At first glance, squash and investing couldn’t be more different.
One is played on a court.
The other is played in financial markets.
Yet both reward the same qualities: discipline, patience, positioning, and the ability to recover.
Here are five lessons every investor can learn from the game of squash.
1. The T-Point Is Your Neutral Position
The first lesson every squash player learns is to return to the T-point after every shot.
Why?
Because from the center of the court, you can reach every corner with the least effort.
The T-point isn’t where points are won.
It’s where the next point is prepared.
Investing has its own T-point.
For a market maker, it is delta neutrality.
For a long-term investor, it is a well-balanced asset allocation.
Markets constantly pull portfolios away from equilibrium. Prices rise, volatility changes, and correlations shift. Successful investors don’t remain stretched in one direction—they rebalance and return to their center.
The goal isn’t to predict every move.
The goal is to always be in the best position for the next one.
2. Control the Court, Don’t Chase the Ball
Beginners spend the entire match chasing the ball.
Professionals control the center and make their opponent do the running.
Many investors make the same mistake.
They chase hot sectors, trending stocks, and yesterday’s winners.
Professional investors don’t chase markets.
They build portfolios that allow opportunities to come to them.
Discipline beats excitement.
3. Winning Comes From Hundreds of Good Shots
A squash match is rarely won with one spectacular winner.
It is won through consistent shot selection, intelligent positioning, and minimizing mistakes.
Investing works the same way.
Long-term wealth is rarely created by finding one “multibagger.”
It is built through thousands of sound decisions:
- Managing risk
- Staying invested
- Rebalancing regularly
- Letting compounding do the heavy lifting
Consistency compounds.
4. Every Rally Is Different
No two rallies are identical.
Sometimes you attack.
Sometimes you defend.
Sometimes you simply keep the ball in play until the opportunity arrives.
Markets behave the same way.
Bull markets, bear markets, high-volatility periods, and quiet ranges all demand different approaches.
Successful investors don’t force one strategy onto every market.
They adapt while staying true to their process.
5. Recovery Matters More Than Perfection
Even world champions are occasionally pushed into the corners.
The difference is what happens next.
They recover immediately and return to the T-point.
Investors will also experience drawdowns.
No portfolio wins every year.
No strategy avoids losses forever.
The winners aren’t those who never lose.
They’re the ones who recover quickly, rebalance intelligently, and remain emotionally disciplined.
The Batra Hedge Perspective
At Batra Hedge, we view investing much like a game of squash.
Markets will always move.
Volatility will always test your positioning.
Our objective isn’t to predict every shot the market will play. It is to remain balanced, disciplined, and prepared for whatever comes next.
Because in squash, championships are won by returning to the T-point.
In investing, long-term wealth is built by continually returning to balance.
“The game is the reward.”
“The key is not the will to win. Everyone has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.”
“It’s difficult to compete with a group of people who are having fun!”
Cheers!
Bhuvan P Batra
