Vanessa Atkinson

Vanessa Atkinson

Atkinson during 2009 Women's World Open
Full name	Vanessa Louise Atkinson
Country	Netherlands
Born	(1976-03-10) 10 March 1976 (age 49) Newcastle, England
Residence	Leeds, England
Turned pro	1995
Retired	2011
Plays	Right Handed
Coached by	Liz Irving
Racquet used	Karakal
Women's singles
Highest ranking	No. 1 (December, 2005)
Title(s)	25
Tour final(s)	42
World Open	W (2004)
Medal record Women's squash Representing   Netherlands World Championships 2004 Kuala Lumpur Singles 2003 Hong Kong Singles 2005 Hong Kong Singles
Updated on 3 December 2019.

Vanessa Louise Atkinson (born 10 March 1976 in Newcastle, England) is a former professional squash player from the Netherlands, who won the World Open in 2004 and reached the World No. 1 ranking in December 2005.

Atkinson was born in England, but her family moved to the Netherlands when she was still a child. She began playing squash as a youngster in Dordrecht. She now resides in Harrogate, Yorkshire, with her partner James Willstrop, himself a professional squash player and a former World No. 1. ^{[1] [2]}

Atkinson's biggest win came in 2004 when she won the World Open title in Kuala Lumpur by defeating fellow compatriote Natalie Grinham (at that time still representing Australia) with a score of 9–1, 9–1, 9–5 in the final. ^[3] Atkinson also has won major tournaments in Qatar, New York, Monte Carlo, Malaysia and Ireland.

Atkinson retired from professional play in May 2011.

World Open

Finals: 1 (1 title, 0 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2004	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Natalie Grinham	9–1, 9–1, 9–5

Major World Series final appearances

Qatar Classic: 2 finals (2 titles, 0 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2004	Rachael Grinham	9-4, 9-7, 9-6
Winner	2005	Vicky Botwright	9-7, 9-4, 9-2

Malaysian Open: 2 finals (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2004	Nicol David	9-2, 9-4, 9-0
Runner-up	2005	Nicol David	3-9, 9-3, 1-9, 9-1, 9-4

See also

• Official Women's Squash World Ranking
• List of WISPA number 1 ranked players
• WISPA Awards

References

1. "Ashour & Matthew on course to meet". BBC Sport.
2. "James Willstrop profile". Squash Info. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
3. "Atkinson crowned World Champion". Squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2009.

External links

• Vanessa Atkinson at WISPA (archived)
• Vanessa Atkinson at Squash Info
• Interview at Squashtalk.com - June 1999 Archived 29 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine

Sporting positions
Preceded by Rachael Grinham Nicol David	World No. 1 December 2005 April 2006 – July 2006	Succeeded by Nicol David Nicol David
Awards and achievements
Preceded by —	WISPA Player of the Year 2004	Succeeded by Nicol David