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Vanessa Atkinson
Dutch squash player / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 during 2009 Women's World Open | |||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Vanessa Louise Atkinson | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Country | ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Leeds, England | ||||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1976-03-10) 10 March 1976 (age 48) Newcastle, 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
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Last updated: 3 December 2019. |
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.[1]
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.[2] Atkinson also has won major tournaments in Qatar, New York, Monte Carlo, Malaysia and Ireland.
Atkinson retired from professional play in May 2011.