Mason Smith and Ben Sherratt were Bermuda’s top squash players at the Canadian Junior Open, which concluded on Tuesday in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Smith and Sherratt, both aged 10, reached the quarter-finals of the prestigious junior squash competition, with Smith finishing sixth and Sherratt seventh. George Qureshi, the third under-11 Bermudian player, was eliminated in the round of 16.

Smith lost 3-1 in the quarter-finals to Wali Maqsood with Sherratt beaten by the same scoreline by Gustavo Manuel Espinosa.

Ethan Rosorea was knocked out by Beckett Yuzpe in the boys under-17 round of 64, while Andrew Cox made it to the round of 32 in the same age category, where he was beaten by Carl-Edmund Roux. Matthew Copeland went out in the round of 64, with his loss coming against Lucas Lechevalier.

In the girls under-17 competition, Olivia Sherratt and Rose Paulos were eliminated in the round of 32, while Tyler Komposch and Gabrielle Turchiaro exited the girls under-19 competition in the round of 32.

William Frith was eliminated in the round of 64 in the boys under-15 tournament, in which Owen Rosorea lost in the round of 32.

Anaya Smith, the coach of the Bermuda team, has used the tournament to identify areas the budding stars need to work on for them to compete against the best in the world.

“Mason and Ben both had really strong starts because of the fast pace and intensity they play with,’’ Smith said.

“They got to the quarter-finals before they went down to some of the top seeds. When they did come up against opponents that were able to handle the pace, they did well adjusting their games to help them gain control.

“They did really well overall but it was a mixed bag of results across the board and the players held themselves together well in some hard, intense matches, with Owen Rosorea a standout performer throughout the weekend.

“My focus going back to Bermuda is going to be on controlling the tempo and pace because I feel that’s where we got caught out a lot. That’s for everyone, not just the really young ones.

“The biggest hurdle we came across as a team was staying mentally strong when the matches got extra intense.

“This is something that I hope they build on coming away from the tournament as it’s hard to replicate the pressure and intensity they come up against out here.

“All of our boys at under-11 level have a very bright future as they held their own against the best children in the world.”