Having led US Squash through its most significant growth in its 120 year history, US Squash President and CEO Kevin Klipstein informed the Board that he will step down from his role at the conclusion of 2025. The announcement comes with the organization thriving at every level and poised to maximize the sport’s Olympic debut in 2028.
US Squash will begin a national search immediately to fill the role, and Klipstein will stay on to support the search and transition.
“Serving the sport in this role has been incredibly rewarding,” Klipstein said. “It’s not easy to step away from something that’s been so important to me professionally and personally for such a long time. I am grateful for the opportunity and for the support I’ve received from so many throughout my time here. I’m proud of what the organization has achieved, and I really believe it’s well positioned to make the most of all that comes from Olympic inclusion. US Squash has a healthy, proactive Board, an experienced management team and a newly formed U.S. Squash Foundation so I am confident the community will rally behind it to continue its momentum.”
Board Chair Sandy Tierney summed Klipstein’s tenure up, “Kevin’s steadfast dedication to US Squash has led to the most expansive growth in our history and elevated the sport to new heights. His long-term vision for what was possible, and the persistence and determination with which he pursued this vision are astonishing.”
During Klipstein’s twenty-year tenure as CEO the organization’s revenue from membership has increased 570% and revenue from accreditation has increased tenfold. Total participation has more than doubled to 1.3 million players in the U.S. according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The staff has grown from three to more than 30 full time employees and is now the largest national squash governing body in the world.
As the longest serving CEO in US Squash’s history, Klipstein has had a hand in reshaping nearly every facet of the sport in the U.S. Previously Northeast focused, middle and high school squash is the fastest growing sector of the sport nationally with the national championships drawing teams from more than 20 states, a quarter of which are from public schools. Under Klipstein’s leadership, the historically separate collegiate women’s and men’s coach-led organizations merged to become the College Squash Association in 2018, and has an independent Board of Directors with three full time employees.
US Squash now runs the world’s largest team championships (U.S. High School Championships) and individual championships (U.S. Junior Open) and pioneered the world tour’s move to prize money parity after the U.S. Open led the way by providing equal prize purses for women and men in 2013. These championships and more than a dozen others are run out of the $41 million Arlen Specter US Squash Center opened in 2021 on Drexel University’s campus in West Philadelphia. The center houses twenty courts, US Squash’s national headquarters, its Hall of Fame, the Team USA Squash High Performance Center and Squash Smarts, a local squash and education youth program.
The growth in membership and accreditation and deep engagement the organization has with facilities across the country has been supported by the internally developed SaaS system dubbed Club Locker. The Club Locker Venue product provides live score displays and streaming and is installed in nearly 100 high-profile facilities. US Squash’s collective online sites now receive nearly 60 million pageviews annually.
Started in 2013 with a single athlete, the US Squash High Performance Program now supports a roster of professionals with direct funding and expansive centralized services at the Specter Center, including a full-time national coach, physio, strength and conditioning and other health and wellness related services. The result has been a steady improvement in Team USA Squash’s performance on the world stage and the world #2 ranking for the U.S. Women’s Team.
Formed in 2025, the U.S. Squash Foundation boasts more than 30 directors who provide advice, guidance and financial support to US Squash initiatives such as the recent the funding allocated to overcome the sports’ main obstacle to growth – access to courts. With the backing of US Squash “Access Courts” launched the availability of low cost, easy to assemble indoor and outdoor modular courts. Project Beacon in Chicago’s Union Park is the first of many installations envisioned.
Kelly Skinner, vice president for high performance at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, has worked with Klipstein for the last two decades and added, “Kevin’s commitment to US Squash’s mission, and his long-standing aspiration to make US Squash the best run governing body, have resulted in what US Squash is today – a truly well-respected member of the USOPC. The athletes’ consistently outstanding performance at the Pan American Games over the last decade speaks for itself, and we’re eager to support them in the lead up to their Olympic debut in LA.”
