Player Vicky Botwright Country ENG Ranking Last Ranking Highest Ranking 5 ( Dec 2005 ) DATE OF BIRTH 18th Jun 1977 PLACE OF BIRTH MANCHESTER, ENGLAND LIVES MANCHESTER, ENGLAND COACH DAVID PEARSON / PAUL CARTER RACKET WILSON STRINGS WILSON SHOES WILSON CLOTHING WILSON HANDED RIGHT HANDED AGE BEGAN PLAYING 14 CLUB BASED AT DAVID LLOYD MANCHESTER TIMES PLAYED FOR COUNTRY SENIOR : 4 JUNIOR: 4 SQUASH ACHIEVEMENTS WINNER FORBES OPEN 2004, PRINCE CANARY ISLANDS OPEN 2004, YOKOHAMA OPEN 2005 AMBITIONS TO REPRESENT ENGLAND WHEN SELECTED AND TO BE THE BEST PLAYER I CAN BE HOBBIES SHOPPING, CINEMA PHOTO ACTION OTHER Vicky started playing squash at the age of 13 although she didn’t really like it; but it seemed the natural thing to do as both her parents played. After finishing college she worked part-tine and played small events before joining the WISPA Tour in 1998. Since then the bright bouncy girl from Manchester has worked very hard on her game, resulting in her breaching the top ten in January 2005 & making 5th spot her own during 2006. In 2004 Vicky played a pivotal role in the England team reaching the final of the World Team Championship in Amsterdam, and she started 2005 by reaching the final of the Marsh McLennan tournament in the USA. A semi-final slot at the Tournament of Champions helped elevate her to a career high ranking of seven with her increasing competitiveness well illustrated by probably her best win so far beating Nicol David in the quarters of the Texas Open in April before falling to Vanessa Atkinson in the following round. Vicky reached five WISPA finals in 2005, including the Qatar Classic as sixth seed, and won the Yokohama Open crown in Japan. In December 2005 Vicky celebrated a career best world number five rankings to become England’s highest ranked woman for the first time. In the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006 Vicky failed to make the singles podium but won silver in the Mixed (with playing partner James Willstrop) and bronze in the women’s doubles partnered with Tania Bailey. Later in 2006 she spearheaded the England side which won the Women's World Team Championship in Canada, beating Egypt in the final. The Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open in April 2007 saw her reach the semi-finals before losing to Natalie Grinham. And while she reached her seeding round in the Malaysian & Singapore events, a first round exit at the hands of unseeded French number one Isabelle Stoehr was a disappointment for the English star. While she scored a sensational quarter final win over world champion Rachael Grinham in the quarter finals of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open before losing to Nicol David in the last four, other success was hard to come by and her ranking dipped to the lowest it had been since 2004. Now engaged to Australian squash star Stewart Boswell her priority is now to bounce back into contention – and there is no doubting the popular Manchester girl’s ability to do so.