Nicol David will fall behind after Chicago defeat
By NATHAN CLARKE
Current World No.1 incumbent Laura Massaro of England has maintained her place at the summit of the world rankings for a third consecutive month and has extended her lead over closest rivals Nicol David and Raneem El Welily to over 600 points in the March 2016 PSA Women’s World Rankings.
Massaro had a disappointing J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions campaign in January, losing at the last eight stage, but watched on as David and El Welily both failed to reach the title-decider and eat into Massaro’s grasp on the No.1 slot.
That one blip is set against a solid context of achievement, winning the Macau Open, US Open, Qatar Classic and British Nationals, plus the runner-up place in Hong Kong.
David’s defeat to Egypt’s Nour El Sherbini in the Windy City Open quarter-finals will further damage her bid to regain the top spot.
Frenchwoman Camille Serme, who beat Massaro to the British Open title last May, is the only riser inside the top five, moving up one place to No.4 after wining the Cleveland Classic – her first title since that British Open. Her appearance in the Chicago semi-finals, against El Welily (while Massaro meets El Sherbini) will have a significant impact on future rankings.
Alison Waters of England returns to the top ten after finishing as runner-up to Serme in Cleveland while compatriot Emily Whitlock also moves up inside the top 20, climbing one place to No.17.
After falling out of the top twenty in February for the first time in 223 months dating back to 1997, Australian Rachel Grinham returns to occupy the No.20 position and rounds out the elite list. Outside the top 20, Tesni Evans of Wales has climbed to a career-best position of 24, a nice present for St David’s Day.
Women’s PSA World Rankings (March 1, 2016).
Picture by STEVE LINE (www.squashpics.com) courtesy of PSA and Windy City Open. Graphic courtesy of PSA.