Vicky Botwright Reachs #5

After 11 months in second place behind Australia's Rachael Grinham, Dutch star Vanessa Atkinson has finally overtaken her long-time rival to become world number one for the first time in her career in the new December Women’s World Squash Rankings, announced today (30 November) by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA).

Vanessa Atkinson won the Qatar Classic last week.. © 2005 Fritz Borchert

Whilst the 29-year-old from The Hague becomes the eleventh woman to head the world list since the inaugural WISPA rankings in 1983, Atkinson is the first ever world number one from the Netherlands.

Atkinson, born in England and raised in the Netherlands, has enjoyed a sensational two years on the WISPA World Tour since winning the Kuala Lumpur Open in February last year.  The eight-times Dutch national champion went on to pick up eight Tour titles in 2004 – being successful in all the finals she reached and rounding off the year by clinching the World Open title in Malaysia. 

In addition to adding the European Individual title to her collection this year, Atkinson has also made it through to six further WISPA finals – claiming four more trophies, including last week in Doha the richest of them all, the Qatar Classic.

If Atkinson retains her World Open crown in Hong Kong this week, she will join squash greats Susan Devoy, Michelle Martin and Sarah Fitz-Gerald as the only players who have successfully defended the sport's most prized title.

Rachael Grinham slips to No2 in the new list, while Malaysia's Nicol David remains at three, and Rachael's younger sister Natalie Grinham stays at four.

Vanessa Atkinson in New York.. © 2005 Debra Tessier.

A notable breakthrough in women's squash is achieved by Vicky Botwright, who rises to a career-high No5 to become England's highest-ranked player for the first time.  The 28-year-old from Manchester, who only netted her first WISPA title last year, has reached four Tour finals in 2005 – most notably upsetting the first and third seeds in last week's Qatar Classic to celebrate her maiden appearance in a WISPA Grand Prix final.

Two further English players boast best-ever rankings in December:  Londoner Alison Waters - a quarter-finalist in the British Open as a qualifier, and a surprise semi-finalist in this month's Monte Carlo Classic in Monaco – rises to No12, while Lancashire's Laura-Jane Lengthorn, also a qualifier who reached the last eight of the British Open, leaps two places to 16.

With three WISPA Tour titles to her name since August, including the Atlanta Masters in the USA this month, Egypt's Engy Kheirallah makes her top twenty debut at 20.

     1      [2]        Vanessa Atkinson              NED
     2     [1]        Rachael Grinham               AUS
     3     [3]        Nicol David                       MAS
     4     [4]        Natalie Grinham                AUS
     5     [7]        Vicky Botwright                ENG
     6     [6]        Linda Elriani                     ENG
     7     [5]        Natalie Grainger               USA
     8     [9]        Jenny Duncalf                  ENG
     9     [8]        Tania Bailey                     ENG
     10    [10]      Omneya Abdel Kawy         EGY
     11    [11]       Madeline Perry                 IRL
     12    [13]      Alison Waters                   ENG
     13    [12]      Shelley Kitchen                 NZL
     14    [14]      Annelize Naude                NED
     15    [15]      Isabelle Stoehr                FRA
     16    [18]      Laura-Jane Lengthorn       ENG
     17    [17]      Rebecca Chiu                    HKG
     18    [16]      Fiona Geaves                    ENG
     19    [19]      Pamela Nimmo                   SCO
     20   [24]      Engy Kheirallah                 EGY