Nicol Ann David (Datuk Nicol Ann David, DSPN) (born August 26, 1983 in Penang, Malaysia) is a Malaysian professional squash player. She is currently the World No. 1 in women's squash (she is the first Asian woman to be ranked World No. 1 in the sport). She captured the World Open title in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, and the British Open title in 2005, 2006 and 2008.

Nicol David is the first squash player to have won the World Junior title twice (1999 and 2001) under the tutelage of Richard Glanfield. She remained the only female squash player to have achieved this, until Raneem El Weleily emulated David's feat by winning her second World Junior Championship in 2007. Nicol moved inexorably up the senior rankings to become a fixture in the top flight. At a very young age, she has been invited to carry the Olympic torch for Malaysia during the build up to the Athens Olympics in 2004 and being appointed as UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia.

Nicol David's other notable achievements include the Asian squash championship, which she won with a record of six times (in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008). She also held a 13-month, 51-match winning streak, from March 2006 to April 2007 when she finally lost to Natalie Grinham in the final of the 2007 Seoul Open. In today's standard of professional squash, which is regarded by many as being much more competitive than what it was decades ago, having a winning streak comparable to this is an achievement not easily obtainable.

Nicol has risen in name after her near total dominance of the game in recent years. The former Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, a fellow Penangite, quipped once that David is "now more famous than me". Considering her young age, she is expected to remain the top female player in the game for a while to come.

Personal life

Nicol David is the Chindian daughter of Ann Marie David, a retired Chinese Malaysian schoolteacher, and Desmond David, an Indian Malaysian engineer. She has two sisters named Lianne Marie and Cheryl Therese, both of whom are accomplished squash players on a national level. As a youngster, Nicol enjoys reading, mathematics is her best subject in school. She scores 7 A's for her Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) and gets 9 A's in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (the equivalent to O-levels), which she studies at Convent Green Lane Secondary School in Green Lane, Penang.

Early career

Nicol David's first encounter with squash begins at the tender age of 5; at that time she is so small that even her racquets are bigger than her and she does not even have the strength to lift them. By the age of 8, Nicol starts to take squash seriously, training regularly and playing competitive games.

While training at the Bukit Dumbar Squash Centre, Nicol is talent-spotted by Miss Ee Phoeh Hoon, who leads her to represent her home state of Penang with her sisters. Nicol's squash career begins in 1992 when she wins silver in the Under 14 category of the Penang State Junior Championship. Nicol’s first national level win is also in 1992 at the Milo-Dunlop National Junior Interstate Championship, where she wins silver in the Under 16 category. In 1994, Nicol is chosen to join the Penang state squash team for the Sukan Malaysia Games (SUKMA) tournament where she helps Penang to win the gold medal in the team event. In the same year, she wins her first international title by capturing the Scottish Junior Open Under 12 title. She goes on to win four more titles in 1995 and 1996 respectively.

Nicol wins the Women's World Junior Squash Championships 1999 in Antwerp, Belgium, which makes her the youngest woman to become a world’s junior champion at the age of 15. In the process, she beats three players who are ranked in the world’s top 20. She wins the Women's World Junior Squash Championships twice when she successfully defended the title in Penang, Malaysia in 2001 and becomes one of only 2 players in the history of squash to have achieved the feat. She is also the only women's squash player to have won all the age categories in the British Junior Open.

Awards and Recognition

Order of Merit

On June 7, 2008, Nicol David is honoured with the Order of Merit in conjunction with the birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. She becomes the first recipient of the award which was established on June 26, 1975. This award is limited to 10 recipients who have made significant contributions in arts, science and humanity.

Datukship

On July 12, 2008, Nicol is among 497 people honoured in conjunction with the 70th birthday of the Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas. Nicol is among 28 people who receive the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN), which carries the title "Datuk", making her the youngest person ever to be conferred Datukship in Malaysia.

Professional career

1999

In 1999, Nicol begins to win major junior tournaments, including the British Junior Open (Under 17 Champion), the Asian Junior Champion for both individual and team events, the German Junior Open (Under 19, Champion), the SEA Games (Champion in the Senior and Team categories) and the British Junior Open Champion in the Under 19 category. Nicol's biggest win, however, is the Women's World Junior Championships, played in Antwerp. It takes just half an hour for the then 15-year-old Malaysian schoolgirl to confirm the world junior champion status that was prophesied for her for many years when she beat compatriot Leong Siu Lynn 9–5, 9–3 and 9–2 in the final of the women's individual event to become the youngest ever winner of the title. Nicol reached the quarterfinals of the previous World Junior Championships in August 1997 in Brazil, as a thirteen-year-old - and has since claimed both the Asian junior and senior titles, as well as the gold medal in the Asian Games in December 1998.

(All results in 1999)

2000

Nicol joins WISPA in 2000 and quickly wins her first WISPA tour title. Nicol's first WISPA tournament victory comes in February, when she defeats Salma Shabana in the final of the Savcor Finnish Open with a score of 9–1, 9–0 and 9–5. Within a month, Hotel Equatorial announces its two year worldwide sponsorship for her. Nicol also wins a sponsorship on the WISPA tour by Dunlop squash.

(All results in 2000)

2001

In 2001, Nicol, who has played under Dunlop Sport sponsorship for most of her junior career and burgeoning WISPA career, signs a two-year deal to play with Head rackets with major local conglomerate Mulpha Sports. In July, Nicol did what everybody expected her to do all along - she wins the World Junior title for a second time. She does it with an ease that surprises everybody. She earns her second title by easily thumping Omneya Abdel Kawy in just 17 minutes with a score of 9–2, 9–4 and 9–2 in the final.

(All results in 2001)

2002

2002 is the year where Nicol wins a surprise medal in the Commonwealth Games. Nicol, together with her mixed double event partner Ong Beng Hee, wins a historic silver medal for Malaysia after losing to Glen Wilson and Leilani Rorani in the final. Earlier in the year, Nicol beats Ellen Petersen of Denmark with a score of 9–2, 9–7, 8–10, 9–4 to win the second Kuala Lumpur Open title of her career.

(All results in 2002)

2003

2003 proves to be a vital year in Nicol's career even though she doesn't manage to win a title. Nicol is a losing finalist twice this year, losing to the more experienced Cassie Jackman on her very own homeground and then to Linda Elriani in the Monte Carlo Classic in November. The most outstanding feat of the year is when she remarkably makes it to the semifinal of the World Open in Hong Kong. She ends up losing to Cassie Jackman with a score of 9–6, 9–3, 9–4 in the final.

(All results in 2003)

2004

Again, Nicol fails to win any title. Her best achievements of the year are getting into the final of both the Kuala Lumpur Open and the Malaysian Open. Nicol then starts to progress in the very last month of the year by reaching the final of the Shanghai WISPA WorldStars Championship and the semi-finals of the World Open, to rise two places to no. 4 in the January 2005 WISPA rankings.

(All results in 2004)

2005

Malaysian squash star Nicol David is proving that everything she touches turns to gold. Defeated only twice this year, the 21-year-old from Penang returns to her home country in July after winning the gold medal in the World Open in Germany to become the youngest squash world champion ever. She then creates history by becoming the first local player to win the Women's CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championship title in the prestigious event’s 31-year history. In October, Nicol proves that her success in the World Open and in the Malaysian Open was not a fake by becoming the first Malaysian to win a British Open title, and the first Asian to win the women's crown, when she beats Australia's Natalie Grinham in the women's final in straight games in 55 minutes. After winning this year's British Open and World Open within two months against the odds, she clinches next year's world number one ranking for the first time. Nicol is voted in overwhelming fashion by her fellow members of the Women's International Squash Players Association as the WISPA Player of The Year 2005.

(All results in 2005)

2006

Nicol starts the year on a low, she loses twice to Vanessa Atkinson in February, in the Apawamis Open and in the Kuala Lumpur Open, both in the final. But then she bounces back to win a whopping six titles that include the tour Platinum series tournament, the Hong Kong Open. Nicol then defends her title on November 25, 2006, at the historic Ulster Hall in Belfast by beating Natalie Grinham in the final that is dubbed to be one of the greatest in the Women's World Open history. She becomes the first Malaysian athlete to win a world championship title for the 2nd consecutive time, and the fourth person in history to retain the World Open Squash Championship. Nicol tops the December WISPA ranking with a points average of almost twice that of her nearest rival, Rachael Grinham.

(All results in 2006)

2007

Nicol manages to capture another six titles in the early months of the year before eventually going down to a rare defeat in the final of the British Open to Australian Rachael Grinham in a gruelling five set final lasting 87 minutes. A month later, again Nicol unexpectedly fails to defend her World Open title when she stumbles in the second round to lose to Shelley Kitchen with a score of 0–9, 1–9, 9–2, 9–3 and 6–9 in 69 minutes. It was the first time since April 2004 that Nicol didn't qualify for the quarters of a tournament – losing to the same person who denied her the bronze medal of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 9 months ago.

(All results in 2007)

2008

2008: Perfect WISPA Year: Ten Tour Titles – And Unbeaten!Nicol David has completed her most successful year to date – retaining her Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open title for the third successive year in November to bring her 2008 WISPA World Tour title total to ten, and extending her unbeaten Tour record since October 2007 to 53 matches. Furthermore, Nicol celebrated her second full calendar year as world number one in the December Women's World Squash Rankings – bringing her reign at the top of women’s squash to 32 months. Nicol’s WISPA title successes in 2008 begin with the Apawamis Open in New York in February, and continue with the KL Open on home soil in Malaysia, the British Open title in England, Seoul Open in Korea, Malaysian Open, Singapore Masters, Dutch Open, World Open in England, Qatar Classic and the Hong Kong Open. Away from the tour, Nicol secures her sixth successive biennial Asian Championship crown in February – after winning the first in July 1998 when aged just 14 - and also leads Malaysia to an unexpected bronze medal in the Women’s World Team Championship in Cairo.

(All results in 2008)

2009

With an unprecedented lead over her nearest rival, Nicol David tops the January 2009 Women's World Squash Rankings, published on 1 January 2009 by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA) – thus moving into her 30th successive month as the world’s number one player. Nicol heads an unchanged top four, with Natalie Grinham (Netherlands) at two; her older sister Rachael Grinham (Australia) in third place; and Natalie Grainger, of the USA, at number four. In her first tournament of the year, the Kuala Lumpur Open, Nicol's 17-month, 56-match winning run is brought to an end when she loses to Natalie Grainger in the final. After the loss, Nicol made a strong comeback by capturing the inaugural Cayman Islands Open. She manages to avenge her loss to Grainger early in the year by beating her 11–8, 11-6 and 11–5 in the final. It is her 35th tour crown and 50th appearance in a WISPA Tour final. A week later, Nicol goes on to win her second title of the year by again dispatching Grainger, this time in four sets.

Within a month after winning the Texas Open title, Nicol captures her second Seoul City Open crown by beating Jenny Duncalf in four sets. Months later, she retains her World Games women's singles title with a win over her arch rival Natalie Grinham of the Netherlands in straight sets. A week later, on the first day of August, Nicol picks up her fifth consecutive Malaysian Open title, winning 11–6, 11–8, 9–11, 11–7 in a 60-minute tussle against 25 year-old Londoner, Alison Waters. Nicol, thus, becomes the first player to win five Malaysian Open titles in a row since its inception in 1975.

Dominating on the squash courts, Nicol beat out Natalie Grinham to win her third consecutive Singapore Masters championship—and her third title within a month. She overcome Natalie in three sets with a score of 11–9, 11–8 and 11–9 for her fifth WISPA title of the year. Nicol then celebrates another milestone in her squash career by moving into her 41st month as world number one in the September Women's World Rankings thus surpassing her mentor Sarah Fitz-Gerald as the player with the third longest ever reign at the top of the women's rankings. Days after the record breaking feat, Nicol unexpectedly lost to Madeline Perry in the British Open quarter-final in 5 sets match that lasts in 76 minutes but bounces back in style by winning the World Open Championship for a record fourth time a few weeks later when she beats her arch rival Natalie Grinham in the final.

(All results in 2009)

Career statistics

Listed as the following:-

WISPA Titles (41)

All Results for Nicol David in WISPA World's Tour tournament

Legend WISPA Platinum Series (6) WISPA Gold Series (24) WISPA Silver Series (8) WISPA Tour Series (3)

Titles by Major Tournaments World Open (4) British Open (3) Hong Kong Open (4) Qatar Classic (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Opponent in Final	Score in Final	Minutes Played
1.	February 28, 2000	Savcor Finnish Open	Salma Shabana	9–1, 9–0, 9–5	Unknown
2.	July 30, 2000	Kuala Lumpur Open	Elin Blikra	9–2, 9–5, 9–5	32 min
3.	February 3, 2002	Kuala Lumpur Open (2)	Ellen Petersen	9–2, 9–7, 8–10, 9–4	Unknown
4.	February 6, 2005	Kuala Lumpur Open (3)	Annelize Naudé	9–4, 9–2, 9–0	19 min
5.	March 12, 2005	Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open	Natalie Grainger	4–9, 9–6, 9–7, 10–8	45 min
6.	June 5, 2005	Dutch Open	Linda Elriani	4–9, 2–9, 9–3, 9–3, 9–3	Unknown
7.	July 30, 2005	Malaysian Women's Open	Vanessa Atkinson	3–9, 9–3, 1–9, 9–1, 9–4	52 min
8.	October 17, 2005	British Open	Natalie Grinham	9–6, 9–7, 9–6	55 min
9.	October 30, 2005	Carol Weymuller Open	Natalie Grinham	5–9, 9–6, 9–4, 9–3	1 h
10.	December 4, 2005	World Open	Rachael Grinham	8–10, 9–2, 9–6, 9–7	53 min
11.	July 9, 2006	Qatar Airways Challenge Open	Rachael Grinham	4–9, 9–5, 9–0, 9–0	54 min
12.	July 30, 2006	Malaysian Women's Open (2)	Tania Bailey	9–4, 9–6, 2–9, 5–9, 9–3	1 h 25 min
13.	August 5, 2006	Penang Open	Rachael Grinham	9–6, 9–6, 5–9, 9–3	55 min
14.	September 18, 2006	British Open (2)	Rachael Grinham	9–4, 9–1, 9-4	41 min
15.	October 22, 2006	Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open	Tania Bailey	9–2, 10–8, 9–5	41 min
16.	November 26, 2006	World Open (2)	Natalie Grinham	1–9, 9–7, 3–9, 9–5, 9–2	1 h 38 min
17.	March 17, 2007	Kuala Lumpur Open (4)	Natalie Grinham	6–9, 9–3, 9–6, 7–9, 9–6	1 h 42 min
18.	April 11, 2007	Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open (2)	Natalie Grinham	9–6, 10–8, 2–9, 9–1	1 h 33 min
19.	April 17, 2007	Qatar Classic Open	Natalie Grinham	9–7, 2–9, 9–7, 9–2	1 h 9 min
20.	July 28, 2007	Malaysian Women's Open (3)	Tania Bailey	9–4, 9–3, 9–2	36 min
21.	August 4, 2007	Singapore Masters	Natalie Grinham	9–6, 9–5, 9–5	54 min
22.	September 2, 2007	Dutch Open (2)	Rachael Grinham	9–4, 9–1, 9–6	34 min
23.	November 3, 2007	Qatar Classic Open (2)	Natalie Grainger	9–6, 9–4, 10–9	43 min
24.	November 11, 2007	Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open (2)	Natalie Grinham	9–3, 9–5, 10–8	58 min
25.	February 4, 2008	Apawamis Squash Open	Natalie Grinham	9–1, 9–6, 6–6 (ret)	45 min
26.	March 8, 2008	Kuala Lumpur Open (5)	Natalie Grinham	9–4, 9–2, 9–2	35 min
27.	May 12, 2008	British Open (3)	Jenny Duncalf	9–1, 10–8, 9–0	40 min
28.	June 7, 2008	Seoul City Open	Rachael Grinham	9–5, 10–9, 9–6	41 min
29.	July 26, 2008	Malaysian Women's Open (4)	Natalie Grinham	11–1, 11–4, 11–6	31 min
30.	August 2, 2008	Singapore Masters (2)	Rachael Grinham	8–11, 11–3, 11–5, 11–8	39 min
31.	September 7, 2008	Dutch Open (3)	Natalie Grinham	11–9, 11–9, 11–4	55 min
32.	October 19, 2008	World Open (3)	Vicky Botwright	5–11, 11–1, 11–6, 11–9	44 min
33.	October 31, 2008	Qatar Classic Open (3)	Natalie Grinham	11–7, 11–3, 11–9	29 min
34.	November 23, 2008	Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open (3)	Rachael Grinham	14–12, 11–13, 11–8, 11–8	53 min
35.	May 10, 2009	Cayman Islands Open	Natalie Grainger	11–8, 11–6, 11–5	33 min
36.	May 17, 2009	Texas Open	Natalie Grainger	7–11, 12–10, 11–5, 11–6	39 min
37.	June 7, 2009	Seoul City Open (2)	Jenny Duncalf	11–6, 3–11, 11–6, 11–4	38 min
38.	August 1, 2009	Malaysian Open (5)	Alison Waters	11–6, 11–8, 9–11, 11–7	1 h
39.	August 8, 2009	Singapore Masters (3)	Natalie Grinham	11–9, 11–8, 11-9	40 min
40.	September 27, 2009	World Open (4)	Natalie Grinham	3–11, 11–6, 11–3, 11–8	51 min
41.	October 18, 2009	Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open (4)	Omneya Abdel Kawy	11–4, 11–7, 11–7	25 min

Note: (ret) = retired, min = minutes, h = hours

WISPA Tour Finals (Runner-Up) (13)

No.	Date	Tournament	Opponent in Final	Score in Final	Minutes Played
1.	April 16, 2000	Milo Open	Rachael Grinham	2–9, 4–9, 6–9	Unknown
2.	June 24, 2000	YTL Open	Carol Owens	1–9, 5–9, 2–9	35 min
3.	March 16, 2001	DMC Open	Rachael Grinham	4–9, 2–9, 4–9	Unknown
4.	August 23, 2003	Malaysia Women's Open	Cassie Jackman	5–9, 9–1, 4–9, 7–9	47 min
5.	November 22, 2003	Monte Carlo Classic Open	Linda Elriani	10–8, 1–9, 6–9, 1–9	42 min
6.	February 15, 2004	Kuala Lumpur Open	Vanessa Atkinson	0–9, 7–9, 9–1, 2–9	28 min
7.	July 24, 2004	Malaysia Women's Open (2)	Vanessa Atkinson	2–9, 4–9, 0–9	25 min
8.	November 21, 2004	Shanghai WISPA Worldstars Open	Cassie Jackman	2–9, 3–9, 0–9	27 min
9.	February 6, 2006	Apawamis Open	Vanessa Atkinson	6–9, 2–9, 10–9, 7–9	1 h 5 min
10.	February 18, 2006	Kuala Lumpur Open (2)	Vanessa Atkinson	7–9, 9–4, 1–9, 3–9	42 min
11.	April 28, 2007	Seoul City Open	Natalie Grinham	4–9, 4–9, 0–9	43 min
12.	September 24, 2007	British Open	Rachael Grinham	9–7, 9–4, 3–9, 8–10, 1–9	1 h 27 min
13.	March 7, 2009	Kuala Lumpur Open (3)	Natalie Grainger	8–11, 12–10, 7–11, 11–5, 6–11	51 min

WISPA Titlist Leader (currently active players)

These statistics are complete until 1 September 2008.

Player	No. of Titles	No. of Tournaments	% Tournament Won
Nicol David	34	86	39.53
Samantha Teran	12	67	17.91
Rachael Grinham	28	162	17.28
Kasey Brown	9	56	16.07
Natalie Grainger	17	120	14.17
Rebecca Chiu	15	108	13.89
Vanessa Atkinson	19	151	12.58
Madeline Perry	6	98	8.16
Natalie Grinham	10	125	8.00
Isabelle Stoehr	7	91	7.69
Shelley Kitchen	9	128	6.25
Sharon Wee	7	116	6.03

Other Titles

1995 Scottish Junior Open - Under 14 champion

1996 British Junior Open - Under 14 champion, Scottish Junior Open - Under 14 champion

1997 British Junior Open - Under 14 champion, Scottish Junior Open - Under 16 champion, Australian Junior Open - Under 15 champion, Australian Junior Open - Under 17 champion

1998 British Junior Open - Under 16 champion, Scottish Junior Open - Under 17 champion, Asian Women Champion, Asian Junior Squash Grand Circuit Final - Under-19 champion, 13th Asian Games Gold Medallist

1999 British Junior Open - Under 17 champion, Asian Junior Championship - Singles Champion, Asian Junior Championship - Team Champion, German Junior Open - Champion, Malaysian Junior Open Champion, World Junior Champion

2000 Asian Championship - Champion (2)

2001 Asian Junior Championship - Singles Champion, Asian Junior Championship - Team Champion, World Junior Champion (2)

2002 Asian Championship - Singles Champion (3), Asian Championship - Team Champion, Commonwealth Games 2002 Mixed Doubles - Silver Medalist, 14th Asian Games Silver Medalist

2004 Asian Championship - Singles Champion (4), Asian Championship - Team Champion

2006 Asian Championship - Singles Champion (5), Asian Championship - Team Champion, 15th Asian Games Gold Medallist

2008 Asian Championship - Singles Champion (6), Asian Championship - Team Champion

WISPA Awards

• 2005 WISPA Awards: Player of the Year
• 2006 WISPA Awards: Player of the Year (2)
• 2007 WISPA Awards: Player of the Year (3)
• 2008 WISPA Awards: Player of the Year (4)

Singles performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.

Tournament	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	Career SR	Career W-L
WISPA World Tour Tournaments
World Open	A	A	A	2R	A	SF	SF	W	W	2R	W	W	4 / 8	28–4
British Open	A	A	A	1R	2R	2R	QF	W	W	F	W	QF	3 / 9	19–6
Hong Kong Open	A	A	A	1R	A	A	A	A	W	W	W	W	4 / 5	20–1
Qatar Classic	A	A	A	A	A	2R	QF	SF	W	W	W		3 / 6	21–3
KL Open	A	A	W	QF	W	A	SF	W	F	W	W	F	5 / 9	29–4
Malaysian Open	A	A	A	A	A	F	F	W	W	W	W	W	5 / 7	27–2
Win Ratio	0 / 0	0 / 0	1 / 1	0 / 4	1 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 5	4 / 5	5 / 6	4 / 6	6 / 6	2 / 4	23 / 43	NA
Win–Loss	0–0	0–0	3–0	2–4	5–1	8–4	13–5	20–1	26–1	22–2	27–0	13–2	NA	139–20
Asian Games
Singles	W	Not Held			F	Not Held			W	Not Held			2 / 3	8–1
Commonwealth Games
Singles	A	Not Held			2R	Not Held			SF	Not Held			1 / 2	NA

Note: NA = Not Available

See also

• Official Women's Squash World Ranking
• List of WISPA number 1 ranked players
• WISPA Awards
• British Open Squash Championships
• British Junior Open Squash
• World Open
• WISPA Platinum and Gold Events

References

External links

• Squash Stars
• Nicol David Profile at WISPA
• Nicol David Profile at SquashInfo