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Laura Massaro

English squash player

English squash player

FieldValue
nameLaura Massaro
(née Lengthorn)
honorific-suffixMBE
imageLaura Massaro.jpg
image_size250px
countryEngland
birth_date
birth_placeGreat Yarmouth, England
height
weight66 kg
turnedpro2000
retired2019
playsRight Handed
coachDavid Pearson, Daniel Massaro
racquetHead
eventWomen's singles and doubles
highest_rankingNo. 1
date_of_highest_rankingJanuary, 2016
WorldOpenresultW (2013)
titles21
finals41

(née Lengthorn)

| honorific-suffix = MBE

Laura Jane Massaro (née Lengthorn; born 2 November 1983) is an English retired professional squash player. She was ranked number 1 in the world.

Biography

She was born in Great Yarmouth and attended Albany High School, Chorley, which is now called Albany Academy. In July 2007, she married Danny Massaro and became Laura Lengthorn-Massaro. She subsequently dropped 'Lengthorn' from her name and is now known professionally as Laura Massaro.

She won her first top-level title at the German Open in 2004 and went on to become British Open champion in 2013 and the World Champion also in 2013, so becoming the first Englishwoman to hold both titles at once. She is also a three-time silver medallist for England in Commonwealth Games.

Massaro was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sky Sports Sportswomen of the Year awards. She won the WISPA Player of the Year award in 2011. She won the US Open and the Cleveland Classic in 2011, the Sharm El Sheikh Open in 2010, and the Monte Carlo Classic in 2008. In 2010, she was part of the English team that won the silver medal at the 2010 Women's World Team Squash Championships.

Massaro also won the British National Squash Championships in 2011, defeating Jenny Duncalf in the final 7–11, 11–9, 7–11, 11–7, 11–2. She had previously finished runner-up at the championships in 2008 (losing in the final to Alison Waters 11–6, 7–11, 8–11, 9–11).

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Massaro won a silver medal in the women's doubles (partnering Jenny Duncalf). She followed up four years later at the 2014 Commonwealth Games with two silver medals: silver in singles after finishing runner-up to Nicol David and another silver in doubles with Duncalf.

In 2012, she was part of the England team that won the silver medal at the 2012 Women's World Team Squash Championships. Massaro won the British Open in 2013. She was the first English woman to do so in 22 years.

After starting 2014 brightly by winning the WSA World Tour title in Chicago, Massaro won the biggest title of her career to date at the 2013 World Open in Penang upon beating Nour El Sherbini in the final. Her achievement, alongside that of reigning men's world champion Nick Matthew, meant that England had two reigning world squash champions for the first time.

Massaro's exceptional 2014 season continued when she was runner-up to David at the British Open in Hull in May. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July, Massaro went unbeaten through the women's singles – including a semi-final against compatriot Alison Waters – before falling to David in the gold medal match. She and Duncalf then joined forces in the doubles and won through to the final, where they lost to Indians Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa in straight games.

October saw Massaro reach the quarter-finals of the US Open, where she lost to Nour El-Sherbini. In December, she was part of the team that helped England reclaim the world team title by winning the gold medal at the 2014 Women's World Team Squash Championships; she had previously won silver on three occasions.

In 2015, she progressed to her third British Open final in succession before losing out to eventual victor Camille Serme in the 2015 Women's British Open Squash Championship.

Massaro started her 2015/16 season in strong fashion as she achieved victory at the US Open and Qatar Classic. Upon beating world No. 1 Raneem El Weleily (who herself ended David's 9-year unbroken streak as world No. 1 several months prior) in the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open, she became the third Englishwoman (and first since 2004) to ascend to the top of the world rankings.

In 2016, she was part of the English team that won the silver medal at the 2016 Women's World Team Squash Championships. In 2018, she was part of the English team that won the silver medal at the 2018 Women's World Team Squash Championships.

Massaro won eight gold medals for the England women's national squash team at the European Squash Team Championships from her first in 2007 (under the name Lengthorn) to her last in 2019.

Massaro retired at the end of the 2018/19 season and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to squash.

Sponsors

Laura's sponsors included 305SQUASH for clothing, Head for rackets, Asics for shoes, Technifibre for strings, UK Fast, Proto-Col and CourtCare and Corkhills Volkswagen in Wigan. Laura also partnered with HFE (Health and Fitness Education) in relation to yoga.

Major results

World Open

OutcomeYearLocationOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Runner-up2012Grand Cayman, Cayman IslandsMAS Nicol David11–6, 11–8, 11–6
Winner2013Penang, MalaysiaEGY Nour El Sherbini11–7, 6–11, 11–9, 5–11, 11–9
Runner-up2015Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaEGY Nour El Sherbini6–11, 4–11, 11–3, 11–5, 11–8

Major WSA World Series finals

British Open

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Winner2013MAS Nicol David11–4, 3–11, 12–10, 11–8
Runner-up2014MAS Nicol David8–11, 11–5, 11–7, 11–8
Runner-up2015FRA Camille Serme11–3, 11–5, 8–11, 11–8
Winner2017ENG Sarah-Jane Perry11–8, 11–8, 6–11, 11–6

Hong Kong Open

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Runner-up2015MAS Nicol David15–13, 11–9, 11–3

Qatar Classic

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Winner2015EGY Nour El Sherbini11–8, 12–14, 11–9, 8–11, 11–9

U.S. Open

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Winner2011AUS Kasey Brown5–11, 11–5, 11–3, 11–5
Runner-up2013MAS Nicol David13–11, 11–13, 7–11, 11–8, 11–5
Winner2015EGY Nour El Tayeb11–6, 9–11, 6–11, 11–8, 11–7

Kuala Lumpur Open

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Winner2013ENG Alison Waters11–9, 11–7, 11–6

Tournament of Champions

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Runner-up2017FRA Camille Serme13–11, 8–11, 4–11, 11–3, 11–7

References

References

  1. "Biography - Laura Massaro - Professional Squash Player".
  2. "Profile and world ranking".
  3. (15 October 2003). "Final victory for Laura". Johnston Press Digital Publishing.
  4. "Elevated Wolverhampton Open Attracts High Class Entries". Squash Player.
  5. Marianne Bevis. (28 May 2013). "Laura Massaro beats Nicol David to take title". The Sport Review.
  6. (23 March 2014). "Laura Massaro beats Nour El Sherbini to win world title". BBC Sport.
  7. (26 October 2014). "Sportswomen of the Year Awards". Sky Sports.
  8. "WISPA Player of the Year Awards 2011".
  9. "Australia Reclaim World Team Title in New Zealand".
  10. (2 August 2014). "Massaro claims second silver of Commonwealth Games". ITV News.
  11. "Women's WSF World Team Championship 2012, La Parnasse Arena, Nimes, France".
  12. (3 November 2013). "World Squash Championship: Nick Matthew wins world final". BBC Sport.
  13. (19 May 2014). "British Open Squash final: Nicol David defeats Laura Massaro". BBC Sport.
  14. (16 October 2014). "Sherbini stuns packed house – and second seed Massaro – in quarterfinals". US Open Squash Championships.
  15. "England Reclaim Women's World Team Championship Title".
  16. (5 December 2015). "Hong Kong Update: Massaro Downs World No.1 to Reach Third Consecutive World Series Final – Professional Squash Association".
  17. (2 January 2016). "England's Laura Massaro Crowned World No.1 – Professional Squash Association".
  18. "Egypt Beats England, Winning Women's World Team Squash Championship".
  19. "Women's World Team Championship squash: Egypt beat England to retain title".
  20. "European Team Squash Championships".
  21. "Men's European Team Championship: Event History (53 events)".
  22. "Former World Champion Massaro to Retire at End of Season".
  23. {{London Gazette. (28 December 2019)
  24. (25 September 2014). "Volkswagen drives sponsorship forward for local sporting legend". Wigan World.
  25. "How Does Yoga Help Squash's World Number 1 Player?".
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