SquashSmarts, Philadelphia’s award-winning youth mentoring program, held its annual VIP Night at the 2026 U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Comcast Business on Monday, November 2.
Two hundred and fifty staff, students, parents, donors, advisors, board members and friends attended the evening, celebrating the programs on-going academic and athletic impact on Philadelphia public school students while enjoying the squash matches.
The night kicked off with SquashSmarts Game Day. Just like ESPN does for College GameDay, an animated pre-match crowd of students gathered behind Tempest Bowden as she was interviewed live on SquashTV. Bowden is a longtime SquashSmarts squash director and a proud alum of the SquashSmarts program.
On court, between matches, SquashSmarts gathered for a few short speeches and a photograph. They introduced forty-seven new middle school students who joined the program this fall; recognized the 1,250 community members who collaborated with the program last year; shouted out its 204 alumni—including fifty-seven recent graduates who are in college and who, with the staff’s support, have secured $4.6M in financial aid; and thanked long-time partners in US Squash, Drexel University, Lenfest Center and the School District of Philadelphia.
A highlight of the evening was the announcement of a historic development: it is believed that SquashSmarts has become the first squash program in the Squash + Education Alliance network to create a mom’s team. It is a self-titled “Squash Latina Madres”—a group of five mothers of SquashSmarts students who have fallen in love with game, play three nights a week, and will compete in next week’s Howe Cup, the annual women’s national team championships.
Founded in 2001, SquashSmarts is a 501(c)3 non-profit, providing free, intensive, out-of-school time academic and athletic mentoring programs for Philadelphia’s public-school students. Students are recruited from Esperanza Academy Charter, E.W. Rhoades Elementary, Overbrook Educational Center and Science Leadership Academy. Operating out of two facilities—the Lenfest Center in North Philadelphia and Arlen Specter US Squash Center—the program enrolls 160 students in 5th-12th grade, supports its graduates and offers community programs to families and community members.