INTRODUCTION
Nicol is the daughter of Ann Marie David, a retired Malaysian Chinese school teacher, and Desmond David, a Malaysian Indian[4] engineer,[5] who is also a former state athlete and footballer.[6][7] She has two sisters, Lianne and Cheryl,[8] both of whom are accomplished squash players at the national level.[9] As a youngster, mathematics was Nicol's best subject at school;[1] she dreamed of one day becoming an engineer.[1] Nicol scored seven A's for her Penilaian Menengah Rendah and obtained seven A's in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (the equivalent to GCSE), which she studied at Convent Green Lane Secondary School in Green Lane, Penang.[10]
Awards and recognition
On June 7, 2008, Nicol David was honoured with the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) or D.B.[11] in conjunction with the birthday of the His Majesty Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.[12] She was the first recipient of the award which was established on June 26, 1975.[12] The award is limited to 10 recipients who have made significant contributions in the arts, sciences and the humanities.[11][12]
On July 12, 2008, Nicol was among 497 people honoured in conjunction with the 70th birthday of the Penang State Governor Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas.[13] Nicol was also one of the 28 people who received the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri award (DSPN),[14] which carries the title Datuk, making her the youngest person ever to be conferred Datukship in Penang.[13] The former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, a fellow Penangite,[15] once quipped that Nicol is "now more famous than me".[6] In July 2007, Nicol received Master of Arts honoris causa; an honorary degree by the University of Nottingham.[10] Nicol has also obtained the WISPA Player of the Year on five consecutive occasions, from 2005 until 2009.[16]
Nicol was given the honour of carrying the Olympic torch for Malaysia during the build up to the Athens Olympics of 2004,[17][18] and was appointed UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia.[19]
SQUASH CAREER
Pre–2000: Junior years
Nicol Ann David holding her CIMB Malaysian Squash Open 2009 trophy.
Full name Nicol Ann David[1]
Nickname(s) Duracell Bunny[2]
Country Malaysia
Residence Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Date of birth August 26, 1983 (age 26)
Place of birth Penang, Malaysia
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[3]
Weight 50 kilograms (110 lb)[3]
Turned Pro 2000[3]
Plays Right Handed
Coach Liz Irving
Racquet used Prince
Women's singles
Highest Ranking No. 1 (January 2006)
Current Ranking No. 1 (May 2010)
Title(s) 44
Tour Final(s) 57
[hide]Medal record
Competitor for Malaysia
Squash
Commonwealth Games
Silver 2002 Manchester
Mixed Doubles
Asian Games
Gold 1998 Bangkok
Individual
Silver 2002 Busan
Individual
Gold 2006 Doha
Individual
World Games
Gold 2005 Duisburg
Individual
Gold 2009 Kaohsiung
Individual
Last updated on: May 15, 2010.
Datuk Nicol Ann David is a Malaysian professional squash player. She is currently ranked world number 1 in women's squash, and is the first Asian woman to achieve this. She won the British Open title in 2005, 2006 and 2008, as well as the World Open title in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Nicol is the first squash player to have won the World Junior title twice; in 1999 and 2001 under the tutelage of Richard Glanfield. She remained the only female squash player to have achieved this, until Raneem El Weleily emulated Nicol's feat by winning her second World Junior Championship in 2007. Nicol joined WISPA and turned professional in 2000 when she won her first WISPA title, after only a month in the tour. The victory came in February, when she defeated Salma Shabana in the final of the Savcor Finnish Open. On June 7, 2008, Nicol David was honoured with the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) or D.B. in conjunction with the birthday of the His Majesty Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. She was the first recipient of the award which was established on June 26, 1975. Nicol was also invited to carry the Olympic torch for Malaysia during the build up to the Athens Olympics in 2004 and being appointed as UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia.
Nicol David's other notable achievements include the Asian Squash Championship, which she won with a record of seven times (in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010). She also held a 13-month, 51-match winning streak, from March 2006 until April 2007, when she finally lost to Natalie Grinham in the final of the 2007 Seoul Open. Nicol has also obtained the WISPA Player of the Year on five consecutive occasions, from 2005 until 2009.
PERSONAL LIFE
Full name Nicol Ann David[1]
Nickname(s) Duracell Bunny[2]
Country Malaysia
Residence Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Date of birth August 26, 1983 (age 26)
Place of birth Penang, Malaysia
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[3]
Weight 50 kilograms (110 lb)[3]
Turned Pro 2000[3]
Plays Right Handed
Coach Liz Irving
Racquet used Prince
Women's singles
Highest Ranking No. 1 (January 2006)
Current Ranking No. 1 (May 2010)
Title(s) 44
Tour Final(s) 57
[hide]Medal record
Competitor for Malaysia
Squash
Commonwealth Games
Silver 2002 Manchester
Mixed Doubles
Asian Games
Gold 1998 Bangkok
Individual
Silver 2002 Busan
Individual
Gold 2006 Doha
Individual
World Games
Gold 2005 Duisburg
Individual
Gold 2009 Kaohsiung
Individual
Last updated on: May 15, 2010.
Datuk Nicol Ann David is a Malaysian professional squash player. She is currently ranked world number 1 in women's squash, and is the first Asian woman to achieve this. She won the British Open title in 2005, 2006 and 2008, as well as the World Open title in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Nicol is the first squash player to have won the World Junior title twice; in 1999 and 2001 under the tutelage of Richard Glanfield. She remained the only female squash player to have achieved this, until Raneem El Weleily emulated Nicol's feat by winning her second World Junior Championship in 2007. Nicol joined WISPA and turned professional in 2000 when she won her first WISPA title, after only a month in the tour. The victory came in February, when she defeated Salma Shabana in the final of the Savcor Finnish Open. On June 7, 2008, Nicol David was honoured with the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) or D.B. in conjunction with the birthday of the His Majesty Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. She was the first recipient of the award which was established on June 26, 1975. Nicol was also invited to carry the Olympic torch for Malaysia during the build up to the Athens Olympics in 2004 and being appointed as UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia.
Nicol David's other notable achievements include the Asian Squash Championship, which she won with a record of seven times (in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010). She also held a 13-month, 51-match winning streak, from March 2006 until April 2007, when she finally lost to Natalie Grinham in the final of the 2007 Seoul Open. Nicol has also obtained the WISPA Player of the Year on five consecutive occasions, from 2005 until 2009.
PERSONAL LIFE
Nicol is the daughter of Ann Marie David, a retired Malaysian Chinese school teacher, and Desmond David, a Malaysian Indian[4] engineer,[5] who is also a former state athlete and footballer.[6][7] She has two sisters, Lianne and Cheryl,[8] both of whom are accomplished squash players at the national level.[9] As a youngster, mathematics was Nicol's best subject at school;[1] she dreamed of one day becoming an engineer.[1] Nicol scored seven A's for her Penilaian Menengah Rendah and obtained seven A's in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (the equivalent to GCSE), which she studied at Convent Green Lane Secondary School in Green Lane, Penang.[10]
Awards and recognition
On June 7, 2008, Nicol David was honoured with the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) or D.B.[11] in conjunction with the birthday of the His Majesty Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.[12] She was the first recipient of the award which was established on June 26, 1975.[12] The award is limited to 10 recipients who have made significant contributions in the arts, sciences and the humanities.[11][12]
On July 12, 2008, Nicol was among 497 people honoured in conjunction with the 70th birthday of the Penang State Governor Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas.[13] Nicol was also one of the 28 people who received the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri award (DSPN),[14] which carries the title Datuk, making her the youngest person ever to be conferred Datukship in Penang.[13] The former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, a fellow Penangite,[15] once quipped that Nicol is "now more famous than me".[6] In July 2007, Nicol received Master of Arts honoris causa; an honorary degree by the University of Nottingham.[10] Nicol has also obtained the WISPA Player of the Year on five consecutive occasions, from 2005 until 2009.[16]
Nicol was given the honour of carrying the Olympic torch for Malaysia during the build up to the Athens Olympics of 2004,[17][18] and was appointed UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia.[19]
SQUASH CAREER
Pre–2000: Junior years
Nicol Ann David during CIMB Malaysian Open Squash 2008 in Kuala Lumpur.
Nicol David played squash when she was five years old, and received coaching at the age of eight.[1] While training at the Bukit Dumbar Squash Centre, Nicol was talent spotted by Ee Phoeh Hoon,[20] who led her to represent her home state of Penang, along with her sisters.[9] Nicol's squash career began in 1992 when she won silver in the Under-14 category of the Penang State Junior Championship.[21] Her first national level victory was also in 1992 at the Milo-Dunlop Sport National Junior Interstate Championship, where she won silver in the Under-16 category.[21] In 1994, Nicol was chosen to join the Penang state squash team for the Malaysian Games (SUKMA) tournament where she helped Penang win a gold medal in the team event, despite being ill at the time.[5] In the same year, she won her first two international titles – the Hong Kong U-13 and the Scottish Junior Open Under-12.[21]
Nicol won the Women's World Junior Squash Championships of 1999 in Antwerp, Belgium, making her the youngest woman to become the world junior champion at the age of 15.[22] In the process, she defeated three players ranked in the world top 20.[22] She successfully defended the title in Penang in 2001, becoming one of only two players in the history of squash to have won it twice;[23][24] her coach was Richard Glanfield.[25]
In 1999, Nicol began to win major junior tournaments, including the British Junior Open (Under-17 champion),[26] the German Junior Open (Under-19, Champion),[5] the SEA Games (Champion in the Senior and Team categories),[5] and the Asian Junior Champion for both individual and team events.[27]
Nicol's biggest win, however, was the World Junior Championships, played in Antwerp. It took just half an hour for the then 15-year-old Malaysian schoolgirl to obtain world junior champion status when she beat compatriot Leong Siu Lynn 9–5, 9–3 and 9–2 in the final of the women's individual event to become the youngest ever winner of the title.[5][22] Nicol reached the quarterfinals of the previous World Junior Championships in August 1997 in Brazil, as a thirteen-year-old and has since claimed both the Asian junior and senior titles, as well as the gold medal in the Asian Games in December 1998.[22] Nicol also is one of a few squash player to have won all the age categories in the British Junior Open.[26]
2000–2004: Early professional career
Nicol David and New Zealander Shelley Kitchen during the 2007 CIMB Malaysian Open.
Nicol joined WISPA and turned professional in 2000[5][28] when she won her first WISPA title, after only a month in the tour.[29] The victory came in February, when she defeated Salma Shabana in the final of the Savcor Finnish Open with a score of 9–1, 9–0 and 9–5.[29] Within a month, Hotel Equatorial announced its two year worldwide sponsorship for her.[27] Nicol also won a sponsorship on the WISPA tour by Dunlop squash.[21]
In 2001, Nicol, who has played under Dunlop Sport sponsorship for most of her junior career and WISPA career, signed a two-year deal to play with Head rackets with local conglomerate Mulpha Sports.[30] In July, Nicol won the World Junior title for a second time, beating Omneya Abdel Kawy in just 17 minutes with a score of 9–2, 9–4 and 9–2 in the final.[24] She remained the only female squash player to have achieved this until 2007, when Raneem El Weleily won her second World Junior Championship.[23][31] Nicol also won the individual event in the Asian Junior Squash Championships by defeating her compatriot Tricia Chuah in the final with a score of 9–5, 9–6 and 9–0; and helped the Malaysian team to the team event title.[32]
In 2002 Nicol, together with her mixed double event partner Ong Beng Hee, won a Commonwealth Games silver medal for Malaysia after losing to Glen Wilson and Leilani Rorani in the final.[33] Earlier in the year, Nicol defeated Ellen Petersen of Denmark with a score of 9–2, 9–7, 8–10, 9–4 to win the second Kuala Lumpur Open title of her career.[34] Nicol failed to retain her Asian Games gold medal in 2002, when she lost 9–7, 9–5 and 9–7 to Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong in the final in Busan, South Korea.[35]
Nicol was the losing finalist twice in 2003, losing to the more experienced Cassie Jackman on her home ground and then to Linda Elriani in the Monte Carlo Classic in November.[36] She reached the semi-final of the World Open in Hong Kong, losing to Cassie Jackman with a score of 9–6, 9–3, 9–4 in the final.[37] Nicol did not perform well in the other major WISPA events; she was eliminated in the first round of the Carol Weymuller US Open,[38] in the British Open[39] and in the Texas Open.[40] In the Qatar Classic Open, Nicol lost in the second round to Natalie Grinham with a score of 9–2, 7–9, 9–0 and 9–4.[41]
In 2004 Nicol again failed to win any title. Her achievements included getting into the final of both the Kuala Lumpur Open[42] and the Malaysian Open.[43] Nicol then started to progress in the very last month of the year by reaching the final of the Shanghai WISPA WorldStars Championship[44] and the semi-finals of the World Open,[45] to rise two places to Number four in the January 2005 WISPA rankings.[46]
2005–2006: World champion and rise to the top
Nicol Ann David holding her CIMB Malaysian Squash Open 2007 trophy.
Defeated only twice in 2005, the 21-year-old from Penang returned to her home country in July after winning the gold medal at the World Open in Germany to become the youngest squash world champion.[47] She then became the first local player to win the Women's CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championship title in the event’s 31-year history.[48] In October, Nicol proved that her success in the World Open and in the Malaysian Open was not by chance by becoming the first Malaysian to win a British Open title, the first Asian to win the women's crown, when she beat Australia's Natalie Grinham in the women's final in straight games that lasted in 55 minutes.[49] Within two months after the British Open and the World Open win, Nicol won next year's world number one ranking for the first time. Later in the year, she was voted by her fellow members of the Women's
International Squash Players Association as the WISPA Player of The Year 2005.[50]
Nicol became the World's number 1 female squash player in January 2006 at the age of 23 to become the first Malaysian and the first Asian woman to be ranked World number 1 in the sport.[51][52] She also became the twelfth holder of the position since the rankings were first produced in April 1983.[52] Nicol started the year on a low, losing twice to Vanessa Atkinson in February, in the Apawamis Open[53] and in the Kuala Lumpur Open,[54] both in the final. The two straight loses to Atkinson saw Nicol's world rank dropped to number 2.[55] Nicol started to show progress later in the year and recovered from the setback to win six straight tour titles and reclaimed the World number 1 spot.[56] Nicol successfully defended her World Open title on November 25, 2006, at the Ulster Hall in Belfast by defeating Natalie Grinham in the final that was said to be "one of the great finals of the Women’s World Open".[57] She became the first Malaysian athlete to win a world championship title for the second consecutive time, and the fourth person in history to retain the World Open Squash Championship.[58] Nicol also captured the Qatar Airways Challenge Open,[59] the Dunlop British Open Championship,[60] the Hong Kong Open,[61] the Penang Open[62] and the CIMB Malaysian Open.[63] Nicol topped the December WISPA ranking with a points average of almost twice that of her nearest rival, Rachael Grinham,[64] and in the same month, in the second annual WISPA Awards, she was voted best female player of the year for the second time.[65]
2007–2008: Winning streak and dominance
Nicol returning the ball to Jenny Duncalf at the 2007 CIMB Open at National Squash Complex, Bukit Jalil, Selangor.
Nicol captured another six titles in the early months of 2007, then lost the final of the British Open to Australian Rachael Grinham in a five set final lasting 87 minutes.[66] A month later, Nicol again failed to defend her World Open title when she stumbled in the second round, losing to Shelley Kitchen with a score of 0–9, 1–9, 9–2, 9–3 and 6–9 in 69 minutes.[67] It was the first time since April 2004 that Nicol did not qualify for the quarters of a tournament, losing to the same person who denied her the bronze medal of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 9 months previously.[68] In December, Nicol won the inaugural Asian Sportswoman of the Year, beating more than 100 competitors who represented 25 sporting bodies.[69]
In 2008, Nicol won ten tour titles and was unbeaten.[70] Nicol David completed her most successful year to date, retaining her Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open title[71] for the third successive year in November to bring her 2008 WISPA World Tour title total to ten, extending her unbeaten Tour record since October 2007 to 53 matches.[71][72] Nicol celebrated her second full calendar year as world number one in the December Women's World Squash Rankings thus bringing her reign at the top of women’s squash to 30 straight months.[73] Nicol’s WISPA title successes in 2008 began with the Apawamis Open in New York in February,[74] and continued with the KL Open on home soil in Malaysia,[75] the British Open title in England,[76] Seoul Open in Korea,[77] Malaysian Open,[78] the Singapore Masters,[79] Dutch Open,[80] World Open in England,[81] Qatar Classic[82] and the Hong Kong Open.[71] Away from the tour, Nicol secured her sixth successive biennial Asian Championship crown in February, after winning the first in July 1998 when aged just 14,[83] and then lead Malaysia to the bronze medal in the Women's World Team Championship in Cairo.[84]
2009–present: Achieving records
Nicol Ann David in action on the sixth day of the 2009 Hong Kong Open.
With a lead over her nearest rival, Nicol David topped the Women's World Squash Rankings published on January 1, 2009 by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA) – thus moving into her 30th successive month as the world’s number one female player. Nicol headed an unchanged top four, with Natalie Grinham (Netherlands) at No. 2; her older sister Rachael Grinham (Australia) at No. 3; and Natalie Grainger, of the United States, at No. 4.[73] In her first tournament of the year, the Kuala Lumpur Open, Nicol's 17-month, 56-match winning run was brought to an end when she lost to Natalie Grainger in the final.[85] After the defeat, Nicol recovered to capture the inaugural Cayman Islands Open. She managed to avenge her loss to Grainger early in the year by beating her 11–8, 11-6 and 11–5 in the final. It is her 35th tour crown and her 50th appearance in a WISPA Tour final.[86] A week later, Nicol went on to win her second title of the year by again dispatching Grainger, this time in four sets.[87]
Nicol Ann David in action on the seventh day of the 2009 Hong Kong Open.
Twenty one days after winning the Texas Open title, Nicol captured her second Seoul City Open crown by defeating Jenny Duncalf in four sets.[88] A month later, on the 24 of July, she retained her World Games women's singles title with a win over arch rival Natalie Grinham of the Netherlands in straight sets.[89][90] A week later, on the first day of August, Nicol picked up her fifth consecutive Malaysian Open title, winning 11–6, 11–8, 9–11, 11–7 in a 60-minute match against 25 year-old London
er, Alison Waters. Nicol thus became the first player to win five Malaysian Open titles in a row since its inception in 1975.[91]
Dominating on the squash courts, Nicol beat Natalie Grinham to win her third consecutive Singapore Masters championship, and her third title within a month.[92] She overcame Natalie in three sets with a score of 11–9, 11–8 and 11–9 for her fifth WISPA title of the year.[92] Nicol then celebrated another milestone in her squash career by moving into her 41st month as world number one in the September Women's World Rankings thus surpassing her mentor Sarah Fitz-Gerald as the player with the third longest ever reign at the top of the women's rankings.[93] On the 12th of September, Nicol lost to Madeline Perry in the British Open quarter-final in a five set match that lasted for 76 minutes; 15 days later, she recovered to defeat arch-rival Natalie Grinham in the final of the World Open Championship, obtaining the title for a record fourth time.[94] Nicol ended the year on a low when she lost in the semis to Jenny Duncalf in both the Qatar Classic and the US Open, the former ending in five sets.[95]
Nicol started 2010 ranked Number 1 for the 42nd consecutive month.[96] She appeared in the WISPA calendar for the month of January.[97] Nicol competed in her first tournament in March, the US$53,000 Chennai Open;[98] she won all her matches in straight sets and was crowned as the champion, avenging two straight defeats to Jenny Duncalf in late 2009.[99] Thirteen days later, in the Kuala Lumpur Open, Nicol defeated the fourth seeded Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy who upset second seed Jenny Duncalf in the semi-finals in straight sets to win her second successive WISPA title of the year.[100] It was Nicol's sixth title in the Kuala Lumpur Open tournament as she had previously won it in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2008.[101]
Rivalry between Nicol and Natalie Grinham
Main article: Nicol–Natalie Grinham rivalry
Nicol and Natalie Grinham have a long rivalry history. As of March 2010, they have met 30 times, with Nicol leading their overall head-to-head series 23–7.[102][103] Natalie is Nicol's most frequent opponent on tour[103] and 16 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including two in the World Open tournament.[102] The World Open 2006 final between Nicol and Natalie was said to be "one of the great finals of the Women’s World Open".[57]
The longest match between the duo is in the 2007 CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open; which saw Nicol went on to win in a five set match that lasted in 102 minutes. Nicol won 6–9, 9–3, 9–6, 7–9, 9–6.[104] On the 27th of September 2009 in the $118,000[105] 2009 Women's World Open final,[94] Nicol won the match in four sets 3–11, 11–6, 11–3, 11–8 to become only the third player in the history of the championships to win four titles, alongside Australia's Sarah Fitz-Gerald and New Zealander Susan Devoy.[105]
Nicol David played squash when she was five years old, and received coaching at the age of eight.[1] While training at the Bukit Dumbar Squash Centre, Nicol was talent spotted by Ee Phoeh Hoon,[20] who led her to represent her home state of Penang, along with her sisters.[9] Nicol's squash career began in 1992 when she won silver in the Under-14 category of the Penang State Junior Championship.[21] Her first national level victory was also in 1992 at the Milo-Dunlop Sport National Junior Interstate Championship, where she won silver in the Under-16 category.[21] In 1994, Nicol was chosen to join the Penang state squash team for the Malaysian Games (SUKMA) tournament where she helped Penang win a gold medal in the team event, despite being ill at the time.[5] In the same year, she won her first two international titles – the Hong Kong U-13 and the Scottish Junior Open Under-12.[21]
Nicol won the Women's World Junior Squash Championships of 1999 in Antwerp, Belgium, making her the youngest woman to become the world junior champion at the age of 15.[22] In the process, she defeated three players ranked in the world top 20.[22] She successfully defended the title in Penang in 2001, becoming one of only two players in the history of squash to have won it twice;[23][24] her coach was Richard Glanfield.[25]
In 1999, Nicol began to win major junior tournaments, including the British Junior Open (Under-17 champion),[26] the German Junior Open (Under-19, Champion),[5] the SEA Games (Champion in the Senior and Team categories),[5] and the Asian Junior Champion for both individual and team events.[27]
Nicol's biggest win, however, was the World Junior Championships, played in Antwerp. It took just half an hour for the then 15-year-old Malaysian schoolgirl to obtain world junior champion status when she beat compatriot Leong Siu Lynn 9–5, 9–3 and 9–2 in the final of the women's individual event to become the youngest ever winner of the title.[5][22] Nicol reached the quarterfinals of the previous World Junior Championships in August 1997 in Brazil, as a thirteen-year-old and has since claimed both the Asian junior and senior titles, as well as the gold medal in the Asian Games in December 1998.[22] Nicol also is one of a few squash player to have won all the age categories in the British Junior Open.[26]
2000–2004: Early professional career
Nicol David and New Zealander Shelley Kitchen during the 2007 CIMB Malaysian Open.
Nicol joined WISPA and turned professional in 2000[5][28] when she won her first WISPA title, after only a month in the tour.[29] The victory came in February, when she defeated Salma Shabana in the final of the Savcor Finnish Open with a score of 9–1, 9–0 and 9–5.[29] Within a month, Hotel Equatorial announced its two year worldwide sponsorship for her.[27] Nicol also won a sponsorship on the WISPA tour by Dunlop squash.[21]
In 2001, Nicol, who has played under Dunlop Sport sponsorship for most of her junior career and WISPA career, signed a two-year deal to play with Head rackets with local conglomerate Mulpha Sports.[30] In July, Nicol won the World Junior title for a second time, beating Omneya Abdel Kawy in just 17 minutes with a score of 9–2, 9–4 and 9–2 in the final.[24] She remained the only female squash player to have achieved this until 2007, when Raneem El Weleily won her second World Junior Championship.[23][31] Nicol also won the individual event in the Asian Junior Squash Championships by defeating her compatriot Tricia Chuah in the final with a score of 9–5, 9–6 and 9–0; and helped the Malaysian team to the team event title.[32]
In 2002 Nicol, together with her mixed double event partner Ong Beng Hee, won a Commonwealth Games silver medal for Malaysia after losing to Glen Wilson and Leilani Rorani in the final.[33] Earlier in the year, Nicol defeated Ellen Petersen of Denmark with a score of 9–2, 9–7, 8–10, 9–4 to win the second Kuala Lumpur Open title of her career.[34] Nicol failed to retain her Asian Games gold medal in 2002, when she lost 9–7, 9–5 and 9–7 to Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong in the final in Busan, South Korea.[35]
Nicol was the losing finalist twice in 2003, losing to the more experienced Cassie Jackman on her home ground and then to Linda Elriani in the Monte Carlo Classic in November.[36] She reached the semi-final of the World Open in Hong Kong, losing to Cassie Jackman with a score of 9–6, 9–3, 9–4 in the final.[37] Nicol did not perform well in the other major WISPA events; she was eliminated in the first round of the Carol Weymuller US Open,[38] in the British Open[39] and in the Texas Open.[40] In the Qatar Classic Open, Nicol lost in the second round to Natalie Grinham with a score of 9–2, 7–9, 9–0 and 9–4.[41]
In 2004 Nicol again failed to win any title. Her achievements included getting into the final of both the Kuala Lumpur Open[42] and the Malaysian Open.[43] Nicol then started to progress in the very last month of the year by reaching the final of the Shanghai WISPA WorldStars Championship[44] and the semi-finals of the World Open,[45] to rise two places to Number four in the January 2005 WISPA rankings.[46]
2005–2006: World champion and rise to the top
Nicol Ann David holding her CIMB Malaysian Squash Open 2007 trophy.
Defeated only twice in 2005, the 21-year-old from Penang returned to her home country in July after winning the gold medal at the World Open in Germany to become the youngest squash world champion.[47] She then became the first local player to win the Women's CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championship title in the event’s 31-year history.[48] In October, Nicol proved that her success in the World Open and in the Malaysian Open was not by chance by becoming the first Malaysian to win a British Open title, the first Asian to win the women's crown, when she beat Australia's Natalie Grinham in the women's final in straight games that lasted in 55 minutes.[49] Within two months after the British Open and the World Open win, Nicol won next year's world number one ranking for the first time. Later in the year, she was voted by her fellow members of the Women's
International Squash Players Association as the WISPA Player of The Year 2005.[50]Nicol became the World's number 1 female squash player in January 2006 at the age of 23 to become the first Malaysian and the first Asian woman to be ranked World number 1 in the sport.[51][52] She also became the twelfth holder of the position since the rankings were first produced in April 1983.[52] Nicol started the year on a low, losing twice to Vanessa Atkinson in February, in the Apawamis Open[53] and in the Kuala Lumpur Open,[54] both in the final. The two straight loses to Atkinson saw Nicol's world rank dropped to number 2.[55] Nicol started to show progress later in the year and recovered from the setback to win six straight tour titles and reclaimed the World number 1 spot.[56] Nicol successfully defended her World Open title on November 25, 2006, at the Ulster Hall in Belfast by defeating Natalie Grinham in the final that was said to be "one of the great finals of the Women’s World Open".[57] She became the first Malaysian athlete to win a world championship title for the second consecutive time, and the fourth person in history to retain the World Open Squash Championship.[58] Nicol also captured the Qatar Airways Challenge Open,[59] the Dunlop British Open Championship,[60] the Hong Kong Open,[61] the Penang Open[62] and the CIMB Malaysian Open.[63] Nicol topped the December WISPA ranking with a points average of almost twice that of her nearest rival, Rachael Grinham,[64] and in the same month, in the second annual WISPA Awards, she was voted best female player of the year for the second time.[65]
2007–2008: Winning streak and dominance
Nicol returning the ball to Jenny Duncalf at the 2007 CIMB Open at National Squash Complex, Bukit Jalil, Selangor.
Nicol captured another six titles in the early months of 2007, then lost the final of the British Open to Australian Rachael Grinham in a five set final lasting 87 minutes.[66] A month later, Nicol again failed to defend her World Open title when she stumbled in the second round, losing to Shelley Kitchen with a score of 0–9, 1–9, 9–2, 9–3 and 6–9 in 69 minutes.[67] It was the first time since April 2004 that Nicol did not qualify for the quarters of a tournament, losing to the same person who denied her the bronze medal of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 9 months previously.[68] In December, Nicol won the inaugural Asian Sportswoman of the Year, beating more than 100 competitors who represented 25 sporting bodies.[69]
In 2008, Nicol won ten tour titles and was unbeaten.[70] Nicol David completed her most successful year to date, retaining her Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open title[71] for the third successive year in November to bring her 2008 WISPA World Tour title total to ten, extending her unbeaten Tour record since October 2007 to 53 matches.[71][72] Nicol celebrated her second full calendar year as world number one in the December Women's World Squash Rankings thus bringing her reign at the top of women’s squash to 30 straight months.[73] Nicol’s WISPA title successes in 2008 began with the Apawamis Open in New York in February,[74] and continued with the KL Open on home soil in Malaysia,[75] the British Open title in England,[76] Seoul Open in Korea,[77] Malaysian Open,[78] the Singapore Masters,[79] Dutch Open,[80] World Open in England,[81] Qatar Classic[82] and the Hong Kong Open.[71] Away from the tour, Nicol secured her sixth successive biennial Asian Championship crown in February, after winning the first in July 1998 when aged just 14,[83] and then lead Malaysia to the bronze medal in the Women's World Team Championship in Cairo.[84]
2009–present: Achieving records
Nicol Ann David in action on the sixth day of the 2009 Hong Kong Open.
With a lead over her nearest rival, Nicol David topped the Women's World Squash Rankings published on January 1, 2009 by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA) – thus moving into her 30th successive month as the world’s number one female player. Nicol headed an unchanged top four, with Natalie Grinham (Netherlands) at No. 2; her older sister Rachael Grinham (Australia) at No. 3; and Natalie Grainger, of the United States, at No. 4.[73] In her first tournament of the year, the Kuala Lumpur Open, Nicol's 17-month, 56-match winning run was brought to an end when she lost to Natalie Grainger in the final.[85] After the defeat, Nicol recovered to capture the inaugural Cayman Islands Open. She managed to avenge her loss to Grainger early in the year by beating her 11–8, 11-6 and 11–5 in the final. It is her 35th tour crown and her 50th appearance in a WISPA Tour final.[86] A week later, Nicol went on to win her second title of the year by again dispatching Grainger, this time in four sets.[87]
Nicol Ann David in action on the seventh day of the 2009 Hong Kong Open.
Twenty one days after winning the Texas Open title, Nicol captured her second Seoul City Open crown by defeating Jenny Duncalf in four sets.[88] A month later, on the 24 of July, she retained her World Games women's singles title with a win over arch rival Natalie Grinham of the Netherlands in straight sets.[89][90] A week later, on the first day of August, Nicol picked up her fifth consecutive Malaysian Open title, winning 11–6, 11–8, 9–11, 11–7 in a 60-minute match against 25 year-old London
er, Alison Waters. Nicol thus became the first player to win five Malaysian Open titles in a row since its inception in 1975.[91]Dominating on the squash courts, Nicol beat Natalie Grinham to win her third consecutive Singapore Masters championship, and her third title within a month.[92] She overcame Natalie in three sets with a score of 11–9, 11–8 and 11–9 for her fifth WISPA title of the year.[92] Nicol then celebrated another milestone in her squash career by moving into her 41st month as world number one in the September Women's World Rankings thus surpassing her mentor Sarah Fitz-Gerald as the player with the third longest ever reign at the top of the women's rankings.[93] On the 12th of September, Nicol lost to Madeline Perry in the British Open quarter-final in a five set match that lasted for 76 minutes; 15 days later, she recovered to defeat arch-rival Natalie Grinham in the final of the World Open Championship, obtaining the title for a record fourth time.[94] Nicol ended the year on a low when she lost in the semis to Jenny Duncalf in both the Qatar Classic and the US Open, the former ending in five sets.[95]
Nicol started 2010 ranked Number 1 for the 42nd consecutive month.[96] She appeared in the WISPA calendar for the month of January.[97] Nicol competed in her first tournament in March, the US$53,000 Chennai Open;[98] she won all her matches in straight sets and was crowned as the champion, avenging two straight defeats to Jenny Duncalf in late 2009.[99] Thirteen days later, in the Kuala Lumpur Open, Nicol defeated the fourth seeded Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy who upset second seed Jenny Duncalf in the semi-finals in straight sets to win her second successive WISPA title of the year.[100] It was Nicol's sixth title in the Kuala Lumpur Open tournament as she had previously won it in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2008.[101]
Rivalry between Nicol and Natalie Grinham
Main article: Nicol–Natalie Grinham rivalry
Nicol and Natalie Grinham have a long rivalry history. As of March 2010, they have met 30 times, with Nicol leading their overall head-to-head series 23–7.[102][103] Natalie is Nicol's most frequent opponent on tour[103] and 16 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including two in the World Open tournament.[102] The World Open 2006 final between Nicol and Natalie was said to be "one of the great finals of the Women’s World Open".[57]
The longest match between the duo is in the 2007 CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open; which saw Nicol went on to win in a five set match that lasted in 102 minutes. Nicol won 6–9, 9–3, 9–6, 7–9, 9–6.[104] On the 27th of September 2009 in the $118,000[105] 2009 Women's World Open final,[94] Nicol won the match in four sets 3–11, 11–6, 11–3, 11–8 to become only the third player in the history of the championships to win four titles, alongside Australia's Sarah Fitz-Gerald and New Zealander Susan Devoy.[105]
