Birmingham Singles
British Championships
2021, 2024–25 singles
Welsh Championships
2016, 2021, 2023–24 singles

Joel Makin (/ˈmeɪkɪn/, born 27 October 1994) is a Welsh professional squash player.[1] He reached a career high ranking of 4 in the world during June 2025.[2]

Career

Makin was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. He played squash at Aberdare Junior Squash Club under coaches Bob Gould, Clive Roberts and Dave Cope, and represented Wales at Under-13s level in 2007.[3] He left Aberdare at 18 and, forgoing university, trained at West Warwickshire Club under the guidance of Rob Owen until parting ways to become independent.[4]

He won the Kent Open in 2017, beating Joshua Masters in straight sets,[5] and the Tring Open in 2018.[6] He reached the semifinals of the men's singles squash competition at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, losing out to Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan in the bronze medal match.[7][8] Makin qualified for the 2018 British Open Squash Championships where he lost in the first round to Mohamed Abouelghar.[9] He beat the world number one, Mohamed El Shorbagy, to reach the quarterfinals of the Channel VAS Championships in October 2018.[10]

Makin won a bronze medal at the 2019 Men's World Team Squash Championships after reaching the semi-finals, where Wales lost to eventual champions Egypt.[11]

In February 2022, he was ranked number 8 in the World[12] and 1 in Wales.[13] At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Makin was selected to represent Wales, and won a silver medal in the Men's Singles.[14]

In 2024, Makin won his second British National Squash Championships, the first being achieved in 2021.[15] In October 2024, Makin won his 7th and 8th PSA titles after securing victory in the Silicon Valley Open and Pittsburgh Open during the 2024–25 PSA Squash Tour.[16]

In June 2025, he reached the semi final of the 2025 Men's British Open Squash Championship for the second consecutive year, losing to Mostafa Asal[17] but shortly afterwards won the PSA Squash Tour Finals in Toronto to record his greatest feat to date.[18]

Also in 2025, Makin won his third British National Squash Championships title, defeating Nick Wall in the final.[19] Makin won his 10th PSA title in November 2025.

PSA titles

Makin has won eight PSA titles:

  • 1 – 2015 City of Greater Bendigo International (PSA5)[20]
  • 2 – 2017 Kent Open (PSA10)[21]
  • 3 – 2018 Tring Open (PSA15)[22]
  • 4 – 2022 Manchester Open[23]
  • 5 – Oxford Properties Canadian Open, Feb 2023
  • 6 – 2024 Manchester Open, May 2024
  • 7 – Silicon Valley Open PSA Gold, Oct 2024
  • 8 - Pittsburgh Open, Feb 2025
  • 9 - PSA Squash Tour Finals, June 2025
  • 10 - HKFC Squash Open, Nov 2025

References

  1. ^ "Joel Makin - Professional Squash Association". psaworldtour.com.
  2. ^ "Profile and world ranking". Squash Info. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Squash: Young members do well for squash club". Wales Online. 3 May 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  4. ^ Gilmour, Rod. "The new Welsh wizard" (PDF). Squash Player. Vol. 2018, no. 4. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Makin Masters Home Favourite". Squash Player. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Makin Takes Arnold Homes Tring Open Title". Squash Player. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Results : Squash Men's Singles : 2018 Commonwealth Games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Squash: Nafiizwan wins historic bronze but Nicol finishes empty handed | The Star Online". thestar.com.my. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Welshman Joel Makin loses in British Open first round". BBC Sport. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Channel VAS Champs: Welshman Makin shocks World No.1 Elshorbagye to reach quarter-finals". PSA World Tour. Professional Squash Association. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Egypt end Wales' World Team run in semi-finals". BBC Sport. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  12. ^ "Squash Info - Joel Makin - Squash". squashinfo.com.
  13. ^ "Unsquashable - Joel Makin". unsquashable.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  14. ^ James Hemingray (3 August 2022). "Makin takes silver at Commonwealth Games". Pembrokeshire Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Makin crowned British champion". BBC Sport. 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  16. ^ "$122,000 Men's Silicon Valley Open presented by Oracle NetSuite 2024, Squash Zone, Redwood City, California, USA". Squash Info. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  17. ^ "British Open 2025 : It's Nouran & Diego". Squash Site. 8 June 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Makin makes history with PSA Squash Tour Finals title win". BBC Sport. 28 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Top Seeds Makin & Murphy Crowned 2025 British Nationals Champions". National Squash Champs. 30 August 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  20. ^ "JOEL MAKIN CLAIMS 1ST PSA TITLE". walessquashandracketball.co.uk. 26 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Joel Makin wins Kent Open title as Josh Masters runs out of steam - Squash Mad". squashmad.com. 18 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Squash Info | Men's Tring Open 2018 | Squash". squashinfo.com.
  23. ^ "Squash Info | Men's Manchester Open 2022 | Squash". squashinfo.com.
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