Rachael Grinham
Grinham at the British Open Masters 2019
Full nameRachael Margaret Grinham
Country Australia
Born (1977-01-22) 22 January 1977
Toowoomba, Australia
Height1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Turned Pro1994
Retired2023
PlaysRight Handed
Coached byMaha Zein
Racquet usedHead
Women's singles
Highest rankingNo. 1 (August 2004)
Current rankingNo. 88 (December 2022)
Title(s)31
Tour final(s)58
World OpenW (2007)
Medal record
Women's squash
Representing  Australia
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2007 MadridSingles
Silver medal – second place2005 Hong KongSingles
Bronze medal – third place2004 Kuala LumpurSingles
Bronze medal – third place2006 BelfastSingles
Bronze medal – third place2009 AmsterdamSingles
World Team Championships
Gold medal – first place2002 OdenseTeam
Gold medal – first place2004 AmsterdamTeam
Gold medal – first place2010 PalmerstonTeam
World Doubles Championships
Gold medal – first place2004 ChennaiDoubles
Gold medal – first place2004 ChennaiMixed doubles
Gold medal – first place2006 MelbourneMixed doubles
Silver medal – second place2016 DarwinDoubles
Bronze medal – third place2017 ManchesterMixed doubles
World Games
Silver medal – second place2005 DuisburgSingles
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2006 MelbourneDoubles
Gold medal – first place2014 GlasgowMixed doubles
Silver medal – second place1998 Kuala LumpurDoubles
Silver medal – second place2006 MelbourneSingles
Bronze medal – third place2002 ManchesterSingles
Bronze medal – third place2002 ManchesterDoubles
Bronze medal – third place2006 MelbourneMixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place2018 Gold CoastDoubles
Last updated: 12 April 2022.

Rachael Margaret Grinham[1] (born 22 January 1977 in Toowoomba, Queensland) is an Australian former professional squash player. She won the World Open in 2007, and the British Open in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2009. She reached the World No. 1 ranking in August 2004 and held it for 16 consecutive months.

Career

Early years

Grinham was the winner of the World Junior title in 1993 aged 16, she had an opportunity to defend in 1995, but was beaten by Jade Wilson from New Zealand in the final. Around that time she was also part of the Australian Institute of Sport squad.[2] Since joining the WISPA World Tour during 1994, her array of strokes and strong temperament initially took her steadily towards the top 20, a barrier she finally breached in the middle of 1997. She won her first tournament in 1998 when she was 22 years old, beating Tracey Shenton for the Open Toulouse Central in France. She also lost to Tracey Shenton in the same year at the Isostar-Beverwijk tournament, Netherlands. At the Commonwealth Games in 1998 her partnership with Robyn Cooper brought them a silver medal in the Women's Doubles.

1999

Rachael had a good year in 1999 winning the Swiss Open, Germering Open and Indian Open beating Claire Waddell, Sabine Schoene and Claire Nitch respectively. She ended the year ranked No. 18 on the WISPA Tour.

2000–2001

Rachael finished 2000 by climbing 6 places in the ranking up to No. 12 in the world. She won two tournaments, Milo National Open beating the future world No. 1 Nicol David and successfully defended her Indian Open title by beating Salma Shabana, the sister of the male current world No. 1 Amr Shabana. She climbed 4 places in 2001 to No. 8 in the world. A family final finally first happened at a WISPA World Tour event in Malaysia in February 2001 when she beat sister Natalie for the Kuala Lumpur title. Later that year, she beat Nicol David for the DMC title.

2002–2003

The first half of 2002 did not go well for Rachael until she beat England's Tania Bailey for the Singapore Open. One month later she took the Credit Suisse Privilege Ladies Open, one of the finest squash tournaments in the world beating Natalie Grainger. Rachael and Natalie had won a women's doubles bronze medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She climbed to No. 6 in the world by the end of the year. At the beginning of 2003, she claimed the Vassar College Class of 1932 beating Vicky Botwright. She reached two finals in Helioplis Open and Hurghada International in Egypt but lost both to former world No. 1 and retired player, Carol Owens. Arguably, 2003 British Open was the turning point for the 29-year-old, who pulled off a semi-final upset over the top seed, Carol Owens, then the World No. 1, before beating Cassie Jackman in the final to claim the title for the first time. She ended the year ranked No. 3 in the world.

2004

2004 was far the best year in Rachael's career. She has based herself in Cairo for a few years and it had proved to be a great place to hone her game. She may be slight in stature, but there is no doubting her tenaciousness, which saw her become world number one in August 2004. She started the year by claiming the Kuwait Open, the richest squash event in the world, by beating top seed Cassie Jackman. Later on, she beat Cassie Jackman again, then the World No. 1, for the Texas Open title. Three months later, she claimed the Hurghada International in Egypt which she lost last year beating the local favourite, Omneya Abdel Kawy. She reached the final of Brunei International but lost to Vanessa Atkinson. After a series of successful tournament wins, Rachael became the world No. 1 in August after dethroning Cassie Jackman. She continued her run by beating Cassie Jackman again for the Bahrain Classic Title. She retained her British Open title by beating Natalie Grainger. She lost again to Vanessa Atkinson in the final of the Qatar Classic Open. At the World Doubles Squash Championships, Rachael won the women's doubles title in 2004 (partnering Natalie), and the mixed doubles title in 2004 (partnering David Palmer). She ended the year ranked No. 1.

2005

She held on the top ranking at the beginning of the year. In April, she failed to defend her Texas Open title where she lost to Vanessa Atkinson. Later this month, she won her first Qatar Challenge beating Natalie Grainger. A month later, she successfully defended her title by defeating local favourite Omneya Abdel Kawy in the Hurghada International final in a 3–2 thriller. She took sweet revenge from Vanessa Atkinson beating her for the PMI Women's Open title. She lost her British Open title suffering a loss to Nicol David in semi-finals. She beat Omneya Abdel Kawy again for the Hedonism title in Jamaica. She held top spot for 16 months only losing it to Vanessa Atkinson in November. December 2005 saw her reach the final of the 2005 World Open in Hong Kong, only to be beaten by Malaysia's Nicol David. She finished the year at No. 2 ahead of Vanessa Atkinson.

2006

Nicol David and Vanessa Atkinson pushed her down to number three in the rankings at the start of 2006, but apart from tilting at WISPA Tour titles, she claimed Commonwealth Games Gold in Melbourne early in the year when she teamed up with sister Natalie to win the Women's Doubles title and another family final resulted in a silver medal for her with Natalie taking gold in the singles at the same Games. At the World Doubles Squash Championships, Rachael won the mixed doubles title 2006 (partnering Joe Kneipp). In May, she failed to defend her Hurghada International title losing 3–2 to local favourite and 2004 & 2005 finalist, Omneya Abdel Kawy. The next four tournaments saw her lose to Nicol David in the final of the Qatar Challenge, semi-finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open, final of the Hotel Equatorial Penang Open and final of the British Open. Finally, in October 2006 Rachael broke her run of being beaten in WISPA Tour finals when after a run of four defeats she triumphed at the Weymuller US Open beating Natalie Grainger. She suffered another two losses to Nicol David in the semi-finals of the CPS Hong Kong Open and the World Open.

2007

Rachael won five titles in 2007 – the Hurghada International and the Alexandria Sporting Club Open in Egypt, the Vassar College Class of 1932 Open in the United States, the British Open, and the 2006 World Open in Spain. In the British Open final, she came back from two games down to defeat Nicol David 7–9, 4–9, 9–3, 10–8, 9–1. In the World Open, she beat sister Natalie in the final 9–4, 10–8, 9–2.

2010

Due to an injury, Rachael missed some of the 2010 season. However, she stayed in the top five, only moving to slot number 6 at the end of 2011.[3] She was also a part of the Australian team that won the gold medal at the 2010 Women's World Team Squash Championships.[4]

2012

In September, Rachael dropped out of the WSA Top 10 for the first time in a decade. She was also defeated in the first round by Omneya Abdel Kawy at a Malaysian Open.[3]

2013

During this year Rachael was beaten at a semi-final finish by her younger sister Natalie. After that, she appeared in the Cleveland Classic's first round. She lost in the CIMB KL Open first round, had a second-round finish at the Allam British Open, and won her 32nd title at the Victoria Open.[3]

Personal life

Grinham came out as gay in May 2017. Grinham and her girlfriend, Jenny Duncalf were the first two squash players to publicly come out while still active in professional play.[5]

Her younger sister Natalie Grinham is also a former professional squash player.

World Open

Finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Source:[6]

Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2005Hong KongMalaysia Nicol David8–10, 9–2, 9–6, 9–7
Winner2007Madrid, SpainAustralia Natalie Grinham9–4, 10–8, 9–2

Major World Series final appearances

British Open: 5 finals (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner2003England Cassie Campion9–3, 7–9, 9–2, 9–5
Winner2004United States Natalie Grainger6–9, 9–5, 9–0, 9–3
Runner-up2006Malaysia Nicol David9–4, 9–1, 9–4
Winner2007Malaysia Nicol David7–9, 4–9, 9–3, 10–8, 9–1
Winner2009Republic of Ireland Madeline Perry11–6, 11–5, 12–10

Hong Kong Open: 1 final (0 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2006Malaysia Nicol David14–12, 11–13, 11–8, 11–8

Qatar Classic: 3 finals (0 title, 3 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2004Netherlands Vanessa Atkinson9–4, 9–7, 9–6
Runner-up2009England Jenny Duncalf11–5, 11–3, 11–3
Runner-up2010Malaysia Nicol David11–5, 11–8, 11–9

Career statistics

Listed below.

WISPA Titles (27)

All Results for Rachael Grinham in WISPA World's Tour tournament[7][8][9]

Legend
WISPA Platinum Series (1)
WISPA Gold Series (6)
WISPA Silver Series (13)
WISPA Tour Series (7)
Titles by Major Tournaments
World Open (1)
British Open (3)
Hong Kong Open (0)
Qatar Classic (0)
No. Date Tournament Opponent in Final Score in Final Minutes Played
1. 1 March 1998 Toulouse Open England Tracey Shenton Unknown Unknown
2. 7 March 1999 Swiss Open Scotland Claire Waddell 9–2, 9–6, 9–3 Unknown
3. 25 April 1999 Germering Open Germany Sabine Schoene 9–2, 5–9, 10–8, 9–7 Unknown
4. 2 December 1999 Indian Open South Africa Claire Nitch 9–6, 0–9, 9–5, 9–7 Unknown
5. 16 April 2000 Milo Open Malaysia Nicol David 9–2, 9–4, 9–6 Unknown
6. 6 August 2000 Indian Open Egypt Salma Shabana 9–2, 9–2, 9–1 16 min[10]
7. 11 February 2001 Kuala Lumpur Open Australia Natalie Grinham 7–9, 0–9 (ret) Unknown
8. 16 March 2001 DMC Open Malaysia Nicol David 9–4, 9–2, 9–4 Unknown
9. 24 August 2002 Singapore Open England Tania Bailey 9–4, 9–1, 9–7 29 min[11]
10. 22 September 2002 Hong Kong Open United States Natalie Grainger 9–3, 9–5, 9–7 30 min[12]
11. 2 February 2003 Vassar College Open England Vicky Botwright 9–0, 9–2, 9–4 Unknown
12. 5 October 2003 British Open England Cassie Jackman 9–3, 7–9, 9–2, 9–5 50 min[13]
13. 28 January 2004 Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open England Cassie Jackman 2–9, 9–6, 9–2, 9–5 53 min[14]
14. 4 April 2004 Texas Open England Cassie Jackman 9–5, 9–5, 9–5 53 min[15]
15. 12 July 2004 Hurghada International Open Egypt Omneya Abdel Kawy 9–5, 9–1, 9–4 41 min[16]
16. 16 September 2004 Bahrain Classic England Cassie Jackman 5–9, 9–4, 9–4, 9–2 55 min[17]
17. 6 November 2004 British Open (2) United States Natalie Grainger 3–9, 9–5, 9–0, 9–3 41 min[18]
18. 24 April 2005 Qatar Airways Challenge Open United States Natalie Grainger 2–9, 10–8, 9–2, 9–2 51 min[19]
19. 15 May 2005 Hurghada International Open (2) Egypt Omneya Abdel Kawy 1–9, 2–9, 9–4, 9–3, 10–8 1 h 21 min[20]
20. 11 September 2005 Seattle Open Netherlands Vanessa Atkinson 9–2, 9–2, 9–4 40 min[21]
21. 23 October 2005 Hedonism II Open Egypt Omneya Abdel Kawy 7–9, 9–1, 9–2, 9–4 38 min[22]
22. 14 October 2006 Carol Weymuller Open United States Natalie Grainger 6–9, 9–6, 9–1, 1–9, 9–4 1 h 10 min[23]
23. 13 May 2007 Hurghada International Open (3) Egypt Omneya Abdel Kawy 9–4, 9–6, 9–4 44 min[24]
24. 22 August 2007 Alexandria Open Egypt Engy Kheirallah 2–9, 9–3, 9–1, 9–4 Unknown
25. 24 September 2007 British Open (3) Malaysia Nicol David 7–9, 4–9, 9–3, 10–8, 9–1 1 h 27 min[25]
26. 6 October 2007 Vassar College Open United States Natalie Grainger 9–7, 10–8, 6–9, 1–9, 9–6 1 h 12 min[26]
27. 27 October 2007 World Open Australia Natalie Grinham 9–4, 10–8, 9–2 47 min[27]

Note: (ret) = retired, min = minutes, h = hours

WISPA Tour Finals (Runner-Up) (14)

No. Date Tournament Opponent in Final Score in Final Minutes Played
1. 22 March 1998 Isostar Circuit England Tracey Shenton Unknown Unknown
2. 30 April 2000 Mexican Open Australia Sarah Fitz-Gerald 2–9, 4–9, 6–9 Unknown
3. 18 November 2001 Grasshopper Cup Netherlands Vanessa Atkinson 6–9, 1–9, 7–9 Unknown
4. 2 June 2003 Heliopolis Open New Zealand Carol Owens 5–9, 5–9, 4–9 44 min[28]
5. 9 June 2003 Hurghada International Open New Zealand Carol Owens 5–9, 1–9, 5–9 37 min[29]
6. 31 July 2004 Brunei International Netherlands Vanessa Atkinson 8–10, 5–9, 9–3, 9–2, 10–8 1 h 16 min[30]
7. 3 December 2004 Qatar Classic Open Netherlands Vanessa Atkinson 4–9, 7–9, 6–9 41 min[31]
8. 9 April 2005 Texas Open Netherlands Vanessa Atkinson 10–9, 9–0, 9–4, 9–3, 9–2 1 h 1 min[32]
9. 4 December 2005 World Open Malaysia Nicol David 10–8, 2–9, 6–9, 7–9 53 min[33]
10. 1 June 2006 Hurghada International Open Egypt Omneya Abdel Kawy 6–9, 2–9, 9–7, 9–0, 2–9 1 h 15 min[34]
11. 9 July 2006 Qatar Airways Challenge Open Malaysia Nicol David 9–4, 5–9, 0–9, 0–9 54 min[35]
12. 5 August 2006 Penang Open Malaysia Nicol David 5–9, 9–6, 5–9, 3–9 55 min[36]
13. 18 September 2006 British Open Malaysia Nicol David 4–9, 1–9, 4–9 41 min[37]
14. 2 September 2007 Dutch Open Malaysia Nicol David 9–4, 9–1, 9–6 34 min[38]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Australian women biographical entry". Womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 24 December 2008.
  2. ↑ "Rachael Grinham eyes more medals at record-breaking sixth Commonwealth Games". Squash Australia. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Rachael Grinham". WSA World Tour. 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Australia Reclaim World Team Title in New Zealand". World Squash. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  5. ↑ newsm (24 May 2017). "Love is Love is Love: Jenny Duncalf & Rachael Grinham—Champions On Court, Pioneers Off Court". Squash Magazine. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Women's World Open" (PDF). WSF. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  7. ↑ WISPA player profile
  8. ↑ SquashInfo: Rachael Grinham
  9. ↑ Women's International Squash Players Association Archived 21 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Rachael Grinham earns second successive Indian Women's Open". Squashtalk.com. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  11. ↑ "Rachael races to Singapore success". Squashplayer.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  12. ↑ "Rachael rockets to HK title". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  13. ↑ "Palmer & Grinham in Australian British Open double". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  14. ↑ "Nicol & Grinham conquer in Kuwait". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  15. ↑ "Grinham takes Texas title". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  16. ↑ "Rachael Grinham takes Hurghada in Straight Games". Squashtalk.com. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  17. ↑ "Grinham goes ahead with Bahrain victory". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  18. ↑ "Grinham: The mini champion". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  19. ↑ "Floated away". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  20. ↑ "Grinham survives hot Hurghada final". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  21. ↑ "Straight Game Win Retains No. 1 Spot for Rachael". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  22. ↑ "Grinham beats Kawy in four". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  23. ↑ "Rachael wins Weymuller rollercoaster". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  24. ↑ "A musical prelude". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  25. ↑ "Comeback Queen Rachael denies Nicol". Britishopensquash.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  26. ↑ "Five game thriller at Vassar". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  27. ↑ "Grinham survives hot Hurghada final". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  28. ↑ "Owens retains Heliopolis title in Cairo". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  29. ↑ "Owens tames Grinham again". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  30. ↑ "Vanessa vanquishes new number 1". Squashplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  31. ↑ "Atkinson takes Qatar Classic title". Squashsite.org.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  32. ↑ "Vanessa shows her calm under pressure". Squashtalk.com. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  33. ↑ "Double title for Shabana as Nicol takes it all". Websitehome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  34. ↑ "Third time lucky for Omneya". Squashsite.org.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  35. ↑ "Nicol is the Champion". Squashsite.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  36. ↑ "Home Hat-Trick for Nicol". Squashsite.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  37. ↑ "Nick and Nicol champions". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  38. ↑ "A 'Home' title for Nicol". Squashsite.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
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