Rivalry On Hold For Latest WISPA Tour

The world's top two women squash players will put their rivalry on hold next week when they lead the seventh annual WISPA Promotional Tour to Turkey and Jordan.

Last Sunday in the USA, Australia's Rachael Grinham beat world champion Vanessa Atkinson in the final of the Seattle Open to extend her reign as world number one - maintaining her lead ahead of her Dutch rival who remains at two!

This weekend, the pair - together with WISPA's Executive Director Andrew Shelley - will arrive in the Turkish city of Istanbul to begin the eight-day tour of the two countries, which will feature exhibitions, clinics, press conferences and meetings with sports bodies in Istanbul and the Jordan capital Amman, organised in close co-operation with the countries' National Squash Federations.

The 2005 tour is the latest initiative in the Women's International Squash Players' Association's continuing drive to promote women's squash around the world.

"It's good to take a break from the Tour in this way, and travel to 'unexplored' parts of the squash world and introduce new audiences to our sport," said Grinham, the Cairo-based Queenslander. "This is will be my second WISPA promotional trip - and Vanessa and I are really looking forward to it."

As in previous years, press conferences and television coverage will bring squash to the notice of the public, while local squash players will be able to watch the two WISPA stars - and a lucky few will even get to play a few points with the players too.

WISPA's promotional tour concept was launched in 1999 with a visit to the Czech Republic. Successive years featured trips to Jamaica, El Salvador, Peru, Kenya, Thailand, Brunei, Sarawak, Russia and, last year, China and Nepal.

** The Greece leg of this year's tour has been postponed - and will be rescheduled for a later visit.