uummh!  That statement opens up a can of worms. "Player with better footwork (court movement) will always beat the player with better racket skills."

Footwork of course can embrace a lot of things, speed, flexibility, fitness, etc. (not to mention where the player is actually moving to and in what plane or direction),and that is why a skipping rope is a handy tool to improve footwork and movement. Unfortunately that does not help the anticipation and decision making skills.

Skills probably embrace racket control/movement as a primary factor.
It is the sequence of the movement and the racket work that is the vital thing to gain fluency and control.  Hence the recommendation to practice ghosting drills.

Usually a player with good racket skills does have good footwork (with economical movement/footwork) and practiced the skills using the basic footwork/balance over a number of years.  Progressively a player can take short cuts, as they get a better feel for the skill, eg use of wrist, split step, vertical swing, etc.

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"Player with better footwork (court movement) will always beat the player with better racket skills."

wise words indeed, and ones that I ought to remind myself of more often!

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Hi Ryan and the other squashfreax,

regarding the footwork, just remember - the key to the success is fluid (fluent) footwork.
To get there, you must imprint in your mind few things:

1. Last step to the ball is lounge;
2. From front right forehand drop corner to the letf backhand overhit drive you move with the "S" shape (use your imagination a bit and you will get it - two times arc)*
3. ALWAYS keep the distance from the ball (at least racket length)
4. Practice solo a lot - ghosting is perfect way to learn it

The longer I play the more I understand that squash is a simple game. Player with better footwork (court movement) will always beat the player with better racket skills.

* when you will be back on T, do not "run" through the diagonal line, but through the middle court line - I hope you understand

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Ghosting or star drills. can use it to help get into shape and with footwork. you should be able to reach anywhere on the court in 3 steps with balance and recovery

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