3:48 am
12 Dec 2024

David Holds Off World Champion Massaro In New WSA World Rankings

1 Apr 2014

While England's new World Champion Laura Massaro closes the gap behind predecessor Nicol David in the latest April Women's World Squash Rankings, it is the Malaysian who continues to hold pole position in the list published today by the Women's Squash Association (WSA).

David, the 30-year-old from Penang who missed out on a record eighth title in front of a huge home crowd in last month's Penang CIMB Women's World Championship, extends to 93 months her unbroken reign as world No1 since August 2006.

But Massaro, who wrested the title from the Penangite to become England's first world champion for 15 years, has edged closer to David to begin a second year as world number two.

Egypt's Raneem El Welily also maintains her position as the world No3 - while Joelle King jumps to a career-high No4 to become the highest-ranked New Zealander for more than ten years.

The 25-year-old from Cambridge won the seventh Tour title of her career in January at the Greenwich Open - and last month reached the world championship quarter-finals for the first time.

But it is Egyptian teenager Nour El Sherbini who celebrates the most astonishing rise in the April rankings. At 27 in last month's rankings, the 18-year-old from Alexandria appeared in the Penang World Championship unseeded - then proceeded to dismiss a succession of higher-ranked players including fifth seed Joelle King and the No4 seed Alison Waters, before claiming the biggest scalp of all in Nicol David to become the youngest finalist in the 35-year history of the event.

The run sees El Sherbini leap 14 places to No13.

US star Amanda Sobhy also records a best-ever ranking. The 20-year-old Pan American champion from New York, a full-time student at Harvard University, picked up her 11th WSA Tour title at the Granite Club Open in Canada last month and rises two places to No15.

April top 20 (inc. points average):

1 [1] Nicol David MAS 3,346
2 [2] Laura Massaro ENG 2,555
3 [3] Raneem El Welily EGY 1,754
4 [5] Joelle King NZL 1,176
5 [4] Alison Waters ENG 1,036
6 [6] Camille Serme FRA 1,031
7 [7] Low Wee Wern MAS 901
8 [8] Madeline Perry IRL 786
9 [9] Annie Au HKG 763
10 [10] Jenny Duncalf ENG 722
11 [13] Omneya Abdel Kawy EGY 634
12 [11] Dipika Pallikal IND 631
13 [27] Nour El Sherbini EGY 627
14 [14] Kasey Brown AUS 571
15 [17] Amanda Sobhy USA 522
16 [15] Rachael Grinham AUS 516
17 [12] Natalie Grinham NED 482
18 [16] Sarah-Jane Perry ENG 444
19 [20] Nicolette Fernandes GUY 401
20 [18] Nour El Tayeb EGY 395

For the complete WSA ranking list, see www.wsaworldtour.com