2010 saw Alison Waters really establish herself as one of the best players in the world. Her powerful and attacking game helped push her to a career high ranking of number three. She reached the semi final or better at all tournaments in 2010.
The 27 year old England International from London couldn?t have started the year any better. The pressure was on in January as she was top seed at both the Greenwich Open and the Burning River Classic. She justified her top billing at both by winning her third and fourth tour titles, beating Omneya Abdel Kawy in both finals.
Waters? good form continued in February when she lifted her second National Title. She beat rival Jenny Duncalf in a thrilling final, saving match ball to triumph 12-10 in the fifth.
In her next three tournaments, Waters showed consistent and quality squash and it took Nicol David to beat her in the semi finals of two and the final of the other. The last two of these encounters were extremely close, Waters being edged out in tie breakers in both matches.
The next month, down under at the Australian Open, Waters reached her 13th career final. She overcame home favourite Rachel Grinham in the semi final, before succumbing to an on fire Madeline Perry in the final, losing a corker, 13-11 in the fifth.
Another two semi finals followed this, at the Hong Kong Open, losing out to compatriot Duncalf and also at the World Open in Egypt, where she went out to David once more.
The biggest tournament on Waters? calendar in 2010 was the Commonwealth Games. She made it to the semi final but was thwarted again by England team- mate Duncalf. This loss would be Waters? last match of the year after suffering an achilles injury during the semi final match. She couldn?t play off for the bronze medal, handing a walk over to Australia?s Kasey Brown. Waters couldn?t also compete in the Women?s World Teams.
After such a strong year, we hope to see her back on court in 2011 as quickly as possible to again challenge for the major titles.
2010 tour win-loss record: 25-6
Career titles: 4
