Laura Massaro

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox squash player

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

Biography

She was born in Great Yarmouth and attended Albany High School, Chorley,[2] 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.[3]

She won her first top-level title at the German Open in 2004 and went on to become British Open champion in 2013[4] and the World Champion also in 2013, so becoming the first Englishwoman to hold both titles at once.[5] 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.[6] She won the WISPA Player of the Year award in 2011.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

In 2012, she was part of the England team that won the silver medal at the 2012 Women's World Team Squash Championships.[10] 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,[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

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,[15] she became the third Englishwoman (and first since 2004) to ascend to the top of the world rankings.[16]

In 2016, she was part of the English team that won the silver medal at the 2016 Women's World Team Squash Championships.[17] In 2018, she was part of the English team that won the silver medal at the 2018 Women's World Team Squash Championships.[18]

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.[19][20]

Massaro retired at the end of the 2018/19 season[21] and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to squash.[22]

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.[23] Laura also partnered with HFE (Health and Fitness Education) in relation to yoga.[24]

Major results

World Open

Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 2012 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Template:Flagicon Nicol David 11–6, 11–8, 11–6
Winner 2013 Penang, Malaysia Template:Flagicon Nour El Sherbini 11–7, 6–11, 11–9, 5–11, 11–9
Runner-up 2015 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Template:Flagicon Nour El Sherbini 6–11, 4–11, 11–3, 11–5, 11–8

Major WSA World Series finals

British Open

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2013 Template:Flagicon Nicol David 11–4, 3–11, 12–10, 11–8
Runner-up 2014 Template:Flagicon Nicol David 8–11, 11–5, 11–7, 11–8
Runner-up 2015 Template:Flagicon Camille Serme 11–3, 11–5, 8–11, 11–8
Winner 2017 Template:Flagicon Sarah-Jane Perry 11–8, 11–8, 6–11, 11–6

Hong Kong Open

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 2015 Template:Flagicon Nicol David 15–13, 11–9, 11–3

Qatar Classic

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2015 Template:Flagicon Nour El Sherbini 11–8, 12–14, 11–9, 8–11, 11–9

U.S. Open

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2011 Template:Flagicon Kasey Brown 5–11, 11–5, 11–3, 11–5
Runner-up 2013 Template:Flagicon Nicol David 13–11, 11–13, 7–11, 11–8, 11–5
Winner 2015 Template:Flagicon Nour El Tayeb 11–6, 9–11, 6–11, 11–8, 11–7

Kuala Lumpur Open

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2013 Template:Flagicon Alison Waters 11–9, 11–7, 11–6

Tournament of Champions

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 2017 Template:Flagicon Camille Serme 13–11, 8–11, 4–11, 11–3, 11–7

See also

References

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External links

Template:Sister project

Sporting positions
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/checkTemplate:Succession box/check World No. 1
January 2016 – April 2016 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Awards and achievements
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check WISPA Most Improved Player of the Year
2008 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check WSA Player of the Year
2011
2013 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

Template:Squash World Open women's champions Template:British Open squash women's singles champions

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