Alexia Clonda on Mindset, Negativity and Positivity, and Uplifting Others

  

 It’s the 1983 World Squash Open. Australia’s women’s national team is seeded 4th. Approaching the tournament as the underdogs, no one expected them to win. But they did. Team Australia bested Team England to secure the title. Playing the 2 seed for the team is none other than Alexia Clonda. 

    The 1983 World Open was Clonda’s first time making the Australian team. In the individual category of the competition, Clonda entered as a low seed, only to achieve remarkable upsets to reach the semi-finals. Looking back on this cherished squash memory of hers, Clonda notes “for the team to depend on me twice was an honor. I do see it as a pressure, but it was for me. I was just showing what I was capable of doing.” 

    Clonda’s path to success began when she was 13 years old. Having had asthma since she was young, Clonda had no intention of pursuing sports when she decided to follow a friend to the local squash club for fun. Despite her initial lack of interest, she was immediately roped into the exhilarating nature and “buzz” of squash.

    Clonda described how “when you’re hitting that squash ball, when you’re moving around that squash court, it’s like a high. It’s a real adrenal fix. It’s so rewarding.” Clonda reflected on how squash is a “feeling sport” that has the capacity to switch on negative feelings in times of loss, but also “some great feelings when you are…playing well and doing the absolute best and knowing that you’ve done your best when you’ve been on that court.” She also admired the unique sense of camaraderie and lack of superficial connections between female athletes in the squash community. 

       Despite the moments of achievement and enjoyment, Clonda also dealt with her own share of challenges. Clonda’s biggest hurdle was managing her health and her life-threatening asthma. She constantly carried medication and a nebulizer with her everywhere she traveled. Clonda was forced to reckon with the understanding that at any given moment, she could have a life-threatening asthma attack and possibly die. She was forced to overcome the fears and risk of such a frightening possibility to pursue her passion and dreams. 

    Reflecting on the most testing aspect of the sport, Clonda noted how squash makes players into their own worst enemy: “So many times you go on the court and you’re having these thoughts and feelings and emotions, these negative lines: I can’t do it. I can’t win. You’re actually putting so much pressure on yourself when that negativity comes up…and it has such a powerful impact on you when you can’t be creative, you can’t play your best squash.” Clonda urges players to recognize how significantly what they are saying, feeling, and thinking to themselves impacts their mindset and performance.

    Additionally, Clonda encourages women and girls engaged with the sport to follow their heart and consider important questions as they continue in their squash career: What really fires you up? What are your goals in squash? What do you love about it? What do you want to give back to it? 

    Presently, Clonda works as a master in breathwork, mindset mentor, and high performance squash coach. Clonda is evidently passionate to spread the wisdom she has gained from her own experiences and help guide her mentees to reach their full potentials: “The most rewarding aspect of squash is helping impart knowledge and skills onto people I coach, not just on the squash court but in their mind. Helping them realize that they are so capable of doing and achieving anything that they put their mind to and knowing that they can change the negative into the positive.”

    In terms of her own personal goals, Clonda has 4 major goals for 2024, including winning the Over-60s Masters title at the US Open, the British Open, the World Masters Championships, and the Australian Masters Championships. She also aims to help guide a top professional and junior player to the top as a coach and mentor. Overall, Clonda aims to “help people tap into their own strengths and understand that they can help themselves to improve, to get better, and to move forward in their lives.” 

    Speaking with Clonda, I was moved to reflect on my internal mindset regarding squash, especially considering what ignites my passion and love for the sport. Clonda reminded me of the importance of my inner self-dialogue and mindset on and off the court. Significantly, her drive to give back to the community and spread her experience and wisdom motivated me to find my own ways of contributing to the sport and uplifting others.