Nicol David celebrates 92 months at world number one
As Malaysian Nicol David continues to head an unchanged top five, France’s Camille Serme and Hong Kong’s Annie Au record notable rises in the top 10 of the March WSA world rankings.
Serme, winner of a sixth consecutive French national title last month, moves up to number six, boosted by a surprise semi-final berth in January’s WSA Gold Tournament of Champions. The 24-year-old from Creteil is celebrating her highest ranking of the year.
Hong Kong number one Au also moved up two positions, to number eight, to mark her best ranking since 2012. The left-hander achieved a remarkable run in last month’s WSA Gold Cleveland Classic in Ohio where she downed three seeds in a row to reach the final as a qualifier.
Nicol David marks her 92nd successive month as world number one, ahead of England’s Laura Massaro at two, Egyptian Raneem El Welily at number three, England’s British national champion Alison Waters at four, and New Zealander Joelle King in fifth place.
Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb has recorded a rare leap of nine places to number 18, making a welcome return to the top 20 for the first time since April 2012.
A qualifier in last month’s Cleveland Classic, the 20-year-old from Cairo celebrated a first ever win over higher-ranked compatriot and regular training partner Raneem El Welily to make the semi-finals.
March Top 20 (inc. points average):
1 [1] Nicol David MAS 3,248
2 [2] Laura Massaro ENG 2,166
3 [3] Raneem El Welily EGY 1,440
4 [4] Alison Waters ENG 1,243
5 [5] Joelle King NZL 1,155
6 [8] Camille Serme FRA 875
7 [6] Low Wee Wern MAS 792
8 [7] Madeline Perry IRL 743
9 [11] Annie Au HKG 743
10 [9] Jenny Duncalf ENG 741
11 [10] Dipika Pallikal IND 601
12 [12] Natalie Grinham NED 574
13 [14] Omneya Abdel Kawy EGY 570
14 [13] Kasey Brown AUS 567
15 [15] Rachael Grinham AUS 490
16 [16] Sarah-Jane Perry ENG 458
17 [17] Amanda Sobhy USA 443
18 [27] Nour El Tayeb EGY 380
19 [20] Joshana Chinappa IND 373
20 [19] Nicolette Fernandes GUY 363
For the complete WSA ranking list, visit www.wsaworldtour.com
Picture by Marian Kraus PhotographyÂ