WISPA Keeps Growing Worldwide
Oct 20, 2004, Ron Beck SquashTalk Independent News Service © 2004;

The Women's Pro Squash Tour (WISPA) is healthier than ever before in its history, continuing to grow in both prize money and number of events.

REMARKABLE STORY
WISPA's growth is a remarkable success story, coming in the midst of turbulent economic and security times worldwide.

Just five year's ago, the entire WISPA tour seemed to be riding on the shoulders of three Australians, Michelle Martin, Sarah Fitz-Gerald and Carol Owens. With the successive retirement of all three within a three year span, the competitive balance of the tour was a question mark a year and a half ago.

TOTALLY DIVERSE POOL

Rebecca Chiu - Hong Kong photo © 2004 D Tessier

Now, the Women's pro pool is stronger, more diverse, and showing more parity than ever. A tour that at its origin was totally and complete dominated by a group of Australian and English women, the tour now boasts exciting players and genuine stars in the faces of Nicol David, the Malaysian star, Omneya Abdel Kawy, Egypt's shining light, Isabelle Stoehr from France, Rebecca Chiu from China, Madeline Perry from Ireland, Pamela Nimmo from Scotland, Shelley Kitchen from New Zealand, and of course the exciting redhead Vanessa Atkinson from Holland. Emerging rapidly too, are new stars such as Samantha Teran from Mexico, who is engaging the South American fan base and Lee Hai-Kyung from Korea.

PARITY AT THE TOP

In Egypt the tour engenders Manikens - Rebecca Macree and Rachael Grinham photo © 2004 WISPA

At the top of the pecking order is a likeable sister duo from Australia, Rebecca and Natalie Grinham, who were barely on the map when Sarah Fitz-Gerald was doing her thing.

And guaranteeing more parity than ever — in addition to the challenge to the Grinhams that Atkinson presents — Cassie Jackman from England and Natalie Grainger, a South African playing for the USA, are the Grinhams' equal on any given weekend. This is in many ways much more interesting and exciting that watching Sarah Fitz-Gerald demolish all pretenders week after week.

USA EXCITEMENT
It's Natalie Grainger who is perhaps the most important element of the bunch. Embracing her adopted country the USA, with style, grace and a totally charming energy, Grainger has energized the USA squash community about her tour exploits and about women's squash in general. WISPA events in North America have been growing at an amazing speed. Grainger has come out of a needed eight-month self-imposed vacation from the tour, to win her first two events, the minor Atlanta WISPA event and the very major Weymuller US Open.

THE PRIZE MONEY SUCCESS
And behind the scenes, working to capitalize on Women's squash terrific product, is WISPA director Andrew Shelley. Shelley has build on the diversity of the tour to add intriguing new or greatly expanded tour events in Qatar, Bahrain and Shanghai.

"We are making real progress," exclaimed Andrew Shelley, Executive Director of the London-based Women's International Squash Players' Association.

The Tour value for 2004 will be $1.1 million, a rise of 44% on 2003. The increase stems not only from new WISPA Gold events launched for the first time this year but also from further tournaments making their debuts, coupled with increased prize funds from many others - across all levels.

Egypt's exciting Omneya Abdel Kawy photo © 2004 WISPA

Among the new WISPA "majors" this year have been the Kuwait Open, the Qatar Airways Challenge, the Brunei International, the Bahrain WISPA Classic and the forthcoming Shanghai WISPA WorldStars - WISPA's inaugural event in mainland China which will take place in November. All of these events have benefited from the increased international distribution of the Qatar Airways-sponsored WISPA Television programming.

However Shelley, while delighted, suggests that there is still more to be done: "We are only moving out of the foothills. The large increase this year must become a springboard for future growth rather than a result in itself," added the driving force behind WISPA.

"Our superb promoters at all levels really enjoy having our great bunch of professionals coming to their cities, seeing the standard and getting the media attention. Like us, they are keen to build upon success - so hand in hand we grow together," he concluded.

The news follows last week's announcement that this month's Harris British Open will be elevated to WISPA gold-level status, an important recovery for that venerable world famous and historic event.

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