Heather McKay
AO MBE
Full nameHeather Pamela McKay
Country Australia
Born (1941-07-31) 31 July 1941
Queanbeyan, New South Wales
Retired1979
Women's Singles
Highest ranking1
World OpenW (1976, 1979)
Medal record
Women's squash
Representing  Australia
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1976 Brisbane Singles
Gold medal – first place 1979 Sheffield Singles
Last updated: 20 December 2011.

Heather Pamela McKay (née Blundell) AO, MBE (born 31 July 1941) is an Australian retired squash player, who is considered by many to be the greatest female player in the history of the game,[1] and possibly also Australia's greatest-ever sportswoman. She dominated the women's squash game in the 1960s and 1970s, winning 16 consecutive British Open titles from 1962 to 1977, and capturing the inaugural women's World Open title in 1976, while remaining undefeated during that period. She was also a top-level player of other sports, including field hockey and racquetball.

Career

Heather Blundell was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales. As Heather McKay,[2] she completely dominated the sport of women's squash in the 1960s and '70s. She lost only two matches in her entire career (in 1960 and 1962), and was unbeaten in competitive squash matches from 1962 through to 1981, when she retired from active open squash. Her first defeat was in the quarterfinal of the New South Wales Championship in 1960, losing to Yvonne West; her second defeat was in the final of the Scottish Open in 1962, losing in straight games to Fran Marshall.[3][4]

McKay won her first British Open (considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time) in 1962. She then won it again every year for the next 15 consecutive years, losing only two games at the championship during that time. She usually won her finals matches comfortably. In the 1968 championship, she won the final against her compatriot Bev Johnson without dropping a point.

In 1976, an unofficial world championship known as the Women's World Squash Championship was held in Brisbane, which McKay won by defeating Marion Jackman in the final 9–2, 9–2, 9–0. The first official women's World Open was held in 1979 in England, and McKay captured the inaugural title with a 6–9, 9–3, 9–1, 9–4 win over Sue Cogswell in the final.

McKay also won the Australian Amateur Championships for 14 consecutive times from 1960 to 1973.

When she retired in 1981 at the age of 40, McKay had gone nearly 20 years undefeated. Since retiring from the top-level game, she has remained active in international Masters level events, and has won two over-45 world championship titles and two over-50 world championship titles.

McKay also proved to be a talent in other sports, including field hockey, where she was a member of the Australian Women's Hockey Team in 1967 and 1971. In racquetball, she won the American Amateur Racquetball Championship once (1979), the American Professional Racquetball Championship three times (1980–81 and 1984), and the Canadian Racquetball Championship five times (1980 and 1982–85).[5] She was inducted into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame in 1997.[6]

She was a teaching professional at the Toronto Squash Club in the 1980s. She worked with up-and-comer David Wright in an intensive Junior Program.

World Open

Finals: 2 (2 titles, 0 runner-up)

Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner1976Brisbane, AustraliaAustralia Marion Jackman9–2, 9–2, 9–0
Winner1979Sheffield, EnglandEngland Sue Cogswell6–9, 9–3, 9–1, 9–4

British Open

Finals: 16 (16 titles, 0 runner-up)

Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner1962The Royal Automobile Club – LondonEngland Fran Marshall9–6, 9–5, 9–4
Winner1963Landsdowne and Royal Aero ClubsEngland Fran Marshall9–4, 9–2, 9–6
Winner1964Landsdowne and Royal Aero ClubsEngland Fran Marshall9–2, 9–2, 9–1
Winner1965Landsdowne and Royal Aero ClubsEngland Anna Craven-Smith9–0, 9–1, 9–2
Winner1966Landsdowne and Royal Aero ClubsEngland Anna Craven-Smith9–0, 9–0, 10–8
Winner1967London, EnglandEngland Anna Craven-Smith9–1, 10–8, 9–6
Winner1968London, EnglandAustralia Bev Johnson9–0, 9–0, 9–0
Winner1969Sheffield, EnglandEngland Fran Marshall9–2, 9–0, 9–0
Winner1970Birmingham, EnglandSouth Africa Marcia Roche9–1, 9–1, 9–0
Winner1971Birmingham, EnglandEngland Jenny Irving9–0, 9–3, 9–1
Winner1972Sheffield, EnglandSouth Africa Kathy Malan9–1, 9–1, 9–2
Winner1973Sheffield, EnglandNew Zealand C. Fleming9–1, 9–0, 9–1
Winner1974Sheffield, EnglandEngland Sue Cogswell9–2, 9–1, 9–2
Winner1975Wembley, EnglandAustralia Marion Jackman9–3, 9–1, 9–5
Winner1976Wembley, EnglandAustralia Sue Newmann9–2, 9–4, 9–2
Winner1977Wembley, EnglandAustralia Barbara Wall9–3, 9–1, 9–2

Note: Competed as Heather Blundell from 1962 to 1965.

After retirement

McKay wrote a book, Heather McKay's Complete Book of Squash, which was released in 1979. Staying active in squash, she was named coach of the Australian Institute of Sport's Squash Division in 1985. In 1999 she was one of the founder members of the Women's International Squash Players Association Hall of Fame, of which she herself was one of the first to be inducted.

Recognition

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Kaplan, Jim. "McKay has a new racquet". SI Vault. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Marriages: McKay—Blundell, The Canberra Times, (Wednesday, 15 December 1965), p.32". Canberra Times. 15 December 1965. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Meares, Peter (2003). Legends of Australian Sport: The Inside Story. University of Queensland Press. p. 160. ISBN 9780702234101. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Australian Women's Register". National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Canadian National Championships". Racquetball Canada. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  6. ↑ "USA Racquetball". Team USA. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  7. ↑ Australia list: "No. 44741". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1968. p. 38.
  8. 1 2 3 "Heather McKay". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "AD79" (PDF). Governor General's Office of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Heather McKay". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  11. ↑ "Hall of Fame 1997". Team USA. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "Hall of Fame members". Squash Australia. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Australia Day Honours 2018: The full list". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
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