Winning his maiden national title and international team gold earned Gloucestershire teenager Matthew Hong Ki Leung the Male Rising Star accolade at the 2025 England Squash Awards.
The 15-year-old, who plays for East Gloucestershire Squash Club, enjoyed a breakout 2024-25 season, finishing as runner-up at the 2024 British Junior U15 Championships before being crowned English U15 Junior Champion in February.
Matthew’s form earned him a spot in his first competitive national squad for the Five Nations in Nantes, where he was first seed and helped England bring home the gold medal.
Matthew, who also reached the final of the U17 Gloucestershire Junior Open, said: “It’s been a good year. I was shocked to win the English juniors – it’s the first time I’ve won a platinum event. And the British Junior final was the first time I’d played on a glass court. Hopefully I’ll be on a lot more.
“Representing England at the Five Nations was exciting. I’m grateful to represent the country. It was really positive getting to meet new players and with team events, you get backed up and feel like there’s more support on your side.”
Alongside his successes, Matthew is being recognised for his commitment to his club and teammates and his attitude on court, earning comparisons to former world no.1 Ali Farag for his fairness and respectfulness.
He frequently attends committee meetings at his local club as a junior representative and demonstrated his team-first mentality by attending an Inter-County Finals weekend in Sheffield to coach and cheer for his teammates after being ruled out by injury.
Matthew said: “I had strained my foot in a football match at school and with the Five Nations the following week, I didn’t want to risk it. But I still wanted to go and support and help the team. I like team events. You meet different people and make loads of friends.”
“I like the committee meetings too. I feel like I’m giving back to the community, and it’ll be good if there’s more juniors playing squash.”
The next 12 months will be busy for Matthew, who is balancing squash with his GCSE exams, but he’s hoping to be in plenty of England squads in the future.
He added: “I want to represent England at the European Team Championships and then the World Teams, but for this year, I’ll just try my best and try to improve my attacking game and push myself physically.”