The racket sport was among those added to the Los Angeles 2028 programme along with cricket, baseball and softball, flag football and lacrosse at the International Olympic Committee Session (IOC) in Mumbai earlier this month.

The World Squash Federation (WSF) and Professional Squash Association (PSA) have said plans are already in place to ensure the sport's Olympic appearance is not going to be one-off.

But for countries like the United States, who are not on the same level as heavyweights Egypt, Olympic inclusion is an "incredible milestone".

Apart from Egypt, Malaysia, England, India, Australia, and New Zealand have produced some of the world's best squash players.

US Squash President and chief executive Kevin Klipstein said it is a "huge breakthrough" that will help increase awareness of the sport.

"It is extremely significant for squash to be part of the Olympics," he said.

"There is a certain sense of validation for the sport to say, 'we belong on the world's greatest sports stage'.

"It's an incredible milestone and huge breakthrough for the sport. We couldn’t be happier.

"This is going to increase and be a catalyst for people’s awareness of the sport and how great it is.

"That is really important for the squash community but also in the US in particular, where the sport is not well known compared to the rest of the world.

"For us, it is really important because it allows people to be aware of the sport and it is our job to provide access so they can tap into all great benefits of participating in sport.

"It is fast, dynamic, strategic but also relatable in that squash is a sport that can be played by anybody.

"It has been a wonderful collaboration with WSF and PSA. We came together more than a year ago and it has been really strong ever since and I think the results really show.

"The LA28 Organising Committee has been amazing and extremely professional, and we give them a lot of credit for running such a great process."

US players, participating at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Chile, also expressed their excitement, calling it a "a dream come true".

US Squash was founded in 1904, and it was called the United States Squash Racquets Association back then with its current headquarters in Philadelphia.

Squash was a demonstration sport at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games and has been part of every World Games since 1997.