Top Players Committed To Forexx Women's World Open

21 Aug 2009

All but one of the best twenty-five players in the world have entered the Forexx Women's World Open, which will take place from 20-27 September in Amsterdam.

The star-studded entry list is headed by Malaysian ace Nicol David, the defending champion who will be bidding to become only the third player in history to win four Women's World Open titles next month. Former world champions Rachael Grinham (2007) and Vanessa Atkinson (2004) - both of whom are also former world number ones - are also among the entrants for the most prestigious squash championship on the WISPA World Tour.

Dutch interest in the premier event is led by former Australian Natalie Grinham, who is seeded third behind David and America's Natalie Grainger. The 31-year old European champion grabbed the New Zealand Open crown last weekend and is bypassing the British Open early next month to fully focus on the Forexx Women's World Open. Grinham will be joined by compatriots Atkinson and Orla Noom in the main draw, after the 23-year old Noom received a wildcard from the organising committee.

The only notable absentee on the entry list of the Forexx Women's World Open is Shelley Kitchen. The world number ten, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, recently withdrew from professional competition after announcing that she and long time partner Anthony Ricketts, a former British Open winner and world number three, are expecting their first child.

The draw for the Forexx Women's World Open Squash 2009 - which offers a total prize fund of US$ 118.000, a record in women's squash - will be made onsite on September 20 in the renowned Frans Otten Stadion. The 21-court squash facility in the Dutch capital has hosted many international squash events over the past decade.

Over 100 players from more than 25 countries have submitted entries for the richest ever event on the WISPA World Tour. The full list of qualifiers will be announced at the end of next week.

Further information about the Forexx Women´s World Open Squash 2009 can be found on the official tournament website www.womensworldopen.com.

Main Draw players
1 Nicol David MAS (1)
2 Natalie Grainger USA (2)
3 Natalie Grinham NED (3)
4 Rachael Grinham AUS (4)
5 Alison Waters ENG (5)
6 Jenny Duncalf ENG (6)
7 Omneya Abdel Kawy EGY (7)
8 Madeline Perry IRL (8)
9 Laura Massaro ENG (9)
10 Isabelle Stoehr FRA (11)
11 Kasey Brown AUS (12)
12 Vanessa Atkinson NED (13)
13 Annie Au HKG (14)
14 Rebecca Chiu HKG (15)
15 Jaclyn Hawkes NZL (16)
16 Samantha Teran MEX (17)
17 Raneem El Weleily EGY (18)
18 Tania Bailey ENG (19)
19 Camille Serme FRA (20)
20 Lauren Briggs ENG (21)
21 Dominique Lloyd-Walter ENG (22)
22 Engy Kheirallah EGY (23)
23 Delia Arnold MAS (24)
24 Orla Noom (wildcard) NED (41)