Damien Mudge to be inducted into the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame

Damien Mudge to be inducted into the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame

South Australian Damien Mudge will be inducted into the United States Squash Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 7, 2026. The induction ceremony will take place during a special luncheon at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.

After turning professional at just 19, Damien quickly made his mark on the international stage, reaching a career-high PSA world ranking of No. 48 at only 21 years of age. Unfortunately, chronic fatigue brought his short but explosive professional singles career to an early end.

Damien, the younger brother of Jason Mudge, moved to the United States in 1998 to work at the University Club of New York, an exclusive members-only club in the heart of Manhattan. It was there that he embarked on a doubles career unlike anything the sport had seen before.

Since the first professional doubles tournament was held in 1938, no player has come close to matching Mudge's dominance. Over the next 20 years, he competed on both walls and partnered, in order, with Kenton Jernigan, Gary Waite, Viktor Berg, fellow South Australian Ben Gould, and Manek Mathur.

With a rare combination of speed, finesse and outright power, Damien amassed an extraordinary 142 professional titles, by far the most in history, with no other player surpassing 100.

His record at individual tournaments was equally remarkable. He captured 17 Johnsons, 14 North American Opens and 10 Kellners, along with a dozen one-off tournament victories.

Perhaps most impressively, across a career defined by sustained dominance, Damien recorded five undefeated seasons.

A remarkable achievement for North America's most decorated squash player and a proud moment for South Australian squash.

For more on Damien Mudge, you can read an in-depth cover profile by James Zug from the April 2020 issue of Squash Magazine:

2020 issue of Squash Magazine