The partnership will focus on the Virtual Reality (VR) Sport Racket:Next - also known as Racket: Nx - which has been submitted for consideration at the upcoming Olympic Esports Week in Singapore.

Racket:Next, established more than five years ago, is a top-selling VR racket game that allows players to take part in their own home.

It can be played single or multi-player, with players able to compete against opponents from all over the world.

The WSF submission to Olympic Esports Week has been made in collaboration with its new partners and the International Racquetball Federation, which was the first international federation to adopt Racket:Next.

WSF chief executive William Louis-Marie commented: "I am delighted that the WSF has come to this agreement with One Hamsa and the Virtual Sports Association.

"We have seen an explosion in the growth of Esports over the last decade and there is no doubt that is set to continue.

"It is vital for the long-term growth of the game that squash is properly represented in the world of Esports.

"By working together, we will no doubt introduce more potential squash players to our sport and reconnect with plenty who may not have picked up a racket in some time."

Virtual Sports Association chief executive Victor Bond added: "This is a marriage made in future-sport heaven: a world-class developer and a unique, successful, and wonderful game with a fully global international IOC-recognised sports federation that has the vision and the grit to not just look around the corner but to go there.

"This is one big step in our collaboration and one gigantic leap for the new technology of sport."

One Hamsa chief executive Assaf Ronen said: "This endorsement supports Racket:Next’s core design principles as a fully athletic and visceral game, allowing players of all racquet sports - not only squash - to make every racquet sport move, except for those that would not work in the average living room, immersed inside a lighted, responsive, audio-filled dome, in a game that is purely skill-based.

"Racket:Next has already surpassed 250,000 players worldwide, led by the fastest-growing VR headset, the Meta Quest 2, in which it’s been a top-rated title since its launch in 2019.

"Since 2021 we also witnessed a surge of players on emerging China-based platforms, like the PICO 4."