TANIA'S BACK --- HURRAY!

Tania Bailey in the Qatar semis earlier this year photo© 2005, Fritz Borchert

I am truly delighted to see that Tania Bailey is back on the circuit. Not only back but in winning form after three dreadful years of being felled by a ‘mystery’ virus which only in the last year was diagnosed as the Epstein Barre virus.

Tania is no malingerer – she is a very tough cookie indeed. When she won the world junior championship in Brazil in 1997 she was so sick with food poisoning she didn’t remember playing the final.  So here is a player who was seen as a potential world champion in the senior ranks and was fulfilling the predictions. In 2002 she reached four finals only to lose to the unbeatable  Sarah Fitz-Gerald in three of them.  But Bailey was knocking off everybody else with ease and Cassie Jackman, Linda Elriani, Carole Owens. Natalie Grainger and both Grinham sisters all came second to Bailey who had risen to number four in the world  and looked ready to go right to the top.

And then came the year of tragedy, 2003. In her first tournament she lost to Rebecca Macree in the quarters of the Greenwich Open. Warning bells should have been ringing then.  She had a bad cold and went to New York  to play in the Arader & O’Rourke Tournament of Champions. She felt ill but played anyway ( a tragic error that too many squash players have made). She still managed to beat Jenny Duncalf and Rachel Grinham in straight games but when it came to the semi-final  against Carol Owens she had to retire after two games.

That decision to play while suffering from a cold  virtually put her out of the game for two years. She made the mistake of trying to comeback too soon, so that she would play well one day and be totally drained the next.  Worse, she felt dizzy, had headaches and constant vomiting were a daily reality.

Tania Bailey in 2002 at the Weymuller photo© 2005, Debra Tessier

“I never felt tired, just ill. I never slept at night because I had not done any exercise so I wasn’t tired,” she told me this week as she prepared for  British Open where she is seeded eight..

The doctors did not know what was wrong and it wasn’t until they finally diagnosed the Epstein Barre virus that they were able to advise her. “Do nothing,” they said, and for six months Bailey did absolutely nothing. Then she started light training and for the last year she has felt that she is getting back to normal. In  April  she beat Engy Kheirallah, Vanessa Atkinsona and Vicky Botwright in the Qatar Airways Challenge  before losing to Natalie Grainger in the semis.  And last month in the PMI Women’s Open she beat Natalie Grinham,  and Shelley Kitchen before narrowly losing in five to world number one Rachel Grinham. 

“It was hard work  but I felt really good the next day.  I was happy that I took Rachel to five games and there has been no recurrance of the headaches and sickness,” she says, obviously delighted to be back in the swing of things. “I am enjoying it more than ever,” she adds.

She  had dropped to 19 in the rankings but  remarkably is already back up to number ten and, barring any  illness, is almost certain to  be challenging the top three players.

Last Sunday she celebrated her 26th birthday. Many Happy Returns Tania, in more ways than one.

I SUPPOSE A GOLD WATCH IS OUT OF THE QUESTION……
The good news about Tania almost obliterated my state of being totally and utterly pissed off at the ruling bodies of squash. In the last 12 months I have traveled to Boston, Toronto, Amsterdam, New York, London, Bermuda, Germany, Belgium,  Sheffield and Nottingham to cover men’s, women’s, junior and club squash. (Let it be noted that I am the only international journalist who covers world junior events).

With the solid financial and professional support of Ron Beck and Squashtalk, I can claim to have covered more international events than any other journalist.  So when  it was announced that two world opens would be held simultaneously in Hong Kong in November, I thought that would be a must, even though I would spend most of the month traveling (Boston for the US Open and Toronto for the Canadian Classic).

It is usual for major tournaments to offer free hotel accommodation to journalists.  John Nimick used to house eight journalists in New York for the Tournament of Champions. It came as a bit of a surprise that Hong Kong offered just four beds (that’s two rooms) for journalists.  About seven journalists applied.  I was informed that I would not be one of the four journalists. The beds were offered to two photographers and two writers, one of whom has not been seen at a major squash tournament for a year, preferring to cover the more lucrative tennis circuit.

Two months ago I attended a conference between the ruling bodies (PSA, WISPA and WSF) where the journalists were invited to  say why squash is getting no coverage in the British media.  Needless to say, the ‘absent’ journalist (see above) did not attend that conference.  

So that is how the governing bodies treat committed squash journalists.  Do you think they will give me a gold watch when I retire?

BESPOKE RACKETS
It had to happen and now it has.  A new British company, Vantage, is offering made-to-measure squash rackets. Headed by the former  Dunlop designer Paul Angel, you can now click on to their website and design your own racket. You can choose from three different headsizes (470, 490, 500), two  balance/weight choices  and two different stiffness. So, if, for example, you like loads of control and maneuverability  you will choose the smaller head coupled with a low stiffness and a headlight balance.  If like me, you are aging and losing the power to strike the ball hard, you would choose the 500 head, , head heavy and high stiffness.  As Paul told me, there is always a trade-off between power and touch, so you have to find what combination suits you. 

Vantage are supplying a racket with my hoped for Howitzer power and I will report back on whether I have managed to blast through the plaster of my club courts.

In the near future there will be  Vantage Racket Advisers around Britain, who will (maybe) give you a lesson and then advise you on what racket to buy. He or she will give you  a code, you will log on to the Vantage site and key in the code, order the right racket and get a 10% discount. (The VRA will also get a cut).

Right now you can log on to www.vantagesquash.com and order your racket which will be delivered  in seven days. The cost is £120.