David Consolidates World No3 Position

WORLD SQUASH NEWS

David Consolidates World No3 Position

While Australia's Rachael Grinham moves into her 13^th consecutive month as world number one in the new August Women’s World Squash Rankings, produced by the Women's International Squash Players' Association ( WISPA ), Malaysia’s Nicol David has strengthened her status as world number three behind second-placed Vanessa Atkinson.

David, 21, from Penang , beat both Grinham and Atkinson last month en-route to becoming the first local player in the event’s 31-year history to win the Women's Malaysian Open.  The victory marked the former world junior champion’s sixth international title of the year – including the gold medal at the World Games in in July.

In a largely-unchanged top twenty, ’s Isabelle Stoehr is one of only two players to rise.  After moving to Manchester in last year, the 26-year-old has recently returned to her home country to live in Chambery – and moves up to 15, just three places away from her career-high world No12. 

Home success in July’s Crocodile Challenge Cup in Hong Kong takes Rebecca Chiu back to a career-high-equalling No16 in the new list.

Another player celebrating a best-ever world ranking is ’s Samantha Teran.  The 24-year-old from Mexico City has made a rapid recovery since undergoing surgery for a knee injury sustained in October 2003.  After falling out of the top 100 last year, Teran scored two successive WISPA World Tour victories in the middle of this year – at the Vancouver International and La Hacienda Open in Colombia – and rises to a career-high world No31.

’s Jaclyn Hawkes is also celebrating a world ranking breakthrough after winning her maiden WISPA title last month.  Seeded five, the 22-year-old from Dunedin despatched the first, third and fourth seeds to lift the Mortgage Choice South Australian Open trophy – and make her top 50 debut at 44.

     1      [1]        Rachael Grinham               AUS 
     2     [2]        Vanessa Atkinson              NED 
     3     [3]        Nicol David                       MAS 
     4     [4]        Natalie Grinham                AUS 
     5     [5]        Natalie Grainger               
     6     [6]        Linda Elriani                     ENG 
     7     [7]        Vicky Botwright                ENG 
     8     [8]        Omneya Abdel Kawy         EGY 
     9     [9]        Jenny Duncalf                  ENG 
     10    [10]      Tania Bailey                     ENG 
     11    [11]       Jenny Tranfield               ENG 
     12    [12]      Madeline Perry                 IRL 
     13    [13]      Shelley Kitchen                 NZL 
     14    [14]      Annelize Naude                NED 
     15    [16]      Isabelle Stoehr                FRA 
     16    [18]      Rebecca Chiu                    HKG 
     17    [15]      Fiona Geaves                    ENG 
     18    [17]      Alison Waters                   ENG 
     19    [19]      Pamela Nimmo                   SCO 
     20   [20]      Laura-Jane Lengthorn       ENG