Just above El Weleily, England’s Laura Massaro has once again leapt above Ireland’s Madeline Perry to equal her highest ranking to date of no.3.

The two remain unchanged with Nicol David extending her reign at no.1 to 67 months whilst Jenny Duncalf stays at no.2 for her 23rd month in a row.

Natalie Grinham moves up a single place to no.7, her highest position since August 2010. Grinham won her 17th WSA tour title in January at the prestigious Tournament of Champions, a tournament making its return to the WSA tour after a couple of years. In the final she beat Indian star Dipika Pallikal, who this month has more reason to celebrate as she makes further history in her country by reaching a career high ranking of 14. As well as reaching the final at TOC, she also reached the semi finals at the Greenwich Open. Mexico’s Samantha Teran, a fellow Greenwich Open semi finalist, moves up 1 spot to 11 to equal her highest ranking to date.

Just outside the top 20, 16 year old Egyptian star Nour El Sherbini rises to 23 after reaching the semi finals of the Tournament of Champions.

There were further players who recorded significant career highs in the top 100 for:
NSC Series no.2 Champion Siti Munirah Jusoh at 39
Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling - a two time runner-up in January at 50
Australia Day Champion Sarah Cardwell at 55
Edinburgh semi-finalist Zephanie Curgenven at 83
Pakistan’s Liberty Bell Champion Maria Toor Pakay up a massive 73 places to 89

Mixed teams from eight nations will compete in the inaugural biennial event launched by the World Squash Federationwhich gets underway on Wednesday.

After early rounds at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai, the final stages of the U21 World Cup will be held on an all-glass show court erected at the Express Avenue Mall, the largest shopping complex in southern India.

Photo by Squashsite

Egypt, led by the two reigning world junior champions Marwan El Shorbagy and Nour El Tayeb, are the top seeds, ahead of second seeds England, No3 seeds France – and hosts India as fourth seeds.

El Shorbagy, the 18-year-old world No41 from Alexandria, reached last week’s quarter-finals of the Tournament of Champions in New York, becoming the first qualifier to appear in the last eight of the elite PSA World Series event for ten years.

Furthermore, team-mate Nour El Sherbini, a 16-year-old former world junior (U19) champion, made the semi-finals of the women’s Tournament of Champions unseeded.

But a surprise finalist in the event was 20-year-old Dipika Pallikal, the Indian senior champion

Photo by Squashsite

from Chennai. The world No15 – the highest-ranked player in the World Cup – recorded her best ever success on the women’s World Tour in New York after overturning two higher-seeded opponents to reach the final as the seventh seed.

Australia team member Sarah Cardwell, the 20-year-old daughter of legendary former world No1 Vicki Cardwell, has also just shown her best form to date – winning her maiden Tour title this month at the Australia Day Challenge.

Charles Sharpes, a London-born 19-year-old who leads the England attack, took out the top two seeds in the first PSA World Tour ranking event of the year in France to notch up the fourth Tour title of his brief career to date.

The former British U17 and U19 national champion enjoyed an illustrious junior career, having represented his country at U15, U17 and U19 levels.

“If it wasn’t for an event like the WSF U21 World Cup, a player like Charles would be unlikely to play again for England for five years,” said England Squash & Racketball’s Head of Coaching & Performance Keir Worth. “And representative squash is so different.”

Sharpes, ranked 96 in the world, will be joined in the England squad in Chennai by 20-year-old Ben Coleman, 18-year-old Declan James, 20-year-old Carrie Ramsey, and 17-year-old European Junior Champion Emily Whitlock, the current No1 in the WSF World Junior Circuit Rankings.

“But the new event is also a good way to measure our success internationally – our players tend to come on later than others,” added Worth. “Charles is hitting form just at the right time and Emily, who is only 17, is also showing great promise – as is Declan, who is still at school.

“What makes this event unusual is that if you look at the draw, you will see that there are no easy matches – right from the early pool stages.

“But the real key is that the U21 World Cup establishes itself as a permanent fixture on the squash calendar – one that more countries can build into their future planning to give their players the chance to play representative squash earlier than might otherwise be possible,” concluded Worth.

Early action will take place in two pools of four teams each, followed by semi-finals on Saturday (4 February) and the final on Sunday.

Pool line-ups (with seedings in brackets):
Pool A: (1) Egypt, (4) India, (5) Australia, (8) Germany
Pool B: (2) England, (3) France, (6) Hong Kong, (7) Malaysia

After early rounds at the city’s Indian Squash Academy, the final stages of the mixed team event will be held on an all-glass show court erected at the Express Avenue Mall, the largest shopping complex in southern India.

India have been named as fourth seeds, behind favourites Egypt, second seeds England and No3 seeds France.

Home hopes are led by an Indian squad featuring Dipika Pallikal, the 20-year-old women’s world No15 from Chennai and the highest-ranked player in the event. Pallikal, who also represented her country in last year’s (senior) WSF World Cup, has made a major impact on the WSA World Tour already this year, reaching last week’s final of the Tournament of Champions in New York – as the No7 seed!

Making up the squad are 17-year-old Asian Junior U19 champion Anaka Alankamony, and Ravi Dixit, Ramit Tandon and Karan Malik.

“We are the fourth seeds – but we are confident of winning a medal,” said Indian National Coach Cyrus Poncha.

“We are delighted to initiate the inaugural Under 21 World Cup here in Chennai after re-launching the WSF World Cup last year. We’ve had great support from the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) in addition to the WSF and the Federation’s President Mr Ramachandran.

“Indian Squash is now firmly entrenched in the world map of squash, through administrators, tournament organisation and performance in the junior tournaments, as well as the senior PSA and WSA circuits,” Poncha continued.

“The Indian public, who are cricket crazy, are becoming more aware of this exciting sport.”

“Furthermore, Dipika’s progress augurs well for Indian Squash. Her foundation was laid at the Squash Academy.”

“The Express Avenue Shopping Mall, the busiest and largest in South India, provides an ideal location for the event – increasing awareness of the sport. They have supported this event fully, including last year’s event.”

“Sponsors are coming forward in droves and this is good for the development of Squash in India,” concluded Poncha.

Early action will take place in two pools of four teams each, followed by semi-finals on Saturday 4 February and the final on the Sunday.

Pool line-ups (with seedings in brackets):
Pool A: (1) Egypt, (4) India, (5) Australia, (8) Germany
Pool B: (2) England, (3) France, (6) Hong Kong, (7) Malaysia

WSA Tournament of Champions

El Sherbini started quickly against Grinham, drawing on confidence already gained by defeating No3 seed Samantha Teran and local hope Latasha Khan on her way to the semis. The teenager established a quick first game lead over Grinham, who then came back refocused to claim the following two games. El Sherbini, demonstrating a rare maturity and court intelligence for someone of her 16 years, didn’t back down under the pressure and instead dug deep to claim the fourth game. 

It turned out to be one game too many for the teenager, her twelfth over the tournament, as Grinham was able to establish an early lead in the fifth and close out the game with seven match balls. “Nour changed her game a bit in the fourth,” Reflected Grinham. “I let her dictate the points, thinking that I would let her lose the match rather than try to win it. In the fifth I knew I had to just go out and win it.”

Grinham would then face Dipika Pallikal, who won a 3-0 upset over No5 seed Jaclyn Hawkes in their semi final. Pallikal of India succeeded in dominating the tee and was confident in stepping forward for the early volley, a tactic to which her New Zealand opponent had no steady reply. The determination of the No7 seed was evident following the scalp, telling interviewers: “I won’t be happy until I have finished my job and won the tournament.”

Determination wasn’t going to be enough for Pallikal however, as Grinham’s tour experience paid dividends in the final. The 20-year-old was never allowed to settle into the match as Grinham demonstrated methodical shot selection and impeccable court coverage. 25-minutes was all it took for the No2 seed to play out the final, utilising a good length and width to deny Pallikal time in the middle of the court, and subsequently, the young player never looking likely to threaten the higher seed. The Indian national champion professed to twitter followers after her ninth match in ten days: “Horrible day on court today.  Legs just gave up.  Hard few weeks on court.” 

The 2012 Tournament of Champions winner revealed after the match exactly how she set about defeating an opponent 13-years her junior: “Dipika is quite handy with the racket and she volleys well so I made sure not to put the ball where she could easily reach it.”

Grinham’s win is her 17th WSA title and her first Tournament of Champions win. 

Final:
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [7] Dipika Pallikal (IND) 11-4,11-3,11-3 (25m).

Semi finals:
[7] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt [5] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 11-5, 14-12, 11-9 (40m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 11-4 (45m)

Quarter finals:
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt 6] Sarah Kippax (ENG) – 11/3, 11/4, 12/10  (32m)
Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt Latasha Khan (USA) – 11/6, 13/11, 11/3  (26m)
[5] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt [1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) – 11/5,11/8, 11/5 (25m)
[7] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt [4] Donna Urquhart (AUS) – 11/9, 11/5, 7/11, 10/12, 11/9 (65m)

Round 1:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY) – 5/11, 11/13, 11/9, 11/3, 11/5
[5] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt [Q] Lauren Selby (ENG) – 11/2, 11/2, 11/5
[4] Donna Urquhart (AUS) bt [Q] Maria Toor Pakay (PAK) – 11/7, 11/7, 11/3
[7] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt Olivia Blatchford (USA) – 11/5, 11/3, 11/7
Latasha Khan (USA) bt [8] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) – 11/7, 13/11, 7/11, 9/11, 11/1
Nour El Sherbini bt [3] Samantha Teran (MEX) – 11/6, 11/9, 9/11, 11/7
[6] Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt [Q] Miranda Ranieri (CAN) – 15/13, 11/2, 11/5
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [Q] Lucie Fialova (CZA) – 11/8, 11/4, 11/2
 
Photos courtesy of squashpics.com

Local hope Latasha Khan of the USA, dismissed No8 seed Nour El Tayeb, after the Egyptian put in a valiant comeback effort from two games down, only for Khan to see off the match 11/1 in the fifth. El Tayeb was followed out of the competition by Mexican No1 and No3 seed Samantha Teran who, after reaching the Greenwich Open semi final earlier in the week, was unable to mount a challenge against promising 16-year-old prodigy Nour El Sherbini. Victories for the other seeds in round one were fairly straightforward, except for top seed Rachael Grinham, who had to fight back from two games down to defeat Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy in a long five-game battle.

The quarter final round gave audiences at Grand Central Station another surprise result, as New Zealand international Jaclyn Hawkes ended hopes of an all-Grinham final after beating the elder sister Rachael in three games. However, her sibling Natalie progresses will progress after beating Sarah Kippax of England in three, despite a closely fought final game. 

Nour El Sherbini won the battle of the unseeded players for a place in the semi-finals, as the teenager ended home hopes by beating Latasha Khan 3-0 in 26 minutes.

Reigning Indian champion Dipika Pallikal then caused a final upset of the early rounds as the No7 seed got the better of No4 seed Donna Urquhart of Australia in an intense five-game battle lasting over an hour.

Semi final draw:
[5] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) vs [7] Dipika Pallikal (IND)
Nour El Sherbini (EGY) vs [2] Natalie Grinham (NED)
 
Quarter finals:
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt. 6] Sarah Kippax (ENG) – 11/3, 11/4, 12/10
Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt. Latasha Khan (USA) – 11/6, 13/11, 11/3 
[5] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt. [1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) – 11/5,11/8, 11/5
[7] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt. [4] Donna Urquhart (AUS) – 11/9, 11/5, 7/11, 10/12, 11/9
 
Round1:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY) – 5/11, 11/13, 11/9, 11/3, 11/5
[5] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt [Q] Lauren Selby (ENG) – 11/2, 11/2, 11/5
[4] Donna Urquhart (AUS) bt [Q] Maria Toor Pakay (PAK) – 11/7, 11/7, 11/3
[7] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt Olivia Blatchford (USA) – 11/5, 11/3, 11/7
Latasha Khan (USA) bt [8] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) – 11/7, 13/11, 7/11, 9/11, 11/1
Nour El Sherbini bt [3] Samantha Teran (MEX) – 11/6, 11/9, 9/11, 11/7
[6] Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt [Q] Miranda Ranieri (CAN) – 15/13, 11/2, 11/5
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [Q] Lucie Fialova (CZA) – 11/8, 11/4, 11/2

King herself was in fine form going in to the final, having already dispatched the tournament favourite, world No3 Madeline Perry in the quarters and ended the run of surprise semi finalist Dipika Pallikal.

The match was strongly contested by the lesser seed King, but El Weleily’s array of attacking shots and thoughtful defence proved tricky to break down and the Egyptian took the first two games 11/8. A lapse in concentration from the young player, along with some effective counteractive measures allowed King to seize an opportunity to get back into the match. She took the third game 11/6 to reassert herself on the game but was unable to keep her momentum as El Weleily regained composure to see out the tie, 11/8, 11/8, 6/11, 11/4.

The Greenwich Open title is the world No7’s fourth ever WSA title win and with it could see El Weleily move up to No5 in the WSA World Rankings next month. The Egyptian, along with King who also finished runner up in last years competition, will both feature in next week’s Cleveland Classic in Ohio.

 Final:
[4] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [8] Joelle King (NZL) 11/8, 11/8, 6/11, 11/4

Semi finals:
[8] Joelle King (NZL) bt [Q] Dipika Pallikal (IND) 11/8, 8/11, 11/4, 11/9
[4] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt Samantha Teran (MEX) 11/5, 11/4, 11/6

Quarter finals:
[Q] Dipika Pallikal (IND) def Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 7-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 13-11
[4] Raneem El Weliely (EGY) def [6] Natalie Grinham (NED) 12-10, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8
[8] Joelle King (NZL) def [1] Madeline Perry (NIR) 11-7, 11-3, 5-11, 11-7
Samantha Teran def [2] Kasey Brown 7-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8

Round1:
[1] Madeline Perry (IRL) def [Q] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9
[8] Joelle King (NZL) def Lily Lorentzen(USA) 11-1, 11-3, 11-6
[Q] Dipika Pallikal (IND) def [L] Line Hansen (DEN) 11-6, 11-5, 11-6
Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) def [5] Annie Au (HKG) 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-5
[6] Natalie Grinham (AUS) def. [Q] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 11-7, 11-7, 13-11
[4] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) def. Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11-3, 11-4, 11-9
Samantha Teran (MEX) def. [7] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 11-9, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8
[2] Kasey Brown (AUS)  def. [Q] Amanda Sobhy (USA)  11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-4

The new biennial event, launched by the World Squash Federation, will be staged at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai from 1-5 February.

The championship will feature mixed teams of two men and one woman, following the highly successful format of the biennial WSF World Cup.

Egypt’s formidable squad includes the two reigning world junior champions Marwan El Shorbagy and Nour El Tayeb - ranked 41 and 20, respectively, in the world and both still aged 18 – in addition to 20-year-old world No42 Karim Abdel Gawad; 18-year-old Mohamed Abouelghar, ranked 78; and 16-year-old former world junior champion Nour El Sherbini, currently the world No28.

England are seeded to line up against Egypt in the final. The second seeds are pinning their hopes on a squad led by 19-year-old Charles Sharpes, ranked 96 in the world, and 17-year-old European Junior Champion Emily Whitlock, the world No33.

Home hopes are led by an Indian squad featuring Dipika Pallikal, the women’s world No15 from Chennai and the highest-ranked player in the event. Making up the squad are 17-year-old Asian Junior U19 champion Anaka Alankamony, and Ravi Dixit, Ramit Tandon and Karan Malik.

Early action will take place in two pools of four teams each, followed by semi-finals on Saturday 4 February, and the final on the Sunday.

“After the very successful biennial WSF World Cup last year, it is now great to welcome the debuting WSF Under 21 World Cup in intervening years,” said WSF CEO Andrew Shelley.

“It will provide a superb world level mixed team opportunity for top juniors and players who have recently left the under 19 age band. It is sure to grow as nations see how well it will be hosted in Chennai and start to allocate budgets to take their places too.”

Pool line-ups (with seedings in brackets):
Pool A: (1) Egypt, (4) India, (5) Australia, (8) Germany
Pool B: (2) England, (3) France, (6) Hong Kong, (7) Malaysia

Quarter finals:
Dipika Pallikal (IND) beat Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 7-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11
Raneem El Weliely (EGY) beat Natalie Grinham (NED) 12-10, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8
Joelle King (NZL) beat Madeline Perry (NIR) 11-7, 11-3, 5-11, 11-7
Samantha Teran beat Kasey Brown 7-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8

Joelle King proved to be too strong for local wildcard entry Lilly Lorentzen. Lorentzen looked nervous from the outset and King was intent on stamping her authority on the match. Although Lorentzen looked strong on occasion, it wasn’t enough to prevent King from advancing to the next round.

Jaclyn Hawkes sprung a surprise on No5 seed Annie Au after coming from a game down to progress to the quarters. The early exchanges were close, but the third game proved crucial as Au relinquishing both a 8-5 and 10-8 lead before Hawkes snatched the game 13-11. Hawkes then came out ‘all guns blazing’ in the fourth and sealed the 3-1 victory.

Dipika Pallikal showed her dominance in a confident, controlled performance against local stand-in Line Hansen, who took her place in round one after the withdrawal of injured Rachael Grinham. Although she didn’t get the victory Hansen played some solid squash at times and was graceful in defeat.

Brown took on local hope Amanda Sobhy in the first round. Sobhy was after another upset following her 3-2 qualifying win the day before, and pushed Brown to five games but fell just short as Brown’s experience eased her progression.

Natalie Grinham played some immaculate squash against the young Egyptian, looking comfortable in the first two game, before a closer third game encounter was forced to a tie-break.  The experienced Grinham held her nerve however, to see out a 3-0 win.

Samantha Teran started brightly against Low Wee Wern, putting the Malaysian on the back foot from the start, and continued to take her chances well as she dispatched her opponent in four games.

Egyptian start Raneem El Weleily looked comfortable throughout her match as she took on the athletic Donna Urquhart from Australia. El Weleily took the first two games with ease 11-3 and 11-4 demonstrating a sharp and accurate attacking game that kept Urquhart on the back foot for most of the match. In the last game the Australian showed more resolve but El Weleily knocked back her opponents advances.

Round1:

[1] Madeline Perry (IRL) beat [Q] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9

[8] Joelle King (NZL) beat Lily Lorentzen(USA) 11-1, 11-3, 11-6

[Q] Dipika Pallikal (IND) beat [L] Line Hansen (DEN) 11-6, 11-5, 11-6

Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) beat [5] Annie Au (HKG) 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-5

[6] Natalie Grinham (AUS) beat [Q] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 11-7, 11-7, 13-11

[4] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) beat Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11-3, 11-4, 11-9

Samantha Teran (MEX) beat [7] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 11-9, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8

[2] Kasey Brown (AUS) beat [Q] Amanda Sobhy (USA)  11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-4

6 time world champion Nicol David retains her spot at the top for another month andJenny Duncalf makes it a further month at no.2. Madeline Perry leaps back above Laura Massaro to return to number 3 whilst Rachael Grinham also jumps back above Kasey Brown to return to number 5.

Natalie Grinham moves up to number 8, her highest ranking since August 2010.Samantha Teran’s strong year in 2011, including a semi final place at the World Open has seen her move up one to number 12, her highest ranking since November 2010 and one away from her highest ranking of 11.

Dipika Pallikal won her 3^rd title of 2011 in December at the Crocodile Cup in Hong Kong beating Joey Chan in a thriller, 14-12 in the 5^th. This win sees the Indian number 1 record another milestone as she moves up 2 places to a career high of number 15. Her opponent in the final, Joey Chan, also reaches a career high by moving up 1 place to number 19.

Outside the top 20 there were career highs by a number of players:

Swiss no.1 Gaby Huber moves up to no.29.
World Junior Semi-Finalist Emily Whitlock moves up to no.33.
Australia’s Melody Francis, winner of 5 WSA titles in 2011 moves up to no.34.
Japanese no.1 Misaki Kobayashi moves up to no.37.
Canadian no.1 Samantha Cornett moves up to no.42.
Czech no.2 Olga Ertlova moves up to no.46.
French no.2 Coline Aumard moves into to the top 50 at no.50 for the first time.
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry moves up to no.65 after winning her first title at the Manor Open.

There were further career in the top 100 for:
Korean no.1 Ahn Eun Chan moves up to no.52, New Zealand’s Amanda Landers-Murphy moves up to no.54, Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling at no.55, Australia’s Sarah Cardwell at no.57, Brazilian no.1 Thaisa Serafini at no.59, Welsh no.1 Tesni Evans at no.60, Australia’s Tamika Saxby at 71, USA’s Kristin Lange at no.80, New Zealand’s Megan Craig at no.81, Australia’s Christine Nunn at no.82, USA’s Elpiniki Clementat no.83, Australia’s Vanessa Pickard at no.84, Canada’s Genevieve Lessard at no.88, England’s Carrie Ramsay at no.89 and Zephanie Curgenven at no.91, France’s Chloe Mesic at no.93, USA’s Sabrina Sobhy at no.95, Scotland’s Alex Clark at no.97 and Australia’s Bethany Brazier at no.98.

Nicol David, No. 1 for 65 consecutive month. Photo courtesy of M. Roslan.

The December rankings were bound to feature some big changes due to the World Open and Hong Kong Open taking place in November. There were career highs aplenty throughout the top 100 and the highest of those was at number 3.

Laura Massaro, the WISPA Player of the Year, has moved into the world’s top 3 for the first time. Massaro started the year ranked at number 10 but after success in Cleveland and the British Nationals as well as the prestigious US Open, she seems to have asserted herself as a major threat to Nicol David’s reign on the women’s game.

The world’s top 2 remain unchanged. Jenny Duncalf reached her first World Open final, showing great form before being outclassed by Nicol David. David had a few surprise losses this year but still has amassed 7 titles, including a record 6^th World Open title. It makes it 65 consecutive months at no.1 for David.

Also in the top 20, Kasey Brown makes her debut in the top 5 becoming the Australian no.1 for the first time as she leaps above Rachael Grinham. Grinham’s drop down to no.6 ends her stay in the top 5, a place she has impressively held since February 2003!

Raneem El Weleily moves back up to a career high equalling no.7 after reaching her first World Series final in Hong Kong. Natalie Grinham moves up one place to no.9, her highest ranking since August 2010, after reaching the World Open semi final in front of her home crowd in Rotterdam.

Low Wee Wern records her highest ranking at no.11. The Malaysian wasn’t having the best year as she saw her ranking drop to 21 in October. Winning the China Open, her biggest title, seemed to change her fortune and she reached the Qatar Classic and World Open quarter finals as well as the Hong Kong Open semi final, with four top 10 wins along the way.

Samantha Teran became the 1^st ever Mexican to reach the World Open semi final as she moved back up to no.13. Dipika Pallikal also became the 1^st ever Indian to reach the World Open quarter final. The Indian star’s shine looks to continue as she moves up to a career high no.17. Joey Chan had a November to remember. She captured her biggest title and first of the year at the Macau Open and then reached the Hong Kong Open quarter final, upsetting Brown before losing a thriller to El Weleily. She makes her top 20 debut at no.20.

There were further career highs in the top 100:
Kanzy El Dafrawy up to no.29 after reaching the World Open last 16. That makes 6 Egyptians in the top 30.
Gaby Huber makes her top 30 debut at no.30. She started the year outside the top 50.
Yathreb Adel up to no.32. The youngest player in the top 100 pushed Massaro in the World Open 1^stround.
Melody Francis captured her 5^th title of the year at the Mackay Open and moves to no.36.
Siyoli Waters at no.38, Misaki Kobayashi up to no.39
Sina Wall up to no.41, Samantha Cornett up to no.44, Lauren Selby up to no.47, Olga Ertlova up to no.48
Ahn Eun Chan up to no.53, Lisa Aitken up to 55, Coline Aumard up to no.56,  Amanda Landers-Murphy to 57, Salma Hany up to no.59.
Tesni Evans up to no.65, Liu Tsz-Ling up to 68, Tamika Saxby up to 73, Kristen Lange up to no.82, Megan Craig up to no.84, Christine Nunn up to no.86 and Vanessa Pickard up to no.90.

The top 20:

You can find the full rankings on the following link:

http://www.wispa.net/view_rankings.asp