CHENNAI: Egypt squash player Aly Abou Eleinen has made giant strides over the past couple of years - after making his Tour debut at the beginning of 2021, the 23-year-old broke into the men’s top-25 recently.
One of the reasons behind his rise is a unique preparation routine that includes selecting songs and creating a playlist prior to the start of tournaments.
In a conversation with DT Next after his 3-0 win over Colombia’s Felipe Tovar in the Squash World Cup Pool A match on Wednesday, Eleinen said that taking care of “little details” helps him focus completely on the task ahead.
“You try to do everything you can before you go for a match. I have a warm-up routine that I do (perform) before every match. I like listening to music before matches. Before tournaments, I would pick the music that I would like to listen to,” said World No.21 Eleinen.
“I do not get into it too much, but it is part of my routine. When I select the songs in advance, I do not have to worry about picking the music during the warm-up. When you do not have to do something at that moment, you feel, ‘oh, I already did my work and prepared for the match’. It gives me a little bit more confidence,” added Eleinen.
“I can just focus on my warm-up routine since the songs have already been chosen. Everything is set and I focus on the match that is ahead of me.” Asked what kind of music he prefers to listen to ahead of matches, Eleinen replied: “Everything. I like to pick songs that put me in a good mood and make me happy. They help me stay calm and prepared.”
Eleinen said that coming up with a gameplan, eating well and sleeping soundly are also part of his pre-match routine. Before the end of the brief interaction, he asked this reporter with a smile, “if you have song recommendations, please let me know.”
With the help of music, Eleinen, a Philosophy, Politics & Economics major from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is ‘rocking’ on court. His immediate target is to break into the top-20.