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GUYANA’S squash `queen’ Nicolette Fernandes jumped 102 places in the Women’s International Squash Players Association’s (WISPA) rankings.
According to the WISPA website, Fernandes, who at the beginning of March 2009 was ranked 215, in now ranked 113 and this is based on her performance over the past two months.
In 2007, the national and Caribbean ladies champion achieved her highest mark in the WISPA rankings, reaching #27, but due to an injury she sustained while competing in the Qatar Classic, dropped to 215 as she was inactive for just over a year.
After surgery and treatment, the local lass made a remarkable comeback and won the national and Caribbean ladies titles before returning to the international arena.
From mid last month, Fernandes started competing in Europe once again and played her first international tournament – Squashtime Eindhoven – and placed second.
She then competed in the Guardian Wealth Management-sponsored 36th Swiss Open tournament and placed second once again.
In the Squashtime tournament, Fernandes, ranked 215 at the time, played Sweden’s Anna-Carin Forstadius who is ranked #80 in the round of 16 and defeated her.
She then played world #64 Celia Allamargot of France and beat her to reach the final where she lost to world #58 Victoria Lust of England (12-10, 5-11, 12-14, 8-11.
One week later, Fernandes entered the Swiss Open and beat Norway’s Lotte Eriksen who was ranked #72 before going on to beat Allamargot in the quarter-final.
She then disposed of Netherlands’ Orla Noom who was ranked #40 before bowing out in the final against France’s Camille Serme who is ranked #37. (Michael DaSilva)
