Bolt From The Blue
- Apr 23
- 4 min read
Authored by Mike Dale.
Published Squash Player Magazine October April 2026
Since the dawn of the game, squash has been played with a black ball on a white court with red lines. But, until now, no-one has really thought to ask a simple question: why?
Since the 1970s, squash has battled with the problem of a fast-moving black ball being virtually invisible against a white background when broadcast on a TV screen.
Various solutions have been tested over the preceding decades and we now have wonderful coverage of PSA World Tour events thanks to a white ball on all-glass courts and high-tech cameras.
But, outside of the professional tour, the vast majority of the world's 50,000 squash courts remain white, with players still using the standard black ball. So in the amateur game, the problem remains: squash looks crap on a screen. In this digital age, where promotion and visibility comes from the public's mobile phones more than TV cameras, that is a problem for squash.
Brian Hammett intends to solve it. On Squash Player, we have already covered his extraordinary story of how squash helped to rescue his eyesight after years suffering with Coats' Disease. His own journey and his career as CEO of a digital signage company inspired him to conduct in-depth research into improving squash's optics.
At Daisy Hill Squash Club in Brisbane, Brian and club owner Bradley Hindle have now launched a prototype combination of ball, wall, floor and lights that they believe has the potential to change the way squash is both played and watched.
Brian explains: "Everyone I talk to wants to get more people playing squash, but all I see on YouTube, TikTok and everywhere else is PSA matches - a white ball on a glass court.
"There's 50,000 other courts out there where we should have content coming from, but we can't because the camera can't pick up the black ball on a white court because of the glare and contrast factor."
After extensive personal expense and research which has taken him all over the world, Brian's conclusion is that a yellow ball on blue walls is the ideal combination for the human eye when playing and when viewed on a screen. It has the highest contrast ratio between two colours.
So court 7 at Daisy Hill has now been painted blue with a darker coloured floor and new diffused lighting. Working with a Taiwanese company, Brian has developed a new yellow ball which he is launching under the brand name SunSquash Pro.
These four elements - balls, walls, floors and lights - are what Brian believes squash must modernise in order to stay relevant and visible on people's screens and compete against other trendier, tech-friendly racket sports and pursuits.
Yellow Balls
Made precisely to WSF standard size and weight, Brian's SunSquash Pro balls have had outstanding feedback from players who have tried with them.
During the recent Australian Open in Brisbane, PSA pros Eain Yow Ng, Matias Knudsen, Yannick Wilhelmi, Grace Gear and Nour Heikal popped in to use the yellow balls on the blue court at Daisy Hill.
"They were driving it up and down the wall like a rifle shot!" laughs Brian. "They all said the ball is so straight and it's the best non-glass court they had ever hit on. They were raving about it. It's the best feedback I've had.
"People watching them on that court said the ball looked bigger. It's a standard sized ball, it just looks bigger because you're seeing it more clearly."
Brian also claims his SunSquash Pro ball maintains its structure and surface better than traditional squash balls, therefore doesn't lose its shape or start to skid off the floor as older balls tend to. It also retains its heat for longer.
Blue Walls
The front wall of the prototype court at Daisy Hill is a deep blue and the side walls are a slightly lighter shade to aid depth perception.
"Blue is a cool colour to look at," says Brian. "There's no glare. It gives a strong contrast background so TV cameras can pick it up very quickly. The eye doesn't have to work hard to compete with the glare in order to see the ball."
Tennis' traditional yellow ball is used on a blue court surface at many pro tournaments including the US and Australian Opens, and padel and pickleball also use this combination widely. You don't need an expensive camera to pick up the movement of the ball and consequently rallies look good on screen, even amateur footage on social media.
Floor And Lights
A darker coloured floor shows up the yellow ball more clearly and using diffused lighting at 750-1000 lux (500 lux is standard) means the light is not as sharp and startling to the eye as traditional squash court lighting.
This reduces glare and therefore makes the court better for players and, crucially, the product comes across better on a screen.
Speaking of the screen, Daisy Hill club owner Bradley is currently in the process of testing a 4K camera with AI technology on the blue court. He's working with a San Diego-based tech company to have the best rallies recognised and clipped by AI and published automatically on social media.
"We're all about disrupting the world of squash," states Brian. "The white wall and black ball are not working for us in this modern age.
"If we want to get more video content out there, we need to dramatically change all the courts and put in colours that are most conducive for the cameras to pick up what's happening.
"We've had some phenomenal feedback so far on our new court and new balls, so we know we're on the right path."
Here's a look at the court in action
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