Joe White and Rhys Dowling go head to head in national final

Two Territorians and close mates found themselves matched up in a fight for an Australian title in squash. Read who came out on top.

Joseph White. Picture: STUDIOFAIRYTALES.

It was a battle of best mates for an Australian title on the courts of Perth last Sunday, at the 2024 Australian National Championships in WA.

A tournament that brings Australia’s top professional players to one spot, remarkably, Territorians and good friends Joe White and Rhys Dowling found themselves matched up in the grand final.

White, the number one seed, and Dowling, the number two seed, fought hard, splitting the first four games.

White took out the opening two 11-6 and 11-6, but was unable to stop Dowling’s fightback, losing the next two games 5-11 and 6-11.

White returned to form in the last game, landing the title winning blow with a 11-7 win.

I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a kid,” White said on being crowned Australian champion.

“I never won any as a junior, so to finally break my duck with this title is so cool.”

Now residing in upstate New York, training for the 2028 LA Olympics, White flew back to Australia for the championship, his 17th of the season.

A tad fatigued both mentally and physically, White cruised through his opening rounds with relative ease, but knew his biggest challenge would come against his mate Dowling in the final.

Territorian and Australian squash player Joseph White won his maiden Open Australian National Title, in Perth last weekend. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin.

White, a righty, and Dowling, a lefty, have been playing and training together since primary school, a nightmare matchup.

“He’s a tough opponent because he knows my game and as he’s left-handed it makes it all the more challenging,” White said.

For White the final turned out not to be so much a physical encounter but a fight between his ears.

“The match went for about 70 minutes, so that was fine, but mentally it was quite taxing,” White said.

“I went up 2-0 after the first few games and I think the moment got to me.

“I dropped my focus and Dowling capitalised to take it to the fifth.”

The first major tournament was played on the newly refurbished courts and White said he struggled for grip, sliding around the timber with socks and shoes soaked in sweat.

“I had to make a pit-stop before the fifth,” White said.

“I put on a fresh pair of socks and shoes and was good to go.”

The pair were neck-and-neck at 4-4 when a replayed point provided White the upper hand.

From there, White said Dowling made two costly unforced errors that gave him some fresh air.

“He played two poor shots and from there I just put my head down and played my best to get the win,” White said.

“Now I’m just going to chill out back home and do a whole lot of nothing till I’ve got to return to the cold in New York.”