The lovely ladies of the Women's International Squash Players Association are taking downtown by storm this weekend. A group of 28 female squash players from as far away as Malaysia, Germany and South Africa have been duking it out this week to qualify for the upcoming days' championship rounds of "WISPA Texas Open Squash: Houston 2010."

Quarterfinal play is going on right now till 7 p.m. on the show court at the Downtown Club at The Met. The semifinals take place at 5 and 6 p.m. The final match is on Sunday at 1 p.m.

One girl will go home as the new No. 1 Woman of WISPA.

And 27 girls will simply go home.

Ponytails were flying this afternoon at the Met as contestants played scrimmages and stretched their hamstrings.

"I'm seated to get to the semifinal, but I've got a pretty tough match today against the upcoming players," says an eager Jaclyn Hawkes, a New Zealander who speaks with inspiring zeal for her life's work.

Considering the intensity of nonstop squash, it's vital that the out-of-towners to access some fun and games, too: "Houston's really good — everyone's been so nice to us," Hawkes adds. "All the girls have been loving the city — we went one day to watch the tennis tourney, some of the girls are going shopping, the others are getting to go watch baseball — getting the real American experience."

The fun doesn't stop there. Beyond the rigid brackets, there are some ad-hoc events too. "Last Saturday, we took the girls out to The Gingerman," reports the president of the Houston Squash Racquets Association Ian Munro. "The girls don't drink at all of course, but the volunteers certainly do!"

The roller-coaster ride of squash drama that is about to unfold gives a face to Houston's largely underground, yet vibrant, squash subculture.

"In the past decade," Munro says, "this is definitely our signature event."

He suggests that there is a mass of 400 to 500 squash enthusiasts spread across the city, calling them, "the product of Houston's cosmopolitanism." Indeed, squash represents the coming together of globalizing forces in the 21st century. "It is played by approaching 20 million in around 150 countries, embracing all continents," notes the WISPA Web site, which classifies squash as a "growth" sport, having witnessed substantial expansion in the last 10 years.

No doubt, the rapidly changing social fabric of an increasingly connected world is embodied in squash's rapid rise to international prominence.

Spectators can expect to see expert match balls by these world-wide wonder women, but don't expect to see a familiar face. When asked if there are any local Houstonians socking the ball, Munro responds, "Unfortunately we don't ... have a player of that caliber in Houston."

The competition is fierce, and reports from the qualifying rounds of a string of upsets has attendees on pins and needles.

Concludes Munro, "At this point, it's anybody's tournament."