Grinham Boosts Dutch Interest In New Women's World Rankings

While Malaysia's Nicol David continues to head the Women's World Squash Rankings, the March list of which is published today by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA), the Dutch content of the top 20 has been significantly boosted following the nationality switch by world number two Natalie Grinham.

The Queensland-born 29-year-old who won a record three Commonwealth Games gold medals for Australia in 2006 has decided to switch to the nationality of the country in which she has been resident since 1999.

Married to former Dutch champion Tommy Berden, Natalie Grinham plans to become a Dutch citizen and looks forward to playing under the Netherlands flag for the first time on the WISPA World Tour this week at the CIMB KL Open.

The new Dutch player maintains her position in the rankings ahead of sister Rachael Grinham, while American Natalie Grainger remains at No4, and England's Tania Bailey at No5 with her compatriot Vicky Botwright at six.

Ireland's Madeline Perry is the only riser in the top 20, moving up a single place to 13 after reaching the final of the Buler Challenge Cup in January.

Lower in the list, South Africa's Tennille Swartz celebrates a career-high No29 ranking after winning the NSC Super Satellite No1 last month in Malaysia.

English players Lauren Siddall and Laura Hill also boast career-best rankings - 23-year-old Siddall, from Yorkshire, moving up to 41 after a surprise final berth in last month's Internationaux de Creteil in France, and Derbyshire's Hill rising to 43 after a string of solid performances.

1 [1] Nicol David MAS
2 [2] Natalie Grinham NED
3 [3] Rachael Grinham AUS
4 [4] Natalie Grainger USA
5 [5] Tania Bailey ENG
6 [6] Vicky Botwright ENG
7 [7] Shelley Kitchen NZL
8 [8] Jenny Duncalf ENG
9 [9] Omneya Abdel Kawy EGY
10 [10] Vanessa Atkinson NED
11 [11] Alison Waters ENG
12 [12] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro ENG
13 [14] Madeline Perry IRL
14 [13] Rebecca Chiu HKG
15 [15] Kasey Brown AUS
16 [16] Engy Kheirallah EGY
17 [17] Annelize Naude NED
18 [18] Jaclyn Hawkes NZL
19 [19] Isabelle Stoehr FRA
20 [20] Samantha Teran MEX