Perry Pumped Up For Belfast Worlds

Madeline Perry is eagerly looking forward to playing in front of her home crowd at the Women's World Open which takes place in Belfast later this month.

The 29-year-old world No7 from Banbridge insists she owes a debt of gratitude to a host of people in Northern Ireland who have helped her along the way.

The world's most prestigious squash event - and the biggest ever to be staged in Northern Ireland - will be held in Belfast from 20-26 November, with action from the last sixteen onwards staged on a state-of-the-art four glass-walled court in the auditorium of the Ulster Hall.

It was the late Sid Moore who got the ball rolling when Madeline took up squash at the age of 11.

Sadly he's no longer with us but there will be plenty of familiar faces in the crowd at the Boat Club and the Ulster Hall which are the venues for the showpiece.

"People like Derek Brown and Dorothy Armstrong have always supported me to the hilt," she explained. "And I'm also very grateful to my mum and dad Audrey and Colin as well as the Sports Council for Northern Ireland who have helped me financially through Lottery Funding. So it will be good to see them and hopefully I won't let them down."

Madeline is seldom at home these days as she is based in Halifax in North Yorkshire when she's not on the pro squash tour. She lives in a modest terraced house a short distance from the Queen's Sports Club where she plays and trains.

Unlike Nicol David, the world number one and top seed in Belfast who is a megastar back home in Malaysia, Madeline can walk down the streets of her adopted home unrecognised. She enjoys life in England after moving there almost a decade ago through sporting necessity.

After 13 years as Ulster number one, competition - or rather the lack of it - in the north was the reason for the move to England.

"Obviously there's a much bigger player base in England and the club squash is of a high standard with quite a few players in the world top 100 to pit your wits against. Playing good players, male and female improves your own game," Madeline explains.

"The people in Halifax are very friendly and it's really like a 'home from home' as far as I'm concerned. It's getting a bit of a reputation for being a hotbed for squash and there are more and more good players coming to the area."

She became Ulster number one at the age of 16 but in those days education came first and she attended Queen's University where she graduated with an Honours Degree in Geography.

With her qualification behind her, Madeline then dipped her toe in the world of professional squash and she's been there ever since, with three Commonwealth Games appearances under her belt and a best ever global ranking of six a few months ago.

"It was a question of giving it a go after I left Queen's and seeing if it worked out - and fortunately I've made more progress than I had anticipated. I certainly broke into the top 10 sooner than I had expected," she revealed.

Madeline admits the last few months of the build up to the World Open backyard haven't been ideal. On Wednesday (22 November) she will open her campaign with a first round tie with fellow-Irishwoman Aisling Blake from Sligo.

"To be honest, it's been a bit disjointed and I was ill with salmonella for three weeks but I am back in shape now and ready for the challenge," continued the seven-times Irish National champion.

"It's a shame that the draw paired Aisling and me together as one Irish player will be automatically knocked out. She's also a good friend of mine and we've played together on Irish teams for years."

Madeline is seeded to reach the quarter finals and if she does so it's likely she'll meet second-ranked Dutchwoman Vanessa Atkinson as the tournament - which is backed by the NI Events Company, the Sports Council and Belfast City Council - moves to a purpose-built glass-backed court at the Ulster Hall from the Boat Club from the second round onwards.

The championship will get underway at the Belfast Boat Club on Monday 20 November before moving to the city's historic Ulster Hall from the second round onwards, leading to the final on Sunday 26 November.