Tournament News...

Tan bt Nicolette Fernandes

9/4, 9/0, 9/0 (35m)

Tania has made it through to the all important quarter finals of the Qatar Airways Challenge in India with a convincing victory over Nicolette Fernandes.

Speaking to the squashsite website Tania said...

"I'd never played her before, only ever seen her play a few rallies,
so I didn't know what to expect early on. I knew she'd had two hard
matches, so keeping it going a bit was in my mind.

I was rallying in the first game and she was in there, so I tried to
step up the pace after that. It's nice to have a bit of a game, not
too tough but a good workout before the quarters"

It was very important that Tania made it to the quarters because the points awarded for doing this are almost as good as the points she got for winning the Vassar Open! She can now relax knowing she has got to the expected round.

Next up is the World No.3 Rachel Grinham. Tania has not managed to steal a win off her fellow world junior champion for over 3 years despite some 3-2 matches. Fingers are crossed that her fantastic year can continue with another winning performance.

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite

Tan bt Tegwen Malik

9/4, 9/6, 5/9, 9/6 (62m)

Tan defeated the welsh number 1 Tegwen Malik 3-1 in the 1st Round of the Qatar Airways Challenge on a hot court in Hyderabad in India.

In a brief message from India, Tania said that she had played ok but could do with improving her short game on courts where winners were hard to hit due to the heat.

Next up is Nicolette Fernandes who shocked the number 11 seed Annelize Naude with a 3-1 win of her own.

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite

Duffield beat Edgbaston

3 - 2

Tan beat Vicky Botwright

6/9, 9/2, 9/6, 9/1 (66m)

Lawrence Delasaux bt Hadrian Stiff

9/6, 5/9, 9/3, 9/6 (42m)

Gavin Jones lost to Peter Barker

2/9, 4/9, 2/9 (27m)

Jonathan Kemp lost to Adrian Grant

9/6, 11/9, 4/9, 11/13, 3/9 (77m)

Nick Mathew beat Stewart Boswell

9/5, 9/7, 9/7 (37m)

Mark Bailey reporting from Manchester...

Tan defeated the world number 5 and close friend Vicky Botwright 3-1 in the premier squash league final to help her club Duffield take the title in Manchester.

The score in matches was eventually 3-2 for Duffield and therefore Tania's win was crucial.

Tania went on knowing that her manager was expecting her to win. This is testament to the confidence he has in Tania but added pressure considering she was facing Englands highest world ranked player who has beaten the top 3 players in the world this season.

The first game saw Vicky take a quick lead and surprise Tania with a few good winners. However Tania dug in and worked hard to get level with some well crafted rallies. But the effort took its toll and Vicky stunned Tania with some excellent retrieving to take the game.

The travelling Duffield support had been cheering throughout but were wearing concerned looks as they knew this was a must win tie. However when Tania returned to the court the cheering from the Duffield contingent continued.

Tania came back on court looking determined not to lose and took a strong lead in the 2nd game, much to the delight of the fans and despite a fightback from Vicky mid game Tania took it 9-2 with some excellent winners and brilliant retrieveing of her own.

The third game was a tense affair with both players knowing it was a key part of the match. The lead see-sawed up to around 6-6 and then the tide turned and while Vicky was finding the tin, Tania was steady and took the game and the momentum with it.

In the 4th Tania was able to relax a little and play on Vickys nerves with more well constructed rallies that left her opponent looking tired. Despite valiant efforts from Vicky, Tania stayed strong and took the game and match. The Duffield supporters cheered the winning point as if it was an England world cup goal and gave her a standing ovation as she walked off court.

At the end Tania learned that her team mate Lawrence Delasaux had pulled off a shock win to give Duffield a 2-0 lead and despite them being pegged back to 2-2 after 4 matches Tania's fellow National champion Nick Mathew won the deciding rubber as expected, to crown the team 2006 PSL champions.

Speaking to the squashsite website Tania said...

”Last time we played was well over a year ago, and Vicky’s had a great run of results since then, so even though I’m the English number one Vicky’s world ranking is higher and I still see her as the number one.

”So I knew I would have to play very well to beat her. I thought I kept the ball tight and moved her around well. It may be her local court, but I feel comfortable on it and have a good record on it too and winning the Nationals here gave me confidence.

”She made a few errors at crucial points which helped me, but I’m really pleased with that win and feeling fit and confident in my squash.”

”It’s nice to be England number one, but I’m aiming to get back up the world rankings, that’s what we all look at and try our best for.”

All season Tania has played excellent squash for Duffield and is the only player to remain unbeaten for them despite facing players such as Shelley Kitchen, Jenny Duncalf, Linda Elriani and now Vicky.

This is the end of the 2005-6 season and what a season its been for Tania! National champion, commonwealth bronze medallist, Vassar Open champion, European champion with England and now this. Tanis has done fantastically to come back from a period of constant illness and this season she has been rewarded for all her hard work. Well done Tan.

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite

England beat Netherlands

3 - 0

2. Tan beat Annelize Naude

9/0, 9/4, 9/4

1. Vicky Botwright beat Vanessa Atkinson

8/10, 9/4, 9/3, 0/0 rtd

3. Jenny Duncalf beat Orla Noom

9/2, 7/9, 9/5

Tania helped England to the European team championship title in Vienna on saturday with a convincing win over world no.14 Annelize Naude.

England were 1-0 up when Tania when on court and she knew that a win would hand England the title. She did not disappoint, and took the game with the confidence that she has shown on court all year so far and therefore the win for England.

Last week Tania was listed as the number 4 player in the team as she is ranked below her 3 team mates in the world rankings. However just before the tournament started the coaches decided to move her to the no.2 position due to her recent good form.

Speaking to the squashsite website Tania said...

"Going on at 1-0 up made it a bit nicer. Vicky played well, but we hate to see anyone getting injured, we all hope Vanessa's ok.

"Being ahead took away a bit of the anxiety, but although Annelize is a tricky player who puts the ball away well I was fairly confident that if I played my best game I would do ok.

"It's a while since I played in the Euro teams, and I've never had the chance to play in the decisive match before, so that was good. I wasn't sure I would be in the team for the final, I expected to be number four, but the selectors showed faith in me and I'm grateful for that."

"I've enjoyed it all so much this week. Now we can hopefully watch the men win and really enjoy it ..."

All week Tania has played excellent squash and has defeated the best players from Scotland, Spain, Germany and now the Netherlands. Including her fastest ever win of 11 minutes against Spain!

Next up is the semi finals of the English Premier Squash League where Tania plays alongside 4 men for Duffield against Chichester (16th and 18th May). She is due to play her England team mate Linda Elriani with a place in the Final at Manshester up for grabs.

Photos will follow when Tan returns...

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite

Tania beat Shelley Kitchen

9/3, 9/2, 9/6

Tania has won her first WISPA tour title in almost 6 years as she beat Shelley Kitchen in the Final of the Vassar Open.

Tania has made many semi-finals and some finals of big tournaments throughout the last 6 years but has not been able to convert these situations into wins until now.

She won the tournament without dropping a game and impressed the poughkeepsie crowds throughout with her consistently accurate shots, excellent retreiving and strong tactical play.

Tania said...

"I am really, really pleased, especially as it has been so long since I last won a tournament. I played consistent squash, went short at the right times and felt strong throughout."

This is the perfect way to end her WISPA season. Her next WISPA tournament is not until early July in India when the tournaments start again. It will do her rankings a lot of good.

Next up is the European team championships in Vienna (26th - 29th April). After that Tania will have a break and get some much deserved rest after a year that has already seen her become National Champion, win bronze in Melbourne and take her first WISPA title since May 2000.

To see a few photos from during and after the tournament go to the Vassar photos page...

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite and on squashtalk

Tania beat Omneya Abdel Kawy

9/1, 9/1, 9/3

Tania has reached her first WISPA tour final in 3 and 1/2 years with a controlled win over eygptian Kawy.

It was a crucial win in terms of the WISPA rankings as Tania and Omneya are side by side and due to other results (and possible retirements) it could mean Tania moves to the crucial No.8 spot ahead of the biggest tournament of the year in July in India.

Tania felt that she played well and continued to take the ball early. She said that despite the scoreline the rallies were long and hard and by keeping the errors to a minimum, moving well and playing tight she was able to hit the winning shot or force the error when needed.

Next up is Shelley Kitchen, the commonwealth singles bronze medalist. Tania will be going for her first WISPA tournmanet win in 6 years! Fingers are crossed again.

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite and on squashtalk

Tania beat Pam Nimmo

9/6, 9/4, 9/2

Another straight games win in the Vasser open saw Tania reach her first Wispa semi-final since November and her fourth in total this season.

Tania felt that Pam played very well and had a lot of confidence following her good win in the first round. However Tania believed she kept on top by taking the ball early and moving around the court well.

Next up is Omneya in the Semi-Finals. It will be a big game in terms of the world rankings as they are both vying for the all important No.8 spot. Fingers are crossed that she can make her first Wispa final of the season.

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite and on squashtalk

Tania beat Dom

9/2, 9/1, 9/4

Tania started strongly in the Vassar Open with a 3-0 win over close friend Dominique Lloyd Walter on Monday afternoon.

Speaking on msn Tania said she felt that she was hitting and moving well and that the court was good. She said that Dom gave her a good game and she was looking forward to her next match.

Next up is Pam Nimmo who defeated 6th seed Fiona Geaves.

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite and on squashtalk

Tania and Vicky (3) beat Louise Crome & Lara
Petera (NZL) (4)

10/8, 4/9, 9/4, 9/6 (80m)

Tania and Vicky won the Bronze medal in melbourne with a hard fought win over the New Zealand pair.

Tania and Vicky had very little doubles practice before they went to the games and therefore did well to beat the pair who reached the latter stages of the World doubles championship a few months ago.

Tania said "I am really pleased, we wanted that badly and had to play excellent squash to get it. We have been working very hard on court over the last two weeks and are glad to come away with this reward.

Vicky has done especially well to come through all the matches she has played considering she was in the mixed doubles as well. The medals are very nice, we are looking forward to bringing them home next week."

Tania now has the bronze medal to go with the silver that she won in Manchester in 2002. She will also be hoping to complete the collection in four years time with a gold in India.

Further results and reports can be found at the squashsite...

Tania is back on the Wispa tour in April (10th - 13th) where she is seeded 2 in the Vassar open in poughkeepsie (USA). For the drawer for this tournament check out the agenda page.

Tania and Vicky (3) lost to Natalie Grinham & Rachael Grinham

5/9, 9/3, 9/3, 9/6 (66m)

Tania and Vicky will have to compete for the bronze after losing to the Gold and Silver medalists from the singles Natalie and Rachel Grinham.

It was always going to be tough against the aussie sisters who had swept all their opponents aside in the competition so far. Tania was disappointed and said that her and vicky played well but the Grinhams were too good on the day.

They will be determined to win the bronze as it will be the only medal the english womens team can win at these games.

Fingers crossed as ever...

All the results can be found at the commonwealth games site.

On Friday their results were as follows:

Bailey/Botwright (ENG) bt Brown/Pittock (AUS)
7-9, 9-1, 9-3, 9-7 (54m)

Kitchen/Leevey (Nzl) bt Bailey/Botwright (Eng)
6/9, 9/6, 9/6, 5/9, 9/5 (76m)

Tania and Vicky (3) beat Frania Gillen-Buchert
Louise Philip (SCO)

9-1, 9-7, 9-3 (25m)

Tania and Vicky continued their winning run in the commonwealth games womens doubles competition.

It was relatively comfortable except for the second game where at 6-3 up Tania argued a call from the marker and lost a bit of concentration. It was positive however that they were able recover and go on to take the game and then the match.

Friday will be the day of reckoning for the pair. They face stronger opposition in the form of the Australians and then the higher seeded new zealanders. If they beat the australians they will progress. If they beat both they will top the group and also progress. If they lose both they will go out and if they lose to the aussies but beat the new zealanders it will depend on the scores.

Fingers crossed as ever...

All the results can be found at the commonwealth games site.

Tania and Vicky (3) beat Nirasha Guruge and Tehani Guruge

9/0, 9/4, 9/2 (14m)

Tania and Vicky began their doubles campaign in confident style as they swept aside the challenge of the young Sri Lankans.

It was possibly the quickest match the they will play this tournament and their opponents were probably a little over-rawed finding themselves on court with such highly ranked opposition considering they have not featured much (if at all) on the WISPA tour.

They will no doubt face tougher opposition in the form of the scottish, the australians and the new zealanders in their next games.

Tania (8) lost to Nicol David (1)

6/9, 9/10, 3/9 (45m)

Tania has gone out of the commonwealth games at the quarter final stage. She lost to the predicted gold medal winner and world no.1 Nicol David in straight games.

Speaking to the squashsite Tania said...

"I made a few errors at the end of the second, but I feel like I put 110% effort, that I couldn’t have done anymore.

Coming back on court 2/0 down was just so hard, as somehow, I thought I deserved to win that second game, well, obviously, Nicol deserved it as well, but I would have deserved to get something out of that game, and it was so frustrating….

Nicol makes it so hard for you, she never gives up, and picks everything up…

In the third, I stepped down instead for stepping up, I worked and tried hard until the last shot, but I couldn’t get it back in the end…"  

It was a bad day for the English girls all round as Vicky Botwright went down to Shelley Kitchen and Linda lost to Rachel Grinham. They will now be desperate to get amoungst the medals in the doubles which will be completed next weekend (26th March).

Tania (8) beat Amelia Pittock (12)

9/2, 9/2, 9/1 (20m)

Tania has won through to the last 8 in melbourne with another controlled win over aussie Amelia Pittock.

Tania is currently spending most of the day around the court supporting the other english players and doesn't get much time to keep in touch. When she does I will let you know what she says

Her next match is against world no.1, World and British Champion Nicol David. Alot of people are tipping Nicol for the gold and it will be a tough match for Tan. She will give it her best as ever and fingers are crossed on the other side of the world!

Tania (8) beat Diana Argyle

9/3, 9/1, 9/0 (20m)

Tania made it through to the second round of the commonwealth games with a comfortable victory over Diana Argyle.

In a text from melbourne Tania said that the game was ok and that Diana was a good player.

She added that she was pleased to get the first match out of the way and is looking forward to her next game against Amelia Pittock of Australia.

Tania (6) lost to Vanessa Atkinson (1)

7/9, 8/10, 3/9 (46m)

Mark Bailey reporting from New York...

Tania really needed one of the first games! In the third Vanessa was able to go for winners, take the ball early and genrally relax with the knowledge that she had a two game lead. The rallies were long throughout the match and this is evident in the fact that this was Vanessa's longest match of the tournament (even longer than the final that had an extra game!).

Tania was very unlucky in the first. At 7-7 in the game there was a very lengthy rally that Tania did superbly to win, only for Vanessa to turn to the marker and desperately query a lob of Tania's that was close to line. After much dispute the marker decided to play a let and instead of Tania being 8-7 up she was 7-7 and looked like she was knocked out of her stride by the exchanges with the marker. Vanessa won the next 3 rallies to take the game.

The second game was equally close and Tania came back from a deficit to reach 8-8 with some excellent battling squash. Again though the luck was with Vanessa and she managed to hit some winners that were so close to the line that she looked suprised herself to be awarded the point.

This game was the turning point of the match as Tania had to be careful while Vanessa could just go for it. Vanessa played some fantastic squash throughout and it is testament to how highly the top girls rate Tania as they all seem to be at their absolute best when they play her.

Tania was dissappointed by the loss and was left cursing her drawer again. When fit, she has not lost to anyone outside the top 4 since April last year. But she keeps meeting these players early in tournaments and cannot therefore improve her ranking unless she beats the best in the world who are playing their best!

This however is Tania's goal and where better to start than the commonwealth games! If she is to win the gold she will have to beat Nicol David, Natalie Grinham and then Rachel Grinham!

For the other results from the TOC see the results page.

Photos to follow...

Tania (2) beat Linda Elriani (1)

9/7, 6/9, 9/6, 9/3 (76m)

Mark Bailey reporting from Manchester...

Tania has clinched the greatest prize of her career so far by winning the British National Championships in Manchester. She defeated the No.1 seed and previous champion Linda Elriani 3-1 in a hotly contested 76 minute final.

Despite Tania scoring impressive wins throughout her career and making a lot of finals and semi-finals this is her first major title win in 5 years.

Tania picked up the trophy and the winners cheque after the match and was clearly filled with joy. As Malcolm Willstrop has said on the squash site, it was her day, her moment, something that she deserves following the trials of her squash career. After this day she must definately think that all the battling against illness was worth it!

The win was witnessed by her regular supporters club of mother carol, father Les, Partner Neil, Brother Mark and Best friend Joanne who cheered throughout and she also had good friend and england team mate Vicky Botwright in her corner giving advice between games.

Speaking to the Press courtside Tania said...

"Brilliant, I'm so happy, I just can't believe it.

I knew I was playing well, I had some good results in the last year, but I never seem to manage to win anything. I thought I had a good chance here, but to actually win it is something else.

We've played many times, so I knew what to expect, we both like to volley wherever we can and control the 'T'. I played well at the start, then started to relax in the second, thinking I had it won before I actually did. Before I knew it it was six-all and I couldn't stop her.

I tried to step up and get in front again, and to think about the point in hand, not about other things like it being my first national final and so on.

I said to myself 'come on, you don't want to lose it now after getting this close.'

Having had so many problems over the years you appreciate it even more, so being able to do it here, on a stage like this, is just fantastic."

The game...

It was not evident that Tania had not won a title for such a long time during the final as she held her form despite a nail biting game that saw 3 out of the 4 games ending with only a few points difference.

Tania's retreiving was excellent with her speed around the court enabled her to cope with much that Linda threw at her. Her shots were always tight and kept Linda on the back foot and her error count was very low considering the occasion. She was forcing Linda into errors at times because of her relentless court coverage and she was hitting winners from all corners.

The first game was a close affair all the way until at 7-7 Tania managed to pull away and take the game 9-7 with a couple of well constructed rallies. In the second Tania took a 6-0 lead and was visibly thinking that she had this game won. However Linda is never one to give up and clawed her way back to 6-6. Tania looked annoyed that she had let the lead slip away and despite a mid game effort to re-gain her composure Linda took the game 9-6. The all important third game saw Tania go down 6-3. These were worrying times for her supporters as it looked like Linda would build on her 2nd game win but Tania dug deep and managed to battle hard to get back the lead and eventually take the game 9-6.

In the fourth Tania took a quick fire 5-0 lead and it looked as if Linda was dead and buried but again she came back and Tania had to fend her off with solid rallying and error free play. Tania was still covering all corners of the court despite the game being over 70 minutes long and eventually she managed to get to game ball at 8-3. Linda managed to stop Tania winning her first gameball but couldn't stop her taking her second.

At the end Tania dropped her racket and punched the air joy. She was National Champion in 2006. And no-one will ever be able to take that away!

To see photos from the Nationals see the National Photos Page

For further coverage of the tournament check out the squash site...

Tania (7) lost to Vanessa Atkinson (2)

1/3

Tania went out of the Apawamis Open in New York at the quarter final stage, after a battle with the World No.2 Vanessa Atkinson. Speaking from the States Tania said...

"The match was ok. I played pretty well at points but struggled to maintain the pace for long enough. I am not used to playing people that get so many balls back and take the ball so early."

"I was disappointed not to win the first game because it was a long and hard game and I was leading all the way then lost 10.8. She gained confidence from this and I probably went a bit negative."

"I made a few costly errors in the end and she was lobbing really well and her boasts and volleys were good. At times I tried to finish the points off too quickly and was punished for it. But I am pleased to have come through a hard match after being ill last week."

The night before Tania defeated close friend Dominique Lloyd Walter 9/2, 9/5, 9/1.

Tania's next tournament is the National Championships at Manchester starting this week (Thursday 9th).

For the drawers and dates for all future tournaments check out the agenda page.

Tania (4) lost to Laura Lengthorn

9/5, rtd

Tania had to pull out of her 1/4 final match with Laura Lengthorn after she needed to leave the court to be sick. She was one game up despite feeling groggy when a 24 hour bug took hold and forced her out of the match.

This is not the same problem that Tania has been suffering from over the past few years and Tania has said that she will be fine in a couple of days. It was just very unlucky that the bug should hit her during a tournament. Especially as she has had months of illness free training.

The night before Tania defeated Latasha Khan 9/1, 9/7, 10/8 even though she wasn't on top form

Tania's next tournament is the Apawamis Open at the beginning of Feb. She will be hoping to be fully fit and able to put this bad start to the year behind her.

For the drawers and dates for all future tournaments check out the agenda page.